½cuppitted Medjool datesapprox. 9 at room temperature
1 ¼cupchopped walnuts
½cupDesicated Coconut
1tablespooncoconut oil melted
pinchof salt
Coconut Lemon Filling
2x 250 gram blocks of Light/Low Fat Cream Cheeseroughly ½ pound or 2 cups
½cupPowdered sweetener that measures like sugarI use Monkfruit
¼cupLemon juice, freshly squeezed
1tablespoonLemon zest
2tablespoonsNatural Peanut Butter
Optional
1tablespoonDesicated coconut
1tablespoonlemon zest
Instructions
Base:
Dry roast the walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 7 minutes at 180 degrees c, or 350 degrees F
Add all the base ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor and blitz for a couple of minutes until a fine crumb has formed
Line a dish with foil or parchment paper (over the base and up the sides) so it is easy to remove slice (I used a rectangle metal loaf tin 30 cm x 15 cm (12 inch x 6 inch).
Remove blade if using a food processor, and press crumbs firmly into the base of a square or rectangle dish or tin. Use the heel of the palm to press firmly into all corners of the dish.
Put base in fridge for 30 minutes to let it firm up. Meanwhile, clean the food processor, ready for the filling.
Lemon Cheesecake Filling:
Add the cream cheese to food processor and blitz for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and blitz for another minute to combine.
Spoon cheesecake filling onto base, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle coconut and lemon zest on top.
Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge for 6 hours minimum.
Slice into 12 pieces with a clean sharp knife. Store in the fridge in an air tight container for 5 days.
Notes
Lemons: Wash your lemons before zesting to make sure they are nice and clean. Also I love to firmly roll the lemons on the counter before cutting them to help them soften up and release some of the juices.
Cream Cheese: I used “light” cream cheese in this recipe. It was still very rich and creamy, but if you prefer, by all means use full fat. (Calories were calculated using light/reduced fat cream cheese)
Coconut: I used unsweetened desiccated coconut which is the finer type coconut.
Dates: Medjool dates are best as they are sweeter, softer and have an almost caramel like taste.
Peanut Butter: you can leave this out if you prefer - it will still set in the fridge. Or you could swap it for cashew nut butter.
Tin Size: I used a rectangle metal loaf tin 30 cm x 15 cm (12 inch x 6 inch). Alternatively you could use a square one of similar size, foil muffin cases with liners, or use a 12 hole silicone or metal muffin tray (however this may make more than 12 depending on how big the muffin tray is)
Limes Instead of Lemons: For a different twist, swap the lemon with lime. Make the recipe the same, swapping out in the same quantity lemon for lime.
Highly recommend using a powdered sweetener. Using a granulated sweetener may result is a "gritty" cream cheese as it is not as fine. Granulated sweeteners can be ground down with a mortar and pestle or using a coffee grinder if unable to find a powdered sweetener. The one I use is Monkfruit powdered sweetener and it has no bitter aftertaste.