Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate! As I associate Easter with cheesecake or cheese-cake like desserts – my mum would make her fragrant with citrus Pascha for Easter so I decided to make a vegan cheesecake inspired by this memory. This vegan cheesecake is rich, creamy and very indulgent yet really easy to make too so fear not.
While you can make a simple cheesecake base using store bought biscuits (I like ginger snaps) and either vegan butter or coconut oil (like I did in this recipe), for this vegan cheesecake, I decided to make a quick shortbread base. It comes together in minutes and it uses staple ingredients that you are bound to have in your cupboards. It bakes up beautifully and offers a pleasant crunch against silkiness of the cheesecake mixture.
The vegan cheesecake mixture is comprised of 6 everyday ingredients and all it needs is a good blend to transform into the most luscious and luxurious dairy-free cheesecake filling. I like my cheesecake quite tangy so I spiked it with plenty of lemon juice and both orange and lemon zest, but just lemon zest on its own is delicious too.
Finally, I topped my basic vegan cheesecake with a simple rhubarb swirl – mostly for looks, if I am honest. I have a massive thing for forced rhubarb, which is everywhere in the UK at this time of the year. I blended some roasted rhubarb with some sugar, vegan butter and a touch of cornflour. I then dotted this pretty pink mixture on top of the cheesecake mix and made beautiful swirls with it. It works a charm, but you can totally skip this step. You can simply adorn the cheesecake with fresh berries or serve it alongside some tangy fruit compote. It will win hearts, I promise!
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
CASHEWS: This is a cashew-based vegan cheesecake so that’s one of this recipe’s key ingredients. Cashew are great as they are very neutral in flavour and fatty, which results in a beautifully rich and creamy cheesecake. If you cannot have nuts, I am pretty sure that sunflower seeds (pre-soaked, like the cashews) will work well too, but the colour of the cheesecake will be a little greyish so be aware of that.
CITRUS: A cheesecake is naturally tangy and I achieve that here by using a generous amount of lemon juice. I also like to add plenty of citrus zest for fragrance and flavour. In this vegan cheesecake, I used both a lemon and an orange as the latter complements rhubarb topping, but I often use just lemon. I like the zest of two small lemons, but adjust the amount to taste as how many fruit to use depends on how big your fruit is, your personal preference and your zesting technique.
VEGAN BUTTER: A bit of vegan butter – I used Naturli, but Flora and Violife also work well – helps to make this vegan cheesecake more indulgent. It is also the source of fat for the crust. I recommend using vegan butter that comes in a block, rather than a tub, as that’s the type I tested this recipe with. I am fairly certain that coconut oil will also work well. I recommend using the refined type of coconut oil as it is devoid of coconut fragrance and flavour.
SUGAR: Caster sugar, also known as superfine sugar, is what I used to sweeten both the base the and the cheesecake filling of this vegan cheesecake. You can use any sugar you like, including coconut sugar if you prefer a less refined option, but be aware that the cheesecake will look a little less appetising as brown sugar will make the mixture darker. If you wanted to use a liquid sweetener
VANILLA: Any baked good benefits from a bit or a lot of vanilla and a cheesecake is no exception. I went for an entire tablespoon of vanilla paste and I have no regrets.
PLANT MILK: I used almond milk to allow all of the ingredients to blend up nicely. To be honest any type of plant milk will work here as long as the flavour is fairly neutral, even water will do at a push.
ALMOND FLOUR: I incorporated some almond flour, mixed in with plain flour, to make the shortbread base more tender.
PLAIN FLOUR: While you can make this cheesecake with a simple biscuit base like this, I decided to make a quick shortbread base. I used plain flour, but a good gluten-free flour mix also works rather well. A touch of xanthan gum is useful but not totally necessary.
RHUBARB: I had some leftover roasted rhubarb so I used it to make pretty pink swirls on top of my vegan cheesecake. This is totally optional and you can do the some using other fruit (raspberries would work well) or simply bake the cheesecake plain and decorate it with fresh berries or serve with some fruit compote.
HOW TO MAKE IT?
1) MAKE & BAKE THE BASE
Combine dry base ingredients in a mixing bowl, add in cooled melted butter and combine gently using your hands. Scatter the mixture in a lined baking tin and press down with your knuckles.
Prick the base with a fork a few times and bake until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes. Cool down completely.
2) MAKE THE FILLING
Place all of the cheesecake layer ingredients, apart from 45 ml / 3 tbsp of lemon juice and zest of one lemon, in a large capacity blender. Blend until silky smooth.
Taste and adjust the amount of lemon juice and lemon zest to your taste! I used the zest of one small lemon and one small orange and 165 ml (½ cup + 3 tbsp) of lemon juice in total as I was after a pronounced tang.
3) ASSEMBLE & BAKE
Pour ready cheesecake mixed on top of the cooled biscuit base. If using – it’s totally optional – dollop rhubarb mixture on top and swirl it around using a skewer or a chopstick.
