Vegan Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Paleo No Bake Food

VEGAN CARAMEL PECAN CHEESECAKE (PALEO, NO-BAKE)

Steps:

• Line the bottom and sides (all the way to the top) of a 7" circular springform pan with a piece of foil.
• In the bowl of your food processor using an S-blade, pulse all the crust ingredients until it starts to come together. Depending on your food processor, this will take about 30-60 seconds. Pinch a bit of it together - it should stick together easily. You can also use a high-speed blender to make the crust but you have to scrape the sides of the container often. I thought it was much easier with a food processor.
• Firmly press down the mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan. Place in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the filling.
• Get out a high-speed blender and make sure it's large enough to fit all the ingredients. The filling yields about 5-6 cups. Add all the filling ingredients, in the order listed, and blend for about 30-60 seconds, or even longer, depending on your blender, or until totally smooth and no lumps remain.
• Pour the filling over the crust and place the cheesecake in the freezer for about 2 hours or until you think it's firm enough to put the caramel on top.
• Add all the ingredients, except for the vanilla, to a saucepan or small pot. Put in a candy thermometer if you have one.
• Bring to a boil, over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it's come to a full boil, continue boiling for 8 - 10 minutes. Adjust the heat if you need to so that the mixture doesn't burn. I kept mine at 5 out of 9 and never had an issue with that.
• The mixture quite quickly came to 194 °F (90 °C), and then it took several minutes before it started getting hotter. Then it quickly moved to 201 °F (95 °C). You could also see a change in the mixture when that happened (but maybe you won't so don't use that as a measure of it being ready). But it will be clearly thicker than when you started. If it's still super thin, it's not ready.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and pecans. Let cool enough so that it doesn't melt the cheesecake.
• Pour the pecan caramel evenly over the top of the cheesecake. It'll take 9-12 hours for the cheesecake the freeze solid. To defrost it, set it out at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes (will depend on how warm your kitchen is). You can also thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. It can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days for a softer consistency. We loved it both ways!

SALTED CARAMEL NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Tip the digestive biscuits into a food processor and pulse to fine crumbs. Pour in the butter and caramel sauce and pulse again until damp and sandy. Tip the mixture into a 20cm springform cake tin and use a spoon to press it into an even layer in the base of the tin. Chill for 30 mins.
• For the filling, mix together the soft cheese, salted caramel sauce, sugar and vanilla extract. Once the base is cold and has firmed up, spoon over the filling and smooth the top with the back of the spoon. Chill for at least 4 hrs. If making ahead, wrap the cheesecake and freeze for up to three months instead. Leave in the fridge overnight to defrost.
• To serve, carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and put onto a serving platter or cake stand. Scatter over the shop-bought chocolates, crushing a few of the malted milk balls, then drizzle with the salted caramel sauce before cutting into slices.