Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes (Vegan GF)

4-layered no-bake mini cheesecakes with an oaty base, sweet cream cheese filling, a chestnut date caramel and a thick topping of chocolate. These cheesecakes make a deliciously simple dessert that is naturally vegan, gluten-free and wholesome.

I love a good no-bake recipe. From fudge ganache brownies to cookie dough and the amazing world of raw cheesecakes, there is so much you can do without even switching on an oven. For these Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes, I went with a few classic flavours (chocolate and caramel) alongside the more surprising ingredient: chestnuts. While we are quite used to seeing pre-roasted chestnuts in festive and savoury dishes like Roasted Stuffed Squash and Nut Roast Cups, we don’t associate them as much with year-round sweets and desserts. All that is about to change with these no-bake delights.

I first thought to use chestnuts, like you would other nuts like almonds or cashew nuts when Merchant Gourmet (the UK’s arguably most popular whole roasted chestnuts and chestnut puree producer) asked me to come up with an Easter recipe using my trusty Vitamix (which I would naturally use!). I came up with a few ideas, but these Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes really tickled all of our fancies.

There are 4 layers to these cheesecakes, all require no-baking and very little effort – as long as you have a good food processor, that is. 

• No-bake biscuit base
• Sweet cream cheese
• Date chestnut caramel
• Chocolate and toppings

All of the layers are vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free and only require a few ingredients. If you are avoiding other nuts, you can swap them around, too, just read below for options.

Let’s start with the base layer aka the one that holds it all together! Just add all the ingredients to the blender to create a sticky dough:

• Oats: use gluten-free oats if needed.
• Whole pre-roasted chestnuts: these add great texture and binder nature to the base. You could use other nuts like almonds.
• Almond butter: or use cashew butter or tahini. The runnier and smoother the better for this recipe.
• Maple syrup: this binds the base together and adds the lovely sticky sweetness.

Once the ingredients are in a sticky dough, divide into 12-14 pieces, roll into balls and press into the muffins holes to make even bases.

Then it’s time for the second layer: the creamy cheesecake part. Unlike a lot of recipes that use coconut, tofu or cashew nuts, I went for the classic cream cheese.

• Vegan cream cheese: there are a few options in the supermarkets now and my favourite is NUSH. The creamier the better.
• Almond butter: or like before, use cashew butter or tahini.
• Maple syrup: for the sweetness and texture.

Stir these ingredients by hand until really smooth – give it a taste test and then move onto the third layer: the chestnut date caramel. This is so luscious, smooth and sticky sweet. It’s a thick caramel which works so well with all of the other layers!

• Dates: medjool dates are the best as they are the sweetest and stickiest but you can use any dried dates, just soak them in boiling water first and save the date water to add to the caramel when you are blending it.
• Chestnuts: these add a lovely nutty taste to the caramel and they naturally are quite soft so blend really well into this creamy caramel.
• Almond butter: as above!

You will need some patience with the caramel to make sure it is really thick and creamy. You can add more liquid as you go if it is not blending, but the less liquid, the thicker the caramel. Swirl this on top of the cream cheese layer and then finish with the final layer of these Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes: the chocolate.

If needed, using a refined sugar free chocolate and spread thickly onto the top of the mini cheesecakes before adding on a few extra chestnuts and I also like to add some raspberries and pomegranate for a pop of colour.

These Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes are easy to make in a few steps and they are naturally vegan, gluten-free and easily refined sugar free. They made a delicious and impressive dessert to present to family and friends that you can make ahead and leave in the fridge or freezer until you are ready for them. They are the perfect balance of sweetness, nuttiness, stickiness and crunch with so many layers to sink your teeth into.

If you are looking for more no-bake dessert and snack options, how about my:

• Easter Chocolate Cream Tart
• Raw Chocolate Ganache Brownies
• Vegan Protein Rice Crispy Bars
• Salted Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Cups
• Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

I hope you will love these Mini Chocolate Chestnut Cheesecakes so please let me know what you think in the comments below and if you make them, remember to tag me. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With mini chestnut cheesecake love x

The original recipe was sponsored by Merchant Gourmet and Vitamix although this blog post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.