I am so thrilled that I literally duplicated
My famous Bakery Italian Cheesecake into a vegan version!
If you have ever tried Italian Cheesecake you will know that it is not at all like a New York Style Cheesecake.
Italian Cheesecake is made with ricotta cheese so the texture is very different!
Although I do use both cream cheese and ricotta cheese in my recipe
The prominent flavor and texture is that of the ricotta cheese
I have a hard time explaining what Italian Cheesecake tastes like since it may come off sounding strange
Which is why I prefer people just taste it!
Italian Cheesecake is a much lighter cheesecake and actually tastes kinda moist.
I know that sounds odd, but compared to the more dry, dense characteristics of the NY Style Cheesecake
Italian Cheesecake is going to have a much more moist mouthfeel.
My recipe is scented with lemon and orange zest, vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.
Probably the best description is it is actually just like a cannoli, but in cheesecake form!
Paired perfectly with my Vegan Cannoli or simply have a slice all alone
Truthfully it needs nothing because this cheesecake is just perfect the way it is!
You will notice there is also no crust since the authentic Italian recipe does not either
Notes for Success:
When measuring cornstarch I cannot stress enough that a kitchen scale is the best way to go.
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!
This is from a heavy measure of cornstarch when using volume measuring spoon vs the 100% accurate scale measure in grams.
I only use Tofutti Cream Cheese for my BAKED recipes.*Not sponsored
I have not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes.
For some reason the other more expensive brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
You can leave out the egg replacer altogether and just add 1 more teaspoon of cornstarch instead
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EGG REPLACERS IN VEGAN BAKING
For a step by step video visual be sure to watch the YouTube video!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS ITALIAN CHEESECAKE
For more recipes using homemade tofu ricotta click the links below
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- Cannoli
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- Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes
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- Triple Chocolate Fudge Loaf
Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes with Lavender Frosting
Italian Cheesecake ~ Vegan
Ingredients
- Firm Tofu 20 ounces lightly squeezed to release excess water (560g)
- Vegan Cream Cheese *I use Tofutti Brand 12 ounces (340g)
- Granulated Sugar 1½ cups (300g)
- Vegan Butter 4 Tablespoons (56g)
- Cornstarch 6 Tablespoons (48g) *see notes above
- All Purpose Flour ¼ cup (31g)
- Egg Replacer 1 Tablespoon *optional *i use Bob's Red Mill see notes above recipe in text
- Plant Milk 1 cup (237ml) * I use soy but any will be fine here
- Vegan Lactic Acid or Apple Cider Vinegar 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 1 Tablespoon
- Ground Cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon *literally a small pinch!
- Lemon Zest from 1 small lemon approximately 1½ teaspoons
- Orange Zest from 1 medium orange approximately 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- First prepare the "ricotta cheese" by placing the drained, lightly squeezed of excess water tofu in the food processor and process to the same texture as ricotta.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and process smooth
- Pour into a greased and parchment lined 8" cake pan and bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour.
- Turn off the oven after 1 hour and let the cheesecake stay inside for another 30 minutes to cool, Then cool completely on the counter
- Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set (or overnight).
- Unmold the cheesecake and turn out onto a serving plate (remove the parchment paper circle) garnish with powdered sugar, vegan whipped cream and optional cannoli
Notes
Cheesecake must stay refrigerated at all times and will stay fresh loosely wrapped for up to 1 week
loved this idea for what to make with vegan ricotta! cannot imagine how fantastic this will taste once I make it – suggested your recipe in my almond ricotta post to my readers 😉
https://nutriciously.com/vegan-almond-ricotta/
keep up the great work!
With the egg replacer, are you just using a tablespoon of the powder, or does it need to be mixed with water.
Correct I use the Plant Based Egg as a tiny extra binder here (not totally necessary! But I DO LOVE IT! LOL) and it does NOT have to be added to liquid! (In all the recipes I use it, I just add it to the dry!)
Hi Gretchen!
The Plant Based Egg has been out stock for quite a while. Is it still in production? I haven’t received any reply from them.
HI Amanda, I am not quite sure either. I have not been in touch with Deborah in a couple of years. I only helped her develop the wheat line, but never was compensated or directly affiliated with Freely Vegan or any of the products.
I honestly can’t say what happened or is happening. I do regret formulating so many of MY recipes around this 3rd party product though and have been revising all of my recipes using the PBE to offer substitutions.
I use Bob’s Red Mill as a 1:1 sub in most recipes that I’ve used the PBE with no real differences to the final result.
Thanks a bunch for the quick reply! I appreciate the wealth of information and recipes you offer. You are an invaluable vegan sweets resource 😉
Delicious!!
Take care,
Amanda
Could chocolate chips be added without compromising the recipe?! Thanks 😊
yes!! I’d opt for the mini’s though since they are lighter (for the batter to hold up) and less “chunky” to bite into
I followed the recipe! So tasty! But after I watched the video, I noticed I was supposed to take the tofu ricotta out of the processor and remix! I accidentally blended it smooth with the rest of the batter. Perhaps that could have been clearer in the instructions 😩😩
Hey thanks for the comment! I’ll make this instructions more clear! But it sounds like you did it correct!
*I have to revisit this one, but I’m not sure why I wrote to take it out of the processor? I think the way you did it ~ is the way I would want to do it! LOL
Sometimes in the videos I do things and then re-think it as I write the instructions, this could have been the case in this one! At any rate thanks for the feedback, glad you liked the cheesecake!
Gretchen this cake is AMAZING!!!
I had an issue with the baking time though. I followed it as instructed. But when i cut a piece, it was still undercooked. After a day in the fridge, i thought i’d attempt to pop it back into the oven to give baking it further a go.
After about another hour it was way better. So total baking time I found was 2 hours 15 mins..
Are you using a fan forced oven perhaps?
Oh wow! Ive never baked any of my cheesecake for that long! I do (* as you read- leave the cake in AFTER turning OFF the oven for an additional hour) but that is for a slow cool.
I made this cake several times, as I quickly became addicted! LOL And always stuck to the temp & times as listed. Of course all ovens are different and why it is difficult to always stick to EXACT times, but an extra hour?! Yikes! At any rate I am glad it worked out in the end and you LOVED IT! YEAH! *Ps- no I use standard oven no forced air
Do you think this would work with erythritol substituted for part/ all the sugar?
Yes I think here it would be fine, since you are not “creaming” or relying on the sugar to do any science-y stuff LOL it will be OK!
Always remember: a sugar substitute and not real sugar, so foods that you bake may have a different taste or consistency than you’re used to.(But again I think you will be fine here!) How do you feel about Monkfruit? that also has erythritol in it? *I say that because I often use Monkfruit, and that has a certain amount of the E..tol in it.
Thank you! I made this today for my husband’s birthday with 1 cup of a 50:50 erythritol/ oconut sugar blend and used 2 eggs, since I had no egg replacer, and cut back on the milk. It came out great! I made a cherry topping. It cooked perfectly and looked beautiful , just slight darker than yours due to coconut sugar. It was a big hit.
Hi Gretchen,
You have written 12oz for Tofutti, but then 170g in brackets, but 12oz does not equal 170g so just wondering which weight is correct? And can I confirm the weight for tofu is indeed 20oz (which is 566g)? Thanks so much, super excited to try this one!
Hey thank you for pointing that out! You are correct! It is 340g and yes to the 20 ounce tofu which is about 560g
THANK YOU! I’ve updated/corrected the recipe!
Thanks so much for the quick reply. Im excited to get started! 🙂