Pecan Turtle Cheesecake

Its frosty outside and I am toasty warm on the inside.

I am on day 6 of a weeklong juice feast and I have been menu planning for my February live food classes, so I have been going through recipes.

The Pecan Turtle Cheesecake is one I made for Thanksgiving.

Okay I actually didn't make one, I made two and they were delicious!

Our most important native American nut crop, the pecan, was an important staple for Native Americans, known to the Algonquian, Cree, Ojibwa, and Abenaki peoples. Pecans are a relative of walnuts and a member of the hickory genus.
The state tree of Texas, the pecan is indigenous to the Mississippi River Basin; pecans are an essential ingredient in southern cookery. A mature tree produces about five hundred pounds of nuts a year!

Pecan Turtle Cheesecake

• CHOCOLATE-PECAN CRUST
• 1 ½ cups pecans
• 2 ounces cacao powder
• ⅓ cup cacao nibs
• 4 ounces date paste
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon liquid vanilla
• CARAMEL FILLING
• 3 cups cashews, soaked
• ¾ cups agave
• 2 cups almond mylk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup liquid vanilla
• ⅓ cup yacon syrup
• 3 tablespoons lecithin
• 1 ¼ cups coconut oil
• CARAMEL-CHOCOLATE FILLING
• 2 cups caramel filling
• 1 ½ ounces cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon liquid vanilla
• CARAMEL TOPPING
• ¾ cup macadamias
• 3 tablespoons agave
• 1 ½ tablespoons liquid vanilla
• 2 tablespoons almond mylk
• 2 tablespoons yacon syrup
• 3 tablespoons cacao butter
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• GARNISH
• 1 cup pecans, processed so they are mostly chunky
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons cacao nibs
• 1 tablespoon yacon syrup

Put it all together:

CHOCOLATE PECAN CRUST: Process all ingredients and press into bottom of pan.

CARAMEL FILLING: Add all ingredients to blender except for coconut oil and lecithin. Blend well until smooth and creamy. Next add lecithin and melted coconut oil. Resume blending until lecithin and oil are well incorporated. Reserve 2 cups of caramel filling to make caramel chocolate filling. Pour remaining caramel filling into spring-form pan.

CARAMEL-CHOCOLATE FILLING: Take 2 cups of caramel filling and add cacao powder and vanilla. Pour caramel-chocolate filling onto caramel filling and swirl together for a marbled effect.
Allow pie to set in fridge while you make caramel topping.
CARAMEL TOPPING: Blend all caramel topping ingredients in blender until smooth and creamy. Take pie out of fridge, and pour caramel topping on top. Set in fridge for 15-20 minutes, stirring often for a marbled effect. Once caramel is thick but not hard, proceed to garnish the cheesecake.
GARNISH: Process pecans and salt lightly so they are still mostly chunky. To finish, start by taking 3/4 cup of the processed pecans and applying them to the sides of the cheesecake. Do this by carefully holding the cheesecake from the bottom, over a counter. Take small handfuls of the pecans and pat them into the sides, letting the excess fall to the counter. The pecans will stick to the sides of the cheesecake. When finished going around, lightly pat the sides with your hand to embed the pecans even more.
Now sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cacao nibs and 1/4 cup of the pecans over the top. Gently spread the caramel on top of the cheesecake (over the nibs and pecans). Slowly and evenly drizzle the 1 tablespoon yacon syrup over the caramel, and lightly swirl with a chopstick. Finally, sprinkle the remaining pecans and cacao nibs over the top of the whole thing.

This recipe is from the Cafe Gratitude! WOW! What a cheesecake!

Second only to macadamia nuts in fat, pecans are an exceptionally warming food.

High in iron, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, pecans contain vitamins A, C, E, and B-Complex.
Pecans decrease Vata.

Hope you are all having a wonderful new year!

Loves & Happiness,

Michelle

Please check out my personal site at: www.MichelleBerryShaffer.com