Recipe: Grain-Free Cheesecake

We were in the mood for cheesecake today, and decided to make this delightful dessert. This is a variation of a classic recipe for cheesecake made at the ISKCON Los Angeles Hare Krishna temple and Govinda's restaurant.

The original recipe uses walnuts in the crust, but as a member of our household has a walnut allergy, we chose to use pecans in their place. This cheesecake is suitable for those on gluten-free and other grain-restricting diets, and can also be taken by those observing the Ekadasi fast.  Vegan substitutes for cream cheese and sour cream can be used to make this recipe dairy-free.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

• 2 blocks cream cheese (16 oz. or 454g)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup sugar or sucanat
• 2 tsp vanilla 
• Desired toppings, such as fruit

Instructions

To make the crust:

• Process the pecans, shredded coconut, and cinnamon in a food processor. 
• Spread the pecan-coconut mixture evenly on a bread pan or pie plate, and pat it down. 
• Bake the crust for 5 minutes at 350°F (177°C), then allow it to cool. 

To make the filling:

• Soften the cream cheese. To do this, you can place it in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F (177°C), or you can simply heat it in the microwave for about 1 minute. 
• Beat the cream cheese with a whisk or a mixer until smooth. Do this before adding other ingredients, to make the resulting mixture less lumpy. 
• Add the sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla, then beat with a whisk or mixer until smooth. 
• Pour the cream cheese mixture into the bread pan or pie plate, over the crust. 
• Bake the cheesecake for 27 minutes at 350°F (177°C); be careful not to overbake it. The cheesecake should puff slightly. 
• Top the cheesecake with desired toppings, then refrigerate for 2 hours. The cheesecake is ready!