Vegan Biscoff Cheesecake

Hi baking friends!

I’m on a bit of a cheesecake train recently and this is the 3rd instalment after my lemon and kiwi cheesecake recipes! If you’re not familiar with the term “Biscoff” then let me give you a quick summary. Biscoff comes from “Lotus Biscoff” which is the UK/US brand name for the international brand “Lotus Speculoos”. Speculoos is the name for a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit originated in Belgium. It contains the following spices: pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. This unique combination allows for a delicious and unique flavour that is instantly recognisable. What better way to celebrate this flavour than to put it in a cheesecake? 

The Lotus biscuits can be crushed up and used for the buttery biscuit base and the Biscoff brand conveniently has a Biscoff “spread” which can be poured on top!

Vegan cheesecakes are an interesting topic because there is currently no exact vegan “cream cheese” alternative that seamlessly matches that taste of a dairy cheesecake so you need to get creative! Ideally we want to perfectly match both the texture and flavour!

Most popular ingredients for vegan cheesecakes are:

• creamed (white) nuts such as cashew or macademia;
• vegan “cream cheeses” that usually have a coconut or tofu base but are fortified with stabilisers and lactic acid, the latter of which gives that classic tangy taste;
• coconut cream (taken from the top of a chilled can of coconut milk);
• silken tofu

I experimented with all of the above and I settled on using the first three. The signature formula of a cheesecake is the fat content which makes the dessert thick and sometimes crumbly. To achieve that I had to use the fat and texture of cashews and the fat % from coconut cream. The vegan “cream cheese” is also an absolute must because it contains lactic acid. You could skip the vegan cream cheese and just use more cashews and a teaspoon of lactic acid but who really has that lying about in their kitchen?

Now in this recipe I recommend adding 120g Biscoff spread to the cheesecake filling. However, this is entirely based on my preference and you can use as little or as much as you like. A lot of people prefer a completely white cheesecake filling so you could reduce the amount down to 50g. A small warning that if you add any more than 150g of spread, the filling texture starts to get a little greasy (still tasty though!!)

 If you’re in the UK, here’s a list of exact products I used for this recipe:

• For the coconut cream, buy a couple of cans of coconut milk, chill it overnight and then scoop out the cream from the top of the can! I used to recommend buying cartons of coconut cream but sometimes they still contain a lot of milk so it’s best to use the cream from a can. 
• My go-to vegan block butter is the one from Naturli.
• For the vegan cream cheese, I used 2 x packs of the Violife cream cheese original.

For this recipe you’ll need:

• 8-inch springform cake tin (ideally a push-through cake tin to get smooth edges)
• food processor/blender

Make sure your food processor has sharp blades and is powerful enough to blitz those cashews. I currently don’t have a super strong blender so it took me about 10-15 minutes scraping down the side of the blender multiple times to get the cashews fully smooth!

4.8 from 5 reviews

Vegan Biscoff Cheesecake

March 14, 2021

Servings: 12

Prep: 30 min

Total: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Vegan Biscoff cheesecake is the ultimate indulgent treat for all occasions. Creamy cheesecake filling sandwiched between a buttery biscuit base and a deliciously warm Biscoff topping.

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 160g Biscoff biscuits
• 60g melted, vegan butter
• pinch of salt
• Filling:
• 400g vegan cream cheese (2 x packs)
• 300g cashews
• 150g coconut cream
• 120g smooth Biscoff spread
• 100g icing sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or paste)
• pinch of salt
• Biscoff topping:
• 200g smooth Biscoff spread

Directions

• Step 1 Crust: Pulse the biscuits in a food processor until they are completely blitzed. Add the melted butter and process until well combined.
• Step 2 Place a circular disk of parchment in the bottom of the cake tin to help get the cheesecake out later. Place the crust mix into the cake tin and spread evenly. Use a cup and parchment to flatten it down. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Step 3 Cheesecake filling: Melt the coconut cream in the microwave using 15 second bursts until it’s liquid.
• Step 4 Bring half a saucepan of water to a boil and boil the 300g cashews for 20 minutes to soften them (you can also soak them in hot water overnight). Discard the soaking water, dry off the cashews and place them into the food processor with the coconut cream. Blitz until smooth.
• Step 5 Add the vegan cream cheese to the food processor with the vanilla extract, icing sugar, biscoff spread and salt then blitz again until smooth. It will be very thick so you may have to scrape down the sides to get it to blend completely smooth.
• Step 6 Pour this filling into the cake tin on top of the frozen crust and leave it in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours. Cover it with a plate or clingfilm so it doesn’t dry out.
• Step 7 Biscoff topping: Melt the Biscoff spread in the microwave using 15 second bursts until it’s completely runny. Pour the biscoff spread into the cake tin on top of the filling to set.
• Step 8 Chill for at least 1 hour and then take it out and decorate it with biscuits and/or vegan whip!