Years ago, we were gifted a massive bag of fresh figs from our friend Frank ~ freely picked! This recipe is dedicated to his trees and generosity! We and our bellies thank you.
Crust:
1 cup almonds
½ cup walnuts
½ cup pumpkin seeds
2 T coconut oil, melted
2 pinches salt
1 heaping tablespoons cacao
2 heaping teaspoons maca
1-3 figs, optional
Method: Combine the nuts and seeds in the food processor until it resembles rice. Add in the oil, salt, cacao, maca and combine. If it's too dry (and doesn't stick together between your fingers when pinched), add in 1 fig, then 2, or all three until the mixture combines well together. Set aside.
Cheesecake filling:
2 cups cashews
¾ cups fresh orange juce plus ¼ cup water
grated zest of 1 orange
pinch sea salt
tsp vanilla
¼ plus 1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
Method: Combine all the ingredients together until well blended in a high-speed blender. It should be super smooth. Set this aside.
Middle layer:
1 cup figs, pureed in a food processor
Extras: I used about 28 halves of figs for the top, so 14 whole
Plus about 10 figs for the sides of the cake
Line a 7.5 inch removable bottom springform pan with plastic wrap, making sure there is excess that can drape over the sides. Fill in the crust on the bottom so that it’s even and in one smooth layer. Pour in almost half of the cheesecake filling, covering the crust. Add in the middle pureed fig layer and using a spatula, make sure it is even and smooth. Now take the 10 figs for the side of the cake, cut them in half and having the middle of the fig facing out, layer only the SIDES of the pie mold – it will look like a wall of figs on the inside of the pie edge. Then fill the rest of the pie with the cheesecake filling, using a spatula to smooth it over the figs as well. Some of the figs might pop out of the cheesecake layer, but just push them back in, or don’t worry about it. We’ll cover it with figs anyway.
Freeze this overnight.
In the morning, cut the 28 figs in half and decorate the top. Let it defrost just about 10-15 minute so it’s easy to cut but still semi-frozen to retain the shape well. To decorate, you can drizzle with honey, cacao nibs and coconut flakes. Enjoy!