Say hello to no bake mini lemon cheesecake. The recipe is 100% no bake, not to mention the incredibly delicious citrus flavor that makes it so good. On top of that, you can make these cheesecakes a day ahead and decorate with the beautiful toppings just before serving.
When it comes to cooking, we spend so much time in our kitchens whipping up everyday meals. So a delicious dessert that you can create quickly and easily is always a welcoming addition to the menu.
These babies have a naturally sweetened walnut date crust topped with a creamy cashew, coconut lemon filling! I love this quick and easy recipe with a short ingredient list!
These bite sized treats are quick and easy to make and PACKED with coconut lemon-y goodness. One of those ‘bet you can’t eat just one’ treats! That buttery crust and tangy filling of a little lemon tart can be so addicting…
But the high amounts of butter, sugar eggs, flour, sugar laden condensed milk used in a traditional recipe for these citrus-infused treats does not play along nicely with a healthy eating plan.
Good thing that my favourite thing to do is take an old fashioned ‘not-so-healthy’ recipe and healthify it – turning it into a healthier alternative. If you are looking for the ultimate lemon cheesecake recipe, then look no further. I promise you these are the best damn lemon tarts you will ever taste.
Bold claim I know!
But these gorgeous little beauties are truly a minimum fuss dessert. They hit at only 8 ingredients! And the entire process goes like this: grind up the crust in the food processor, press the crust in, blend filling until smooth, pour filling, freeze, cut, done!
And for how easy they are, the flavour and richness are wild. So, SO good. I have a stash in a container in the freezer, and I just set one out to thaw a bit while we are cleaning up after dinner. Perfect sweet relief at the end of a busy day.
When life gives you lemons, you make lemon tarts. It’s just what we do. They are super easy to make (three cheers for no-bake treats!) and crammed with the perfect balance of tart-sweet flavour. I am quite certain this will be my new go-to item for pot lucks or family gatherings. I hope you like them half as much as my husband does; he may or may not have eaten half a pan of them over the past 24 hours.
I love a good yummy something and it’s become a tradition that I make something for the weekend, almost every weekend. It’s just a nice way to reward yourself I think, and keep the sugar-intake at a minimum. After all, dessert eating has its limits – if we all could just succumb to our cravings, we would be sick, obese, diabetics and what not.
Basically, I’ve learned that sugar cravings are not all that cute – you just can’t have it all… and the more disciplined you become with your sweet tooth cravings – the healthier you are.
But, but wait! What if this said dessert is incredibly um… Good-for-you! Like for reals! No sugar added, healthy grains, healthy ingredients, amazing taste, completely guilt-free!? Do all my rules and all my discipline for craving sugar go out the window? Ha! They kind of do!!
Because these lemon bars are crazy amazing you can feel good about eating one or two of them, even for breakfast and not feel one piece of guilt about it! 🙂
Lemon Walnut Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Walnut Date Base Crust
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup dates, soaked 30 minutes and drained
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Lemon Cashew Cream Filling
- 2 cups cashews, soaked 3+hours and drained
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut cream, full fat (solid part only) *see note below
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
Toppings Optional
- Whipped coconut cream – recipe below in notes
- Drizzle of honey
- Fresh fruit or berries
- Chopped nuts
Instructions
Walnut Date Base Crust
- Note: Place the can of coconut cream or milk in the fridge or freezer for at least 1-2 hours before making these bars to allow coconut cream to separate.Line 12 muffin tin slots with paper cupcake liners or use a silicon muffin pan. Set aside.Place all walnut base crust ingredients into a food processer and process until mixture is sticky and well combined. Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your cheesecake base.Divide the mixture up and press into the bottoms of your cupcake liners evenly. Smooth out with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Lemon Cashew Cream Filling
- Open chilled can and scoop out the cream that has separated and set hard on the top. Save the remaining coconut water to use in a smoothie, drink, or discard.Place all filling ingredients, cashews, coconut cream, coconut oil, honey, lemon juice and zest into the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Depending on the power of your blender this might take a few minutes. Stop blending to scrape the sides and continue to blend until very smooth. Taste test add more honey or lemon if you think it needs it.Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the filling over each walnut base crust and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then place back in the refrigerator.Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or until the mixture has firmed up.Remove from freezer and let soften (timing depends on how soft you want these, about 10-30 minutes). If you leave them in the freezer longer, they will require more time to soften (about an hour at room temperature)Serve with optional garnishes to serve!Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for a softer cheesecake or in the freezer for a firmer cheesecake (let come to room temperature slightly).
Notes
If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites
