Vegan Blue Raspberry Cheesecake

Hi baking friends! It’s my birthday today and I’ve started a new tradition. Blue is my favourite colour so every year I’m going to do a blue dessert for my birthday! Last year I made a bright blue tropical layer cake for my birthday which was super fun so this year I’ve made a blue raspberry cheesecake. In the culinary world, blue is massively frowned upon because it’s the least appetising of all the colours and there aren’t many naturally blue foods or flavours… yet here I am!!

Blue raspberry is a peculiar flavour… you may be asking, do blue raspberries even exist? Yes, they do! However they’re not actually blue. They’re called blackcap raspberries and they have more of a purple hue just like blueberries. Blue raspberry as a flavour was originated by an American company in the 50s who wanted to use a contrasting colour to red fruit flavours like strawberries. This is where red and blue slushies come from! The “blue” flavour most companies use is actually a combination of banana, raspberry, lime and other flavourings! I wanted to replicate this taste so I’ve used all those fruits in this dessert.

The colour of this cheesecake probably isn’t the most appetising thing you’ve ever seen but I assure the flavour is worth the effort! If you have a specific occasion that calls for a blue dessert (4th July, a friend who LOVES blue like me, etc.) then this is the dessert for you!

If blue raspberry is a bit too out-of-the-box for you then not to fret – check out my other cheesecake recipes here! Or click on any of the photos below!

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?

Silken tofu was a lovely addition to the texture but I got some feedback that it was far too light for a classic cheesecake. In a previous attempt I added some agar powder to the the filling and it produced a very panna cotta-like dessert. A few of my recipe-testers actually found this result quite appealing with one person commenting “it’s like a Summery, lighter version of the classic and you can eat more without feeling sick”.

Ultimately, I had to agree that it was quite far away from a classic cheesecake but if you’re looking for something lighter then here’s my ingredient swap for you: – substitute the 300g cashews for 300g silken tofu! 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the flavours/ingredients I used and their purpose:

Blue spirulina is the MVP of this cheesecake. This blue pigment is derived from algae and is a nutrient-rich superfood. It has a subtle earthy flavour but not particularly appetising alone. 

The filling contains banana which, as mentioned above, is one of the flavourings used in artificial “blue” flavouring. Banana is a tricky ingredient to put in cheesecakes because it browns rapidly but since we are masking the colour with blue spirulina and there’s some acid from the lime juice to prevent browning it causes no problems here.

Lastly, I used my classic combination of vegan cream cheese, cashews and coconut cream for the filling. These 3 combined together make for the perfectly smooth, rich