How to Make Caramelised Apple and Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake

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Sweetened with Honey, this Caramelised Apple and Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake requires no baking. Simply blitz, mix, and chill! This cake is fruity and tangy, with a lovely peanut butter biscuity base. Top with Caramel if you so desire.

Ingredients for Caramelised Apple and Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake

For the Base:

• Desiccated Coconut or coconut butter – if you do not have coconut butter on hand (it is a specialty ingredient, after all), then you can make it yourself. It is very easy and inexpensive to make. Simply throw desiccated coconut into a high speed blender, and blitz until runny.
• Oats, ground – the best consistency for the oats is akin to flour. Again, use a high speed blender for this one.
• Peanut Butter – helps to bind the base but also adds a wonderful savoury note, which balances the sweetness of the filling.
• Truvia – only a few tablespoons are needed to get that lovely biscuity sweetness.
• Salt – just a pinch will bring the flavours to life.
• Vanilla essence – marries the coconut, peanut butter and Truvia in a beautiful symphony.

For the Filling:

• Coconut or coconut butter – as aforementioned, you can make coconut butter easily yourself by blending desiccated coconut. Otherwise, if you are able to get coconut butter, you can save yourself the blitzing!
• Coconut cream – just a little bit will help to enrich the cheesecake, give it a firmer texture, and offset the fruity apples.
• Greek yoghurt – the Greek Yoghurt needs to be super thick. It should have the consistency of soft cream cheese. I strained my yoghurt overnight till all the whey was gone.
• Tinned Apples in Juice – you can use fresh apples, but I like to use the tinned variety, because the juice gets all caramelised.
• Honey – just a little bit of honey sweetens the cheesecake filling, and allows the apples to be caramelised. The juice of the apples is not enough to reach caramelisation. You need the sugar in the honey to aid the mixture along.
• Vanilla Essence – enhances that caramel flavour and makes the cheesecake filling sing.

How to Make the Caramelised Apple and Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake

For the Base

If you don’t have coconut butter, start by making it yourself. Grind the desiccated coconut in a high-speed blender until the coconut releases it’s natural oils and looks like the consistency of a paste. This should take 2 minutes or so. It may start to look a bit dry as you transfer it, but as long as it is paste-like initially, then it should be fine.

Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Process the oats until flour-like, and add to the coconut butter. Add the remaining ingredients.

Mix or Blend all the ingredients for the base, until processed evenly. I normally do this with my hands, rubbing it together, to ensure it is evenly mixed.

Press firmly into a lined loose-bottomed 22cm cake tin, and place into the fridge to set while you make the filling.

For the Filling

The first step to make the filling is to Caramelise the apples. Pour the contents of the tinned apples into a pot with the honey and simmer until the mixture is a deep brown colour. Remove from the heat.

Next, make the coconut butter. Blend the desiccated coconut until it releases it’s natural oils and becomes coconut butter. This should take 2 minutes or so in a high-speed blender.

Add to the caramelised apples to the coconut butter, along with the coconut cream. Whisk until smooth.

Finally, fold in the yoghurt and Vanilla, and whisk again. It is important to fold the yoghurt in carefully, as beating it too much can make it become a bit runny. That is why we add it last, after the apples have cooled down.

Pour over the prepared base, and return the cake tin to the fridge to set, minimum 3 hours. Overnight is best.

Answering your questions about this Caramelised Apple and Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake

Is this cake Vegan?

This cake is not vegan, due to the Greek Yoghurt and Honey. Just because it is not vegan, does not mean it is not healthy! It is still egg free and sugar free. Plus, it is a lot lighter than my other vegan cakes, since Greek yoghurt is lower in fat than coconut cream.

How does the base hold together?

The desiccated coconut and the peanut butter are the main binders for the base. It is crucial to blend the coconut into a butter, as this is what sets the base into that classic biscuit hardness. If not enough oil is released from the coconut, then the base will be too crumbly and not set. Source coconut butter if you cannot make it yourself. Coconut oil would also work if you cannot get your hands on coconut butter.

How does the filling set?

The coconut butter and coconut cream in the filling is also what allows the cake to set with that Cheesecake Cream Cheese Texture. Do not skimp on the coconut butter here, as otherwise your cake will be more like soup! For the classic cheesecake texture, it is also crucial that the Greek yoghurt has the thickness of cream cheese.

Do I have to use Greek Yoghurt?

No, you definitely do not want to use Greek yoghurt! If you are wanting to make this cake fully vegan, simply use another tin of coconut cream instead of the yoghurt. Replace the honey with about 1/3 cup regular sugar (Truvia would not work int he filling since it does not caramelise).

How long does the Cake take to set?

The cake does take at least 3 hours to set, or overnight. Have faith – it does look pretty runny at first, but it will harden when completely chilled.

What can I top this Cake with?

I topped this cake with a Caramel Marshmallow layer. Comment below if you would like the recipe for that! Another wonderful topping would be thickened caramel with thinly sliced apples on top. Candied walnuts or pecans would also look spectacular.