Bake until the edges are completely set and the middle just a touch wobbly, not too wobbly though. About 45-50 minutes depending on your oven and how much lemon juice you ended up using.
4) COOL & REFRIGERATE
Finally, the hardest part of this recipe is that not only do you need to allow this vegan cheesecake to cool off completely, but refrigerating it for at least couple of hours is a must. I prefer to keep it in the fridge overnight before I slice it open. I know it’s a big ask but you’ll be rewarded with a beautifully rich and creamy cheesecake at the end of it, promise.
- 65 g / 1/3 cup caster sugar* or coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 125 g / 1 cup plain flour or GF flour mix*
- 50 g / ½ cup almond flour
- 90 g / scant ½ cup vegan butter*, melted
CHEESECAKE LAYER
- 400 g / 3 cups raw cashews, soaked
- 240 ml / 1 cup any plant milk
- 165 ml / ½ cup + 3 tbsp lemon juice, adjust to taste
- zest 1-2 lemons (or 1 lemon, 1 orange)
- 250 g / 1¼ cup caster sugar*
- 1 tbsp vanilla paste
- 80 g / 6 tbsp vegan butter*, softened
RHUBARB SWIRL (optional)
- 220 g / 1 cup blended roasted rhubarb*
- 12 g / 1 tbsp vegan butter, softened
- 20 g / 1½ tbsp sugar
- 4 g / 1½ tsp cornstarch or tapioca
- Pre-heat the oven to 180° C / 355° F (or 160° C / 320° F on a fan setting) and line a 20 cm / 8″ round tin (bottom and sides) with baking paper.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl, add melted and cooled vegan butter and mix well until uniform in texture.
- Scatter shortbread mixture at the bottom of the lined tin and shape it into a base by pressing it down with your fingers. Level the base using a flat-bottomed glass and prick it using a fork.
- Bake until lightly browned – about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
CHEESECAKE LAYER
- Soak the cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes or boil them for a few minutes if you are in a hurry. Alternatively, soak in cold water for several hours. Drain before using.
- Hold back 45 ml / 3 tbsp of lemon juice and zest of one lemon. Place drained cashews along with the rest of ingredients in a large blender and blend until the mixture is super smooth. Add more lemon zest and juice to taste. I used a zest of one orange and one lemon and 165 ml (½ cup + 3 tbsp) lemon juice in total for a tangy result.
RHUBARB SWIRL (optional)
- Bake 300 g / 10.5 oz rhubarb chopped into 2.5 cm / 1 inch chunks with 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp sugar at 190° C / 375° F. Bake until just soft but not falling apart, about 10-15 minutes.
- Place blended roasted rhubarb and its juices in a small pot with sugar, butter and cornflour whisked into a tablespoon of rhubarb puree.
- Set on a low heat. Allow the mixture to come to a gentle simmer to thicken, whisking frequently. Simmer for a few minutes then set aside to cool.
ASSEMBLY
- Lower the oven temperature to 160° C / 320° F (140° C / 285° F on a fan setting). You can also wrap the outside of the cheesecake tin in kitchen foil and prepare a deep oven tray filled with water to place the cheesecake tin in – this minimises the risk of cracks forming as the cheesecake bakes – I did not bother.
- Pour cheesecake filling on top of the cooled base. Very very gently, tap the tin against the counter to break up air-bubbles trapped in the mixture as they cause the cheesecake to crack.
- Spoon blobs of rhubarb mixture (save the leftovers for serving) gently on top and use a skewer to make decorative swirls on top.
- Bake until the edges are set but the middle stays a little wobbly, about 45-50 minutes depending on your oven and how much lemon juice you added.
- Cool completely then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
*VEGAN BUTTER: I used Naturli block, but any good vegan butter (unsalted Flora, for example). You could also use refined coconut oil. It has been steamed to remove coconut flavour.
*SUGAR: Any sugar will work, but dark sugar will impact the colour of cheesecake layer. I used caster sugar to keep it as white as possible. You can use coconut sugar too.
*FLOUR: To make these gluten-free, use a trusted gluten-free flour mix containing a lot of starches. While it’s not 100% necessary, I also recommend adding ½ tsp xanthan gum to stop the shortbread from cracking. In any case, handle gluten-free shortbread especially carefully whilst warm as it’s very fragile.
*RHUBARB: I made a puree from leftover baked rhubarb. Bake 300 g / 10 oz chopped rhubarb with 1 tbsp water and 2 tbsp sugar at 190° C / 375° F until soft, about 10-15 minutes. If rhubarb isn’t available to you, you can skip this layer or use frozen raspberries to create the swirls. You will need to blend the raspberries and push the flesh through a sieve to remove pips, then proceed as per instructions (except you will probably need a touch more cornflour, I am guessing about a tablespoon). You could also simply just place some fresh blueberries or raspberries in the cheesecake mixture before baking for little pops of fruitiness or serve the cheesecake with a fruity compote.