Move over Daiya!
my Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake recipe is the best!
Cheesecake was always my favorite dessert from my non-vegan days
and I have spent countless hours testing and tasting and tweaking to bring you the best one ever!
In my opinion an acceptable vegan cheesecake recipe is hard to find
Almost every recipe is made from soaked cashews and to me that is not really a cheesecake
but merely a frozen “nut cream cake”
Introducing Vegan Double Chocolate Cheesecake~ in the style of Daiya.
You know those tiny little teaser cheesecakes you find in your supermarket freezer section that are overpriced and just “meh…”
If you haven’t yet had the Daiya brand yet you may want to skip it and just make my recipe!
WATCH THE MAKING & THE COMPARISON!
Not sponsored by any product or company below
Notes for Success:
Tofutti Cream Cheese is the only brand I will use for my BAKED recipes as I have not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes; for some reason some the other brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
Be sure to check out my Homemade Tofutti Copy Cat Recipe here!
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results. Many times people have complained that their cheesecake is like rubber and they don’t know why
Arrowroot or Clear Jel can be used in the same amounts as listed
This recipe can also be made gluten free simply by using gluten free sandwich cookies of your choice for the crust!
Vegan Lactic Acid is a key ingredient that gives an authentic tang to vegan cheesecake. If you do not have it or do not want to buy it you can use apple cider vinegar in the same amount as listed
Sandwich cookies are my preference for making cheesecake crusts and I use the fillings as well. You can use any cookie you like the most like graham crackers or digestive biscuits or Biscoff cookies for example
Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1½ cups Crushed Vegan Chocolate Sandwich Cookies approx 18 (140g)
- 4 Tbs Vegan Butter 56g
For the Cheesecake Batter
- 12 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese 336g
- 4 ounces Firm Tofu drained 70g
- 4 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate 113g
- ¾ Powdered Sugar 100g
- 1 Tbs Cornstarch 8g
- 2 Tbs Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Lactic Acid
- 2 Tbs Vegan Butter 28g
- ¾ Warm Plant Milk 177ml
Instructions
- Prepare the crust by crushing the sandwich cookies (with the fillings) in a food processor then add the melted vegan butter. Pulse until it resembles wet sand
- Press it into a greased & parchment lined 7" cake pan
- Place all cheesecake ingredients except the melted vegan chocolate & plant milk into the food processor & process smooth
- Now pour the warm milk & melted chocolate into the food processor & process smooth
- Pour batter into prepared pan with the cookie crust & bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour, then turn the oven off & leave the cheesecake inside for another hour to cool slowly & ensure it is completely baked through
- Remove from the oven & refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to set before unmolding
- Decorate as you like, or leave it plain
Notes
Why does this cheesecake base differ from your other recipes? (no sour cream, etc)
This one is more dense like a traditional NY cheesecake texture. The others (with the sour cream addition are going to be more creamy texture, not as stiff) I did play around with using all vegan cream cheese in place of the tofu in my German Chocolate Cheesecake and it is equally amazing, but I have to say I like the tofu addition as it feels a bit lighter to me
Hi! I would love to try this recipe but where I live it is almost imposible to find vegan cream cheese, can you suggest me a good substitution? I was thinking maybe some soaked cajus? thanks in advance!!
While I have not tried the soaked cashew cheesecake recipe here in this baked version (I suspect it may not be a straight sub, but it’s worth a try!) – I have done cashew cheesecakes CLICK HERE
hi Gretcheni am obsessed with your recepies .1)Thiis particular double chocolate recepies freezes well you say .elsewhere i have read in your other cheese cake recepies that freezing changes the texture of cheeses cakes .is this recepie freezer friendly then?
2) i own a small bakery do you think that a waterbath would be a neceesity if we were to mass produce this cheesecake.Could wejust not bake the same way as we bake muffins etc . i have read your notes on cheesescake and the necessity of waterbath . But my question is do bakeries use waterbaths for making cheese cakes ? it seems a tedious practice to me?
Made this for my sister-in-law’s birthday. I added raspberries, almond milk whipcream and chocolate cookies to decorate it. Turned out amazing! Everyone loved it, tasted exactly like a regular cheesecake. I am not a professional baker nor am I a vegan, but I have 20 years of home baking experience and this cheesecake fooled my pallet! The flavors really came together to emulate the creamy, tangy texture of a regular cheesecake. Every recipe from Gretchen’s blog comes out perfect as well as her book. When I want to make something nice for my vegan sister-in-law, I always reach for your book and your blog. Thanks Gretchen!
YAY!! Thank you so much for this raving review! I too am enamored by my Vegan Cheesecake recipe(s) they are my pride & joy! I am so happy you made it and loved it and took the time to write! ThankyoU!!
Hi Gretchen, I’d like to make a coffee version of this recipe for a coffee loving friend (ok I want to taste it too) how do you suggest is best to do this please and thank you?
Or is there a coffee cheesecake recipe coming soon I can wait for hehe 🙂
Oh yumm! Coffee cheesecake!
I don’t have one, but you can easily convert this recipe! Just add 2 Tablespoons of instant coffee granules to the soy milk – to make a super strong “espresso” type liquid!
Ok thank you, I can’t wait to try it ????
Can I use Avocado oil instead of the vegan butter?
No, Just leave it out, oil will just make this “oily” the vegan butter adds some body, richness thickness.
Which of your Vegan Buttercream recipes did you use. The link show many versions. Also, can I sub coconut milk or any other instead of the soy?
Thanks!
I used the American Buttercream recipe (chocolate version)
yes to coconut milk (or your fav~ any will be fine here!) for sure!
Thanks for this excellent recipe! I have made it a few times and it works perfectly. I use homemade tofu cream cheese (recipe from the Edgy Veg) with excellent results, and have added orange extract one time. I have made a cake as the recipe suggests, but also have made 12 mini cheesecakes using muffin tins.
Awesome! I am happy to know homemade cream cheese works! I’m going to have to check that out!
Is the tofu silken kind or refrigerated kind?
I always use the refrigerated tofu
Can I use maple syrup or agave instead of the granulated sugar?
Yes!
yes