Banana Berry Cheesecake

Turns out I CAN have my cake and eat it too. Creamy, crumbly cheesecake. I’m so excittteed!!

No artificial sweeteners. No flour. Just good old fashion oats, nuts, butter, honey and fruit. That’s right.

I knew the next dessert I wanted to try would include cream cheese in some form. So why not go for cheesecake I thought – one of the most decadent, delicious desserts out there. Aim high! I would have to report this a success. I made this Saturday night. By Sunday night, it was all but gone.

Mind you this isn't a calorie-free recipe. I use butter. But after eating it you don't feel that huge sugar rush and then plunge. It's absolutely fantastic with a cup of tea.




Recipe

Crust
1 1/3 cups oats
½ cup walnuts
1/3 cup hazel nut flour or finely ground hazel nuts (or almonds)
5 T. melted butter
2 T. honey

Filling14 oz. low- or reduced-fat cream cheese
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 T. honey
2 T. lemon juice
Zest from ½ lemon

Topping
2 cups fresh or frozen berries
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 ½ T. corn starch
1-2 bananas, finely sliced


Preheat over to 350F (175C). In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the crust until they are well coated in butter. If mixture looks too wet or dry, add butter or oats accordingly. Then press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. In large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the cream cheese. Add one egg at time, then the vanilla, honey, lemon and lemon zest. Pour over crust and bake for 20 minutes. Don’t worry if the top cracks. It will. We are going to cover it. Let the cake cool. Add defrosted berries, water and lemon into a medium sized pot and use immersion blend to blend until smooth. In a small glass, combine corn starch with enough cold water to form a smooth paste, then pour it into the berries mixture and bring to boil on medium heat until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly to ensure the bottom does not burn. Cover cooled cheesecake with thin banana slices, pour berry sauce over the bananas so it covers them entirely. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve with fresh fruit.