I eyed the calendar and looked at the date. I had to double check myself just in case I was dreaming. July 25th. It was literally going to be August in a few days and my days of summer vacation is less than a month away. Oh drat. That meant days of enjoying the summer heat, the family dinners, the meals with friends and my movie nights were coming to an end.

Sighing, I picked up my phone. It was the kind of moment when you wake up and realize “hey real life is back.” My dad had talked about dreams over dinner the night before. Something along the lines of “its always nice to imagine what you would really want to be doing…”. The pause right after made me hold my breathe, “even if its not going to come true”. I slumped back in my seat after his last words. I guess its like my summer. It seems like all good things come to an end.

Rubbing my eyes, I instinctively flicked through the stories on instagram. It seems as though watching people’s lives was my choice of comfort. I caught sight of a zoomed in shot of a melting scoop of frozen yogurt. Rich, creamy, luscious – yumm. It wasn’t long before I caught sight of another video inside a gelato store. Really? Now I really wanted ice cream. Thats what I needed. Something delicious, creamy and soothing for me.

From banana nice cream to frozen banana bites, there was endless possibilities. I even thought of a frozen slice of vegan cheesecake. Cheesecake had always been my favorite dessert since I was a kid. Anything creamy and rich was always a good sign. Flipping through endless recipes that required bucket loads of coconut oil or coconut cream or dates was really frustrating me. All I wanted was a simple scoop of ice cream or even a frozen piece of cheesecake, but nothing appealed. It reminded met of the same futile search I had months ago looking for a raw vegan cake.

The truth is my blender was not going to live through blitzing up raw nuts and dates. So how to make a frozen vegan cake with a half-working blender? And one that isn’t too horrifically high in calories or super complicated to make?

THEN we came up with this. “This” being a luscious, creamy “banana smoothie” layer as my dad calls it then freezing it. It hit the spot. Especially with that fragrant almond flour crust, a 3 ingredient caramel drizzled on and topped with grated dark chocolate and fresh bananas. All the ingredients we used was found either in the pantry or my mum’s box of food – nothing super fancy or expensive used. It needed to be fast, simple and delicious.

What surprised me wasn’t the fact that we succeeded, but rather the responses we got. From family members who were “on a diet” or “hated sugary desserts” to friends who “obsessed over ice cream” and “never had a vegan cake before” completely loved it. It won over the masses. Not to mention, it definitely won me over. The favorite part? Drizzling that nutty, sticky addicting caramel. Everyone kept licking their spoons asking for more. I hate caramel that is too sickly sweet. Even my father who usually says no to dessert can eat a whole spoonful of caramel as it is.

A beautiful slice of banana ice cream that would make me remember this summer forever. Creamy, sweet and healthy, I couldn’t ask for a better dessert. One that I could even re-make during the busy weeks in college, just so I could have a slice of summer back

Vegan Banana Caramel Cheesecake (Healthy, Oil-Free, Coconut-Free)

 

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Author: Unconventional Cooks

Serves: 6" Cake (11 Slices)

Ingredients

• ½ a batch of our [Gluten Free Pie Crust[/url] OR GF/VEGAN Crust] (You can also use any crust of choice)
• Filling:
• 3 Bananas (Ripe)
• 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Caramel:*
• ½ cup Tahini (or any Nut Butter of choice)
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 3 tbsp non-dairy milk

Instructions

1. Soak the cashews in boiling water for 20-30 mins OR room temperature water for 3-4 hours. You can even soak them overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Make the crust and fill a 6" cake pan (or loaf tin or muffin tins). Bake for 10 minutes till slightly brown on the edges.
4. Set aside to cool completely.
5. Blend all the ingredients for the filling. Pour over the cooled crust and freeze for several hours until firm.
6. Mix together the ingredients for the caramel and set aside.
7. When you are reading to serve, take the cake out to defrost for 30-40 minutes at room temperature or in the fridge for at least an hour. Top wth sliced bananas, whipped cream and the caramel.

Notes

*The caramel isn't overly sweet like your typical caramel. You can adjust and and more maple syrup to your taste.

3.5.3251

LOVE,

Zoe & Mia

(This is featured on Hearth and Soul)