Delicious baked non-dairy cheesecake

There are a few real taste giveaways when it comes to vegan cakes and for me, cheesecake is definitely one of them. The taste of a dairy cheesecake is very unique. Can a non-dairy variation pass the test? The answer is ‘Yes it can!’

There are many no-bake cheesecake recipes around but I personally love the first bite into a piece of baked – still warm – cheesecake. Back in 2016, I baked this cheesecake using aquafaba and soya yoghurt as the idea of baking with tofu didn’t sound too appealing at the time. The cake was delicious. Over the past years, the selection of tofu products has boomed so now it was really time to bake a cake with tofu! This recipe uses both natural tofu and silken tofu.

Ingredients

Pastry

– 250 g all-purpose flour

– 100 g non-dairy margarine (cold)

– 1 tsp baking powder

– pinch of salt

– 50 ml cold water

You’ll notice this pastry has no sugar. The taste of the sweet cheesecake and the unsweetened pastry is delicious. Personally, I find it’s a good way to cut down on my sugar intake but if you crave sweet pastry then add 50 g sugar to this recipe. You can also use any of your favourite shortcrust pastry recipes for this cake.

Filling

– 800 g silken tofu

– 400 g plain tofu

– 240 g non-dairy margarine

– 2 organic lemons (you’ll be using both the zest and the juice)

– 160 g sugar

– 70 g custard powder (or 70g starch & 1 tsp vanilla extract)

The original recipe uses a spring-release baking tin, 28 cm in diameter. My tin measures 24 cm so that’s why the crust is a little higher than the filling. Next time I won’t roll the pastry out to fit over the edge of the tin.

Preparation

– Preheat your oven to 160°C (fan-forced) or 180°C upper/lower heat

– Grease and flour the sides of your baking tin and line the bottom with baking paper

Pastry:

– Mix the flour, baking powder, salt (and sugar if using) together in a bowl.

– Cut the margarine into small cubes and scatter into the flour. Gently rub the margarine into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

– Add the cold water and mix together using a fork. When the pastry starts coming together knead into a ball, then move to a lightly floured work surface. Knead just enough for the pastry to become a soft firm dough.

– Wrap into some baking paper (I prefer this to plastic cling film) and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes. If you prefer making your pastry with your kitchen machine then please do.

Filling:

– Let both the tofu and silken tofu drain well in a sieve

– Melt the margarine in a saucepan on low heat

– Wash the lemons with hot water and pat them dry. Grate off the zest and then juice them.

– Add both tofu types into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

– Add the melted margarine, sugar, lemon zest and juice and the custard powder and mix again until all ingredients are well incorporated and the mixture is smooth and creamy.

– Add the filling to your prepared baking tin. Smooth out with an offset spatula or a knife.

– Bake for 1 hour and let it cool down completely before cutting.

The cake was delicious, very light and very lemony. I am used to the taste of tofu now and really enjoyed this cake. My husband said he could taste the tofu – I think it was definitely the natural one as silken tofu really has no taste at all – a little. Not unpleasant but he is a (dairy) cheesecake lover and so I suppose the brain tells you what you are going to taste and then when the taste is different you are a bit confused.

The next baked cheesecake I am going to try is one with non-dairy cream cheese and/or quark.

Notes:

– I found that the natural tofu didn’t ‘dissolve’ completely. There was still a very slightly grainy consistency which reminded me of semolina; the taste was still great though.

– Also, I noticed that this recipe doesn’t blind bake the pastry before. Maybe because the baking time is quite long and so the pastry might get over baked?

– You’ll see my cake has a crack: That’s because I was impatient and didn’t let it cool down completely. It smelt so good that I just needed to taste it!

Vegan cheesecake in the oven
Vegan cheesecake in the oven – and no crack!

Enjoy baking this cake and let me know how you like it.

Original recipe from Utopia (in German)

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