The Best Vegan Cheesecake
This is the original NY Style Baked Vegan Cheesecake recipe is the base canvas for hundreds of my spinoff flavor creations!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 10 Graham Crackers (140g)
- 4 Tbs Vegan Butter melted (56g)
For the Cheesecake:
- 12 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese *see notes (336g)
- 4 ounces Firm Tofu *see notes (113g)
- 2 Tbs Vegan Butter melted (28g)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 4 Tbs Cornstarch *see notes (32g)
- 3 Tbs All Purpose Flour *see notes for gluten free (24g)
- 6 ounces Plant Milk (177ml)
- 1 teaspoon Vegan Lactic Acid *see notes
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (10ml)
For the Strawberry Compote/Glaze:
- 1 pound fresh or frozen strawberries (454g)
- 0-½ cup Sugar *adjust to your liking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F Grease & parchment line a 7" cake pan
- First prepare the graham cracker crust by crushing the graham crackers in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the melted vegan butter & pulse until it resembles wet sand
- Press the crumbs into the prepared greased & parchment lined cake pan evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Freeze while you prepare the cheesecake batter
- Place all of the cheesecake ingredients into the work bowl of your food processor & pulse to blend smooth
- Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure an even mix then blend again to a smooth mixture
- Pour the batter into the crust & bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 60 minutes
- After 60 minutes turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door cracked open to cool slowly for another 60 minutes
- Remove the cheesecake & cool completely at room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set or overnight before unmolding.
- For the strawberry compote place the fresh or frozen strawberries with the optional sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pot & cook over low to medium heat
- Bring to a low boil stirring often to prevent scorching
- Cool compote & store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using
- Loosen the sides & bottom of the cheesecake pan with a blowtorch or by submerging the pan into hot water & running a small spatula around the edges
- Vegan Cheesecakes unmold very easily so flip ii out onto your serving platter then add the cooled strawberry compote to the top
Video
Notes
In the video you will notice that I used frozen strawberries for my fruit compote.
I always use frozen berries over fresh because I find that frozen berries have a brighter taste and I do not have to add any water to help the cooking down process
If you do use fresh just add some sugar and a few tablespoons of water to help it cook down to a sauce Tofutti Cream Cheese is my choice for my BAKED recipes, I've not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes I like the addition of tofu to my cheesecake recipe but for those who want to omit it, just add more vegan cream cheese 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. Gluten Free peeps remove the flour altogether and replace with 1 teaspoon additional cornstarch Lactic acid gives vegan cheesecake that authentic tang and it really is unmatched, but if you do not want to buy another ingredient simply sub in apple cider vinegar Storage Cheesecake must be kept refrigerated at all times, I do not like to freeze cheesecakes as I think the texture changes on the thaw; but this cheesecake will stay fresh wrapped loosely to prevent drying for up to 10 days in the refrigerator
I always use frozen berries over fresh because I find that frozen berries have a brighter taste and I do not have to add any water to help the cooking down process
If you do use fresh just add some sugar and a few tablespoons of water to help it cook down to a sauce Tofutti Cream Cheese is my choice for my BAKED recipes, I've not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes I like the addition of tofu to my cheesecake recipe but for those who want to omit it, just add more vegan cream cheese 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. Gluten Free peeps remove the flour altogether and replace with 1 teaspoon additional cornstarch Lactic acid gives vegan cheesecake that authentic tang and it really is unmatched, but if you do not want to buy another ingredient simply sub in apple cider vinegar Storage Cheesecake must be kept refrigerated at all times, I do not like to freeze cheesecakes as I think the texture changes on the thaw; but this cheesecake will stay fresh wrapped loosely to prevent drying for up to 10 days in the refrigerator
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!