If cheesecake is your love language, be prepared to fall in LOVE with these Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes. A buttery biscuit base with a silky smooth, luscious baked red velvet cheesecake filling topped with a swirl of dairy-free whipped cream and red velvet sponge crumbs. Vegan, No-Egg, No-Dairy and absolutely delicious!
Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
How gorgeous are these mini red velvet cheesecakes? Like, how could you not fall head over heels in love with them?! I’ve been thinking about this mini red velvet cheesecake recipe for ages. The thought of a dark cookies and cream base with soft baked red velvet filling is what dreams are made of! It the perfect, easy dessert for Valentines Day! I mean, who doesn’t dream of luscious red velvet desserts? – haha!
Looking for more valentines day recipes, check out my Vegan Red Velvet Sheet Cake, VIRAL Vegan Nutella Linzer Cookies, Vegan Raspberry Heat Cake and Vegan Pink Strawberry Rolls.
What is red velvet?
Part of the clue is in the name. Red velvet has grown in popularity in recent years, especially in the USA. Traditional red velvet is a red cake which has elements of a chocolate cake with red food colour served with a ermine icing. The flavour of red velvet is a light cocoa and vanilla. It’s called red velvet because the original red velvet cakes got the “velvet” part of their name because they resembled bright red velvet dresses, fancy right?!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Vegan friendly – This recipe doesn’t contain any animal derived ingredients.
- Easy to make – A basic 2 ingredient base and simple cheesecake filling.
- Gorgeous colour – High pigment comes from a good quality food gel.
- Texture is AMAZING – They’re soft, creamy, light with a crunchy biscuit base! Really tasty!
- Can easily be made gluten-free – Use gluten-free biscuits, I love the ASDA Free From ‘Oroes‘.
- Baked cheesecake – Delicious creamy texture!
- Great ‘make ahead’ dessert!
- Perfect for Valentines day! Beautiful colour makes for a special treat for your loved ones!
- Topped with a red velvet sponge crumb – Make a single cupcake to sprinkle on top of the cheesecakes for a classic look. Not only looks amazing but tastes incredible!
Ingredients for mini red velvet cheesecakes
The best part about this recipe is that it contains ‘easy to find’ ingredients. I have listed them below so make sure to write these down for you next shopping trip / grocery hall. The ingredients below are for the biscuit base, cheesecake filling, cake crumbs and cream swirl!
- Cookies and cream biscuits – Use gluten-free for a GF dessert.
- Dairy-free butter
- Cashew nuts – See ‘notes’ at the bottom of this post for prepping details.
- Dairy-free cream cheese
- Coconut cream – Use the white cream from a can of coconut milk.
- Icing sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla extract
- Red food gel – Make sure the red food gel is vegan friendly. I use Rainbow Dust Colours Pro Gel, this is ultra high pigmented.
- Dairy-free milk – Soya milk is best, I like to use unsweetened.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Plain / all purpose flour
- Caster sugar
- Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Sunflower oil
- Dairy-free double / whipping cream – I love The Coconut Collaborative Double Cream. It’s super thick and stable!
Tips for making the BEST Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
- Use room-temperature vegan cream cheese – Allow it to come to room temperature then whip it to remove any lumps.
- Soak the cashews before use – Allow the cashews to soak in a bowl of water for a few hours before using. You could even soak them overnight. This will allow them to blend creamy without bits in the batter.
- Use a high powdered blender – The higher powered blender will blend perfectly and become super creamy.
- Use a good quality food gel – Food gel will add a vibrant colour without changing the texture, which a liquid food gel will do (as you’d have to add a lot to get a vibrant red colour.
- Make sure your red food gel is vegan! I use Rainbow Dust Pro Gel in the shade ‘Red’. Their whole Pro Gel range is vegan, gluten-free and ULTRA pigmented!!!
- Avoid over-mixing the cheesecake filling – Adding too much air to the cheesecake can cause it to rise and fall when it’s baked.
