Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake recipe

Vegan.

I think this is my dream dessert.

A coffee-infused Biscoff base, with a chocolate baked cheesecake filling, topped with a chocolate ganache sauce and mini crunchy pretzels. I’ll be right back, just wiping the drool away from my mouth- haha!

This cheesecake is a serious winner with anyone you’ll serve it too.

Why make this cheesecake?

It’s rich and indulgent
It’s easy to make
It is ultra creamy
Can be made gluten-free, just change the base to gluten-free cookies.

Preparation: Overnight

Baking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Level: Medium

____________________________________________________________

Ingredients for the base

-100g of Biscoff cookies

-1 teaspoon of fine coffee granules or powder

-100g of dairy-free butter (melted)

Ingredients for the filling

-250g of cashew nuts

-450g of silken tofu

-400g of dairy-free cream cheese

-200g of caster sugar

-70g of cocoa powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache

-100g of dairy-free dark chocolate

-50g of dairy-free cream

–Mini pretzels

-Sea salt

____________________________________________________________

Method (base)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c and line an 8-inch springform cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Springform is easier for removing the cheesecake when set.

2. Place the cookies into a food processor, blend until fine.

3. Add in the melted dairy-free butter, coffee granules and blend until like wet sand.

4. Pour into the lined tin and pack in very tightly.

The tighter the mixture is packed, the less likely it is it will crumble when cut and served.

Set aside.

Method (cheesecake filling)

TIP- The cashew nuts need to be soaked overnight in water. Just make sure the water is covering the nuts!

1. Drain and rinse the cashew nuts and place them into a high-speed food processor/blender.

2. Drain the water from the silken tofu and add it into the blender along with the dairy-free cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla.

Blend until smooth.

3. Pour the cheesecake filling on to the crust.

Tap the cheesecake on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.

4. Place the cheesecake into the oven and bake for 1 hour + 30 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake turn golden in colour.

Test the cheesecake to see if it’s baked by jiggling the tin. If the cheesecake jiggles only a little bit in the middle, it’s ready. If it looks too wet, it needs more time in the oven to bake.

The cheesecake will look soft in the middle, but it will firm up whilst it cools down.

5. Once the cheesecake has baked, transfer it to a wire rack to cool in the tin.

6. When it’s fully cooled, place it into the fridge overnight, in the tin.

Don’t try to remove the cheesecake from the tin, ad it will break apart. It will firm up in the fridge.

7. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and place into a serving plate.

Method (chocolate ganache)

1. Place the dairy-free cream into a saucepan.

Gently heat until it comes to a light simmer then turn off the heat.

2. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream, stir to combine.

3. Swirl the ganache ontop of the cheesecake.

(Optional step) 4. Press mini pretzels into the ganache and a sprinkle of salt over the whole cheesecake.

5. Place into the fridge to set the ganache. This will take 15 minutes.