You don’t need any fancy schmancy kitchen equipment for these mini “cheese”-bombs; only a 6-cup silicone muffin tray and a blender or immersion blender. And a freezer. But more on that later…

For the crust

Ingredients:

• 150 g soft dates
• 50 g almonds
• 50 g hazelnuts
• 30 g cashews

Instructions:

1. Chop up the dates into small pieces. Chop up the nuts, too, depending on how coarse you want them. Combine dates and nuts into a “dough”. Spread into the muffin cups and flatten the crust using your fingers or a teaspoon.
2. Place the tray into the freezer overnight.

For the compote

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe pears
• a splash of lemon juice
• ca. 2 tbsp sugar
• pulp of half of a vanilla bean
• a pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Since our cheesecakes will be filled with a pear compote, we’ll make that before we address the “cheese component” of our dessert. Start by peeling and chopping the pears and basting them with a bit of lemon juice.
2. Melt the sugar in the pan, add the pears and – while relishing that delightful sizzling sound – let them simmer briefly.
   Season with vanilla pulp and cinnamon. Remove from heat and let cool. If stone-hard clumps of sugar formed in your compote, please remove them to spare your friends a trip to the dentist.
3. Take the muffin tray out of the freezer, but leave the crusts in the cups. Spoon one tablespoon of compote onto the centre of each crust.

For the “cheese”-mass

Ingredients:

• 100 g cashews, soaked (for at least two hours, preferably overnight) and drained
• 125 g coconut yoghurt
• 200 ml coconut milk or cream (ca. 18 % fat)
• 2 tbsp maple sirup
• 2 tsp coconut oil, tempered at room temperature
• 1½ tsp locust bean gum

Instructions:

1. Blend the nuts, yoghurt, coconut milk, and maple sirup on the highest setting. Once the mass has a smooth consistency, add the coconut oil and, again, blend it on the highest setting. Lastly, add the locust bean gum and blend again.
2. Pour the mixture into the cups to finally unite the crust, the compote, and the “cheese”. Place the tray into the freezer overnight.

For the decoration:

Ingredients:

• 50 g dark chocolate
• 1 tsp coconut oil (or margarine)

Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil (or margarine) in a pot.
2. Take the muffin tray out of the freezer and remove the little cheesecakes.
3. Decorate the cheesecakes with the chocolate. Add some caramelised pear slices.
4. Your cheesecakes are finished now. Leave them at room temperature for at least 25 minutes before serving, or slowly defrost them in the fridge. Either way, they will be delicious.