Making a vegan cheesecake that is indistinguishable from a cheese-cake made from actual cheese is no easy feat. But this is The One, guaranteed. Cherish it! I had all the biggest vegan skeptics I know try it just to be sure, and they didn’t even realize it was vegan. You can serve this tangy, creamy cake with any kind of fruit compote you want, but I’ll always have a soft spot for blueberries.
Hot for Food’s Vegan Baked Blueberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Makes 8 to 10 servings
30-minute prep, plus at least 4 hours for chilling cheesecake
55 minute cook time
Crust
1 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
Filling
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
1 cup soft tofu
1 cup vegan cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Blueberry Topping
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- To make the crust, in a food processor, pulse the rolled oats into a flour. This should be a very fine mixture with no large pieces of oats. Add the brown sugar, salt, and melted butter and pulse until the mixture comes together. It should press together when you pinch it.
- Press the mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 7 or 8-inch springform pan. You can also press it into an 8-inch square baking dish. You can line the dish with parchment paper for easy removal or you can serve the baked cheesecake directly from the dish.
- To make the filling, drain and rinse the cashews. Place in a high-powered blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth.
- Pour the filling on top of the crust. Bake for 45 minutes until the edges of the cheesecake are light golden brown. The center might look a bit soft, but it will firm up upon cooling.
- Allow the cheesecake to cool completely. Refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight. Only once the cheesecake has chilled completely should you remove the sides of the springform pan. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving to remove the chill.
- To make the topping, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. Let cool before serving over the cheesecake. There is enough blueberry compote to put a good portion on top of the cheesecake and have some extra to add to individual servings.
Store leftover cheesecake in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Excerpted from the book Vegan Comfort Classics by Lauren Toyota. Copyright © 2018 by Lauren Toyota. Reprinted with permission of Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.
