The hell you say!

I knew I had to recreate the Cream Cheese Coffee Cake from the seminar as soon as I tasted it. Because, yes, it does, taste JUST LIKE CHEESECAKE. There is no cream cheese in it and it's strict Paleo, so I am proud. As I was tricking my brain I did feel a wee bit scared because it tastes soooo good, I thought I might be cheating without realizing it. Even my husband ate it. Hopefully not just to appease me, because I could've had two slices. The blanching of the almonds took awhile, about 20 minutes, to get all those little jackets off. Next time I'll just buy them {which I wasn't aware of before (dumbass alert!)} but it was worth every. single. bite. Also, the cream cheese recipe makes much more than you need, so realize you'll have to integrate it somewhere else, in another recipe.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake adapted from Brianna Fackrell

2 1/4 c almonds

1 1/4 c dates

2/3 c coconut oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c coconut milk or almond milk

2 eggs, divided

1 tsp vanilla, divided

1 c almond cream cheese

3/4 c frozen berries

juice of one orange

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease springform pan with oil (I used coconut). In food processor grind almonds, dates and process until it has an even crumb. Add coconut oil and process. Take out 1 cup of the crumb mixture and reserve for topping. To the remaining crumb mixture add powder, soda, salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, milk (I used coconut) and 1 egg. Mix until smooth. Pour into springform pan.

Next, mix the cream cheese with 1 egg, half the orange juice, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Spread on top of the crumb mixture.

Simmer the berries in a saucepan with the remaining orange juice until they cook down, about 15 minutes. Spoon the berries on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Almond Cream Cheese

2 c blanche almonds

2 Tbs unflavored gelatin

2 tsp salt

2 Tbs lemon juice

3 1/2 c boiling water*

Blend until creamy and smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill until set, preferably overnight.

*Be careful blending with boiling water. My water sat in the blender while I pulled all those teeny tiny jackets off the almonds and was still perfectly hot enough to work with, without giving me burn scars.