You’ll be a convert to dairy-free deserts after trying this creamy, sumptuous cheesecake. Use the basic recipe to experiment with different flavours – we’ve shown you lemon and berry varieties.
Base:
1/2 packet Arnotts Nice biscuits (or other vegan variety)
1 handful of raw unsalted Almonds
1/2 cup Nuttlex (or other vegan margarine)
1 spring-loaded cake tin (the type that can open up to remove the cake)
Filling:
1 tub Better Than Cream Cheese (227g)
200g soft tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200g golden syrup (or to taste)
1 tblspn potato flour (mix to paste with 2 tblspn cold water)
juice of one lemon
For lemon cheesecake:
juice from 2 extra lemons
save one of the lemon skins for grating
Lemon Cheesecake option
For berry cheesecake:
1 punnet of berries (blueberries or raspberries work well)
SERVES: 8 PREP: 30min COOKING: 40min COOLING: 2hrs
Preparing the base
Turn on the oven to preheat to 180c.
Place the biscuits on a large chopping board and crush them with a rolling pin. The meal should be gritty and course.
Blend the almonds in a blender until a fine meal and add to the biscuits. Heat the margarine until runny (easiest in the microwave for a minute) and use only as much as necessary by gradually pouring and stirring into the biscuit mixture until the meal can be brought together as a sticky crumbling dough.
Coat margarine over the inside of the spring-loaded cake tin. Sprinkle enough mixture over the bottom of the tin to loosely cover it and then press the mixture down to form the base. Take clumps of the remaining mixture and press half-way up the sides of the tin until the base is complete. Set aside.
Making the mixture
Pour the Better Than Cream Cheese and tofu into a blender. Add the vanilla essence and golden syrup and blend. Mix the potato flour with 2 tblspns water to form a runny paste and add to the mixture. Juice the lemon and pour through a strainer into the mixture. If you’re making the lemon cheesecake, add the extra lemon juice now too. Blend the mixture until smooth and creamy.
If you’re making the berry cheesecake, add the berries (don’t blend).
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and base. If you’re making the lemon cheesecake, sprinkle finely grated lemon rind over the entire top of the mixture.
Place the cheesecake in the 180c preheated oven and bake until it’s changed colour on top and looks set in the center – approx 40min. To check, wobble the tin slightly and the top should wobble as one piece – if it’s still soft in the center bake a little longer.
Place on a chopping board and allow to cool for 15min and then put in the fridge (on the chopping board) and refrigerate until cool.
Serve with dairy-free icecream or Berry Sauce (see below). Yum!
Quick Berry Sauce
If you really want to impress your friends serve the cheesecake with this quick berry sauce.
Simply blend 1 packet of mixed berries (you can use the frozen variety if you like) with some lemon juice and golden-syrup to taste. Blend until smooth.
To serve, pour a quick zig zag in the middle of each plate and use a skewer or fork handle to draw out wavy lines through the sauce. Place a slice of cheesecake on top of the sauce. Serve with dairy-free icecream.
