Last month my dairy-intolerant cousin and I were lamenting over how much we miss cheesecake. I’m sure we are biased, but our family’s recipe is pretty much the best. Ever.
I grew up eating it at nearly every holiday and many birthdays too. Chocolate cake is fine, but I preferred a birthday cheesecake. Nowadays, there are very few foods that I miss from my pre-lactose-free-life, but cheesecake is definitely one of them.
So I made it a personal mission to attempt a vegan version.
Admittedly, it’s nothing like a “real” cheesecake, but when it comes to veganifying traditional meals, I’ve found capturing the essence is better than trying to replicate the real deal. I mean, seriously, without actual cheese, how could anyone expect a dairy-free dish to hold up next to it’s counterpart.
This is my no-bake vegan version of the famous dessert.
Vegan No-Bake Cheesecake (v, gf – makes 2 individual 10 oz. ramekins)
Ingredients:
- 7 oz. (1/2 a normal package) soft tofu, drained only (not pressed)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp vegan cream cheese (I used Follow Your Heart’s vegan cream cheese alternative)
- 6 strawberries, sliced
- dried fruit/nut crust (I used my tropical fruit powerball recipe)
Directions:
I made the crust using this recipe/method. Then I pressed the dried fruit/nut mix into the bottom of the individual ramekins.
Alternatively, you could go the lazy route and just smash a few warmed Larabars into the bottom.
The “crust” cooled and set in the fridge while I prepped the inside part of the cheesecake.
I think FYH’s vegan gourmet cream cheese alternative is a great vegan cream cheese. It’s thick and fatty and has a very rich and creamy flavor. It’s delicious. It also lacks the weird salty aftertaste that I’ve found other non-dairy versions to have (ahem, Tofutti).
I pulsed the cream cheese, tofu, vanilla, and maple syrup in a magic bullet until it was thick and smooth.
Soooo creamy!
Then I poured the cheesecake part onto the chilled crust.
Smoothed it out.
Then added the sliced strawberries on top.
Taste aside, how cute does it look?!?
Then I returned the ramekins to the fridge to set (at least 20 minutes).
After dinner, Kyle and I split one while watching last week’s episode of True Blood.
It was great. Definite cream cheese flavor with sweet tones. The strawberry made it fresh and summery and the crust definitely balanced out the rich creaminess. Kyle and I both enjoyed every bite. And splitting one means there’s still one more left for tonight 🙂
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