A reader actually e-mailed me a recipe for an Italian lemon ricotta cheesecake and asked if I could convert it to a primal recipe. I love a good challenge and actually had a lot of fun making this. The ricotta “cheese” is made with soaked macadamia nuts!

 

 

Macadamia nuts are an excellent source of Vitamin A, iron, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folates. They also contain moderate amounts of zinc, copper, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Macadamia contains antioxidants like polyphenols, Amino acids, flavones, and selenium. They are great for thyroid health!

 

 

Macadamia Nut Ricotta:

For the ricotta I mostly followed Nom Nom Paleo’s recipe, but soaked the nuts overnight and tweaked the amounts of each ingredient to make enough ricotta for the cheesecake.

 

Here is what I did:

2 1/2 cups of raw macadamia nuts, soaked over night and drained

1 teaspoon salt

juice from one lemon

3/4 – 1 cup of water

 

Process in a food processor slowly adding water and scraping down the sides until creamy and ricotta cheese consistency.

Set oven to 325 degrees.

 

Ingredients for crust:

2/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup OMGhee melted

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 tsp cinnamon

zest from 1 lemon

pinch of sea salt

Ingredients for Filling:

All of the macadamia nut ricotta

3/4 cup of raw honey melted

2 TBS coconut flour

6 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

zest from a meyer lemon (or regular lemon would work)

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla

pinch of salt

 

Directions:

For crust: Combine all crust ingredients with a fork, and press onto the bottom of a greased 9 1/2 inch springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until browned. Cool.

 

 

Using a standing mixer mix macadamia nut ricotta, honey, and coconut flour until very smooth. Add eggs one at a time incorporating into mix. Add vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest, and salt. Mix well and pour batter into the crust.

 

 

 

Turn oven down to 300 degrees. Bake in the center of the oven for approx 75-90 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. A knife should come out clean.

 

Cool cake, cover, and chill.

 

 

For the Lemon Blueberry Sauce:(also makes an excellent sauce for grain-free pancakes!)

 

 

2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup raw honey

juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 TBS arrowroot flour dissolved in 2 TBS water

1/2 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 lemon

 

Directions for sauce:

 

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, water, honey, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Mix in the arrowroot mixture and simmer over low stirring until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and lemon zest.

 

 

 

 

Pour sauce over cooled cheesecake and enjoy!!

 

 

 

 

 

Offer someone a piece if they will clean up the mess for you! 🙂