Cheesecake was always my favorite dessert from my non-vegan days
I have spent most of my days testing and tasting and tweaking
To bring you the best one ever! And here it is!
Vegan Double Chocolate Cheesecake!
Double because the batter has cocoa powder and melted chocolate!
In my opinion an acceptable vegan cheesecake recipe is hard to find
Almost every recipe is made from soaked cashew nuts, and to me it is not really a cheesecake
It’s just a frozen “nut cream cake”
Don’t get me wrong I have made these molded nut cream cakes before
I just don’t love to call them cheesecakes
CLICK HERE FOR MY BAKED CHEESECAKES VS NUT CREAM CHEESECAKES VIDEO EXPLANATION
But enough about that!
Let’s get to the real deal authentic New York Style Cheesecake Recipe that I have perfected for you today!
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, skip it.
Just make your own.
My baked Vegan Cheesecake Recipes are the best around and they are super easy to make because you literally just throw everything into a food processor and blend!
Notes for Success:
One important note before you start though is that I only use Tofutti Brand Vegan Cream Cheese for all my baked recipes *not sponsored
I have dabbled with the other more expensive brands and none of them have worked!
At least not for baked recipes.
You may notice that my base recipes for cheesecake are always the same with some slight variations to the sugar or an added spice depending on what flavor I am making.
At times I add an addition of firm tofu in place of some of the cream cheese for a lightened up version and to cut some of the fat calories.
I do not find an extremely noticeable difference in the outcome of straight vegan cream cheese versus the tofu addition, so for me I like the tofu version.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measur
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
This is from a heavy measure of cornstarch when using volume measuring spoon vs the 100% accurate scale measure in grams.
This recipe can also be made gluten free simply by using gluten free sandwich cookies of your choice for the crust!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CHEESECAKE
- For the Crust:
- Vegan Chocolate Sandwich Cookies 12
- Vegan Butter 2 Tablespoons (28g)
- For the Cheesecake Batter:
- Vegan Cream Cheese 1-8ounce package (226g) * I only use Tofutti Brand for baking
- Medium or Firm Tofu half package drained 7ounces
- Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate 4 ounces (113g)
- Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
- Cornstarch 2 Tablespoons (20g)
- Natural unsweetened Cocoa Powder 2 Tablespoons (
- Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Lactic Acid 1 teaspoon (or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar)
- Vegan Butter 2 Tablespoons (28g)
- Soy milk ¾ cup
- Prepare the crust by crushing the sandwich cookies (with cream fillings) in a food processor and then add the melted vegan butter
- Press it into the greased and parchment lined 7" cake pan and freeze while you prepare the cheesecake batter
- Place all cheesecake ingredients except for the milk & the chocolate and vegan butter into the food processor and process smooth
- Melt the chocolate with the vegan butter over a low heat stirring constantly (or in the microwave) and then add it to the other ingredients in the food processor.
- Process smooth while pouring the milk alternative through the feed tube while processing to a smooth batter
- Pour batter into prepared pan with the cookie crust and bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside for another hour.
- Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours to set before unmolding
- Decorate as you like, or leave it plain.
- I used about 1 cup of my Vegan Buttercream recipe with a small amount of ganache to make it chocolate, this is completely optional.
Store refrigerated for up to 1 week
Freeze, wrapped well for up to 2 months
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!