- If your mixture is still lumpy, you could drain it through a strainer, but if you use a high powdered blender, I doubt you’ll have any issues!
- Remove the air bubbles – Pour the filling on the base then tap the tin on your work-surface a few times to remove any air bubbles. This will make for a super smooth cheesecake.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , Tiktok, Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
SUPER EASY Mini Vegan Red Velvet Cheesecakes – A buttery biscuit base, baked with a creamy red velvet cheesecake filling and a swirl of whipped cream. Absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the base
- 150g of cookies and cream biscuits (vegan friendly, you can use gluten-free)
- 50g of dairy-free butter
Ingredients for the cheesecake filling
- 150g of soaked & drained cashew nuts (see notes for prep details)
- 360g of dairy-free cream cheese
- 60g of coconut cream
- 80g of icing sugar
- 20g of cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Drop of red good gel
Ingredients for the red velvet crumb
- 50ml of dairy-free milk (I use unsweetened soya milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 50g of self raising flour
- 12g of caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 15ml of sunflower oil
- Drop of red food gel
Ingredients for the cream
- 200ml of dairy-free double / whipping cream
Instructions
Method (base)
- Grease a 6 hole cookie cup tin with some dairy-free butter.
- Add the dairy-free butter into a small saucepan, place on the hob and heat over low until fully melted. Remove from the heat and add into a medium sized, heat-proof mixing bowl.
- Add the biscuits into a blender / food processor and blend until fine. Pour the biscuit crumbs into the melted butter and stir together using a wooden spoon or spatula. It should resemble wet sand, and when you press it between your fingers, should hold its shape. Press approximately 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into each tin, making sure to compact it in using clean hands or spoon. The more compact it is, the less likely it will crumble. It’s best to use a loose base tin, I’ve linked a great one here.
- Place aside whilst you make the filling.
Method cheesecake filling
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C Fan (350°F).
- Wash, then drain the cashew nuts and place them into a high speed blender along with the cream cheese, coconut cream, icing sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and drop of red food gel. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour the filling on-top of each base, 3/4 of the way full. Tap the tin on the worktop to remove any air bubbles and to level out.
- Bake the cheesecakes in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake turn slightly golden in colour and the cheesecakes have risen. To check the cheesecakes are ready, using oven mitts, gently jiggle the tin. If the cheesecakes looks nearly set and only the middle of the cheesecakes jiggles slightly, they’e done. If they jiggles too much / look wet, they needs more time to bake!
- Once baked, remove from the oven and place the cheesecakes (still in the tin) on a wire rack to cool fully.
- When the cheesecakes are cool, run a knife around each cheesecake to help loosen them from the sides of the tin. Place into the fridge and allow to sit in the fridge overnight to fully set. Keep the cheesecakes in the tin to help retain their shape.
Method (cake crumbs)
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C Fan (350°F) and place a single cupcake liner in a cupcake tin.
- In a small bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. This makes the vegan buttermilk.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.
- Add the oil to the ‘buttermilk’ along with a drop of red food gel and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until a smooth batter.
- Fill the case 3/4 full with the batter. Make sure to tap the tin on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Pop the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. You will know it’s done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and it’s springy to the touch.
- Place the cupcake on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully before crumbling.
Method (serving the cheesecakes)
- Whip up the dairy-free whipping cream either by hand using a hand whisk in a bowl or using a balloon whisk attachment in a stand mixer on high speed.
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle (I use a Wilton 2D tip).
- Pipe a swirl of cream to the top of each cheesecake. Sprinkle over some of the red velvet cake crumbs.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Keep fresh by storing in a air tight / sealed container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature fully before serving. Best enjoyed within 1-3 days of making.
Soak the cashews before use – Allow the cashews to soak in a bowl of water for a few hours before using. You could even soak them overnight. This will allow them to blend creamy without bits in the batter.
- Prep Time: Overnight
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: cheesecakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
