It’s that time of year again and feijoas are everywhere. Growing up we often had feijoa trees at home or nearby, which meant there were always more fruit than we could eat in a single sitting on the back lawn. I learned early on how to stew feijoas so they wouldn’t go to waste and could be enjoyed later on cereals, desserts or, following my mum’s lead, served with plenty of cream.
With temperatures cooling, it’s nice to add warm spices to feijoas. This Raw Spiced Feijoa Cheesecake is a great way to enjoy that creamy dessert feeling without baking. It’s naturally gluten- and dairy-free and makes a refreshing, lightly spiced treat.
If you want the best texture and flavor, prepare the spiced feijoas in advance and allow the finished cheesecake to freeze overnight.
- Base
- 265 g pitted dates
- 200 g whole almonds
- 30 g shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1–2 tablespoons water (if needed)
- Filling
- 450 g unsalted cashews (soaked if your processor needs it)
- 140 g coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 400 ml coconut cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Finely grated green skin from 5 feijoas
- Spiced Feijoas
- 10 medium feijoas
- 70 g sugar (use unrefined if preferred)
- 160 ml water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Make the spiced feijoas first, or prepare them ahead of time, since they need to cool before assembling the cheesecake.
- Place the feijoas, sugar, water, vanilla and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until the fruit softens and the liquid thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Line a 20 cm square baking tin with cling film or baking paper and set aside.
- For the base, add the dates, almonds, shredded coconut and cinnamon to a food processor and pulse until finely crumbed. If the mixture is too dry to hold together, add a little water and pulse again until it binds.
- Press the base mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared tin. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
- Add the filling ingredients (cashews, coconut oil, honey, coconut cream and vanilla) to the food processor and blend until very smooth and creamy. If your processor is small, do this in batches.
- Pour two-thirds of the filling into a large bowl and stir in the finely grated feijoa skin. Pour this mixture over the chilled base and return the tin to the freezer for 10–15 minutes to firm slightly.
- To make the top layer, add about 1½ cups of the cooled spiced feijoas to the remaining third of the filling in the food processor and blend until smooth.
- When the lower layer has set a little, pour the spiced-feijoa filling over the top and smooth the surface.
- For best results freeze the cheesecake overnight. If short on time, freeze for at least 4–5 hours.
- To serve, carefully lift the cheesecake from the tin, slice into portions and enjoy immediately. Serve with extra fresh feijoas, some of the spiced feijoas, or a dairy-free ice cream or yogurt if you like.