You’re the Cherry On Top!

I don’t have many days left on my vacation in Greece, but one thing I got the chance to offer my pappou (Greek word for grandpa) was this dessert. If you check out my Instagram you can see his reaction and how much he loves the dessert. He even said that it was “one of the best desserts I’ve ever made”. If pappou approves my dessert that much, it means it’s a winner. You just have to try this out. It has the cherry, the cheesecake, the brownie, the cherry syrup and the whipped cream. Everything you want really in a parfait (kind of). So delicious, and a complete crowd pleaser!

The idea…

…really started with just cherry cheesecake, but then I added the brownie crust and thought I wanted something more than just the ordinary cheesecake in a pan. The layered dessert, as a parfait, was made, and a success was created. It really has the fresh and not super sweetness from the cherry cheesecake, then the richness from the brownie crust, then the sweet cherry syrup on top is added (and its even better if you serve it straight away, while still being hot), and as the cherry on top (ironical figure of speech in this matter isn’t it?) we end it with the whipped cream and the ACTUAL cherry.

You need to prepare this dessert in 3 steps:

• The brownie crust and cheesecake 

• The cherry syrup

• And the assembly of the whole dessert 

THIS RECIPE IS:

• No Bake

• Without any refined, added sugar

• Lactose Free*

• Very festive

• Deliciously layered with different flavors and textures

• Simple to make even though it includes different steps

• Great because it can be prepared since before and be stored in the freezer

  *I’m only using lactose free products for this recipe but it can also be made all vegan if you have vegan cream cheese and yoghurt in your country.

Cherry Cheesecake Brownie Parfait

INGREDIENTS:

200 g sugar free oat cookies or digestive

2 tbsp agave syrup

50 g melted dark chocolate 

2 tbsp tahini*

2.5 tbsp cacao

1.5 cups pitted cherries

200 g light cream cheese

0.5 cup Turkish/Greek thick yoghurt 

2-3 tbsp stevia or other sweetening 

1 cup pitted cherries

approx 4 tbsp stevia or other sweetening

+ Whipped Cream

HOW TO MAKE:

• The Brownie Cheesecake: Start by mixing or crushing your cookies into crumbs.

• Add the agave syrup, the melted chocolate, tahini and cacao powder and mix until well combined.

• Press out the dough, with slightly wet fingers, into a pan. It' doesn’t matter hat she the pan has. Place in the freezer.

• Place all the pitted cherries in the blender and mix until mashed. Add the cream cheese, yoghurt and sweetening of choice. Mix until completely creamy and then pour this mixture over the brownie crust you had, before, put in the freezer.

• Place the whole cheesecake back into the freezer for approx 1 hour. You can do the cherry syrup, if you want to, meanwhile.

• The cherry syrup: Place pitted chopped cherries into a rather small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and see how the cherries’ water will come out. If not, add just a little bit of water to the pan. Cook for approx 5’ until soft and gooey.

• Add stevia after taste, but you will need approx 4 tbsp, and stir around now and then until a thick syrup has been created. Do know, that the syrup will thicken when the syrup has cooled a bit too. It’s just important you let the the cherries become soft and gooey.

• If wanting to serve the syrup over the cheesecake straight away you can leave it in the sauce pan to heat up later on when the cheesecake is done, otherwise pour it into a glass jar and have it stored in the fridge until serving.

• To assemble: Simply cut the cheesecake into 2-3 cm bites. Place a few bites of cheesecake into a glass or bowl and pour over - preferably - hot cherry syrup. It makes the cheesecake melt together just a little bit. Finish with whipped cream, a little bit of grated dark chocolate and… a cherry on top!