This Vegan Baked Cheesecake (New York Cheesecake) is seriously rich and creamy and has a crunchy, "buttery" crust. It's perfectly sweet, a little tangy and just as good as the real thing! It's easy to make with simple ingredients and is gluten-free and refined sugar free too.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword gluten-free baked cheesecake, vegan baked cheesecake, vegan new york cheesecake
40g(¼cup)brown rice flour ** (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
Pinch(Pinch)salt
For the filling:
150g(1cups)raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
300g(10.5oz)silken tofu *** (NOT firm tofu)
14tablespoons(14tablespoons)maple syrup(or sub any other similar sweetener)
8tablespoons(8tablespoons)lemon juice
3teaspoons(3teaspoons)cornflour (cornstarch)(or sub arrowroot)
1teaspoon(1teaspoon)vanilla extract
Instructions
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
Add the maple syrup, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well – add a splash of any plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
Transfer the dough to a round springform baking tin (I used a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin) - line the bottom and sides of the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the cheesecake afterwards.
Use your fingers to push the dough all the way to the edges, then use the bottom of a glass (make sure to use one with a flat bottom!) to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes - you'll be baking this again so you don't want to over-bake at this stage!
For the filling:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit).
Drain the soaked cashew nuts.
Place the cashew nuts, tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice, cornflour (cornstarch) and vanilla in a food processor or blender.
Whizz until completely smooth - you will have to mix it around a few times to make it easier to blend up.
Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked crust until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth.
Gently tap the baking tin on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour, until surface is golden brown - it will be a bit jiggly when you take it out, but will firm up as it cools.
Make sure to leave the cheesecake to cool completely before removing it from the baking tin and slicing, putting it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Tastes best eaten on the day or the day after it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
*You can alternatively use almond flour.**You can use white rice flour, but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.***You can replace the tofu with a thick plant-based yogurt, but the texture is better with tofu. Top tips:
Make sure to bake the crust and the filling at different oven temperatures - you'll need to bake the filling at a lower temperature to ensure it cooks evenly without burning.
I'd recommend using a springform baking tin with a clasp, which makes it much easier to remove the cheesecake from the baking tin.
You'll want to remove the cheesecake from the oven when it's turned a golden brown colour, but make sure to watch that it doesn't burn.
The cheesecake will sink a bit as it cools down - this is normal, so don't worry about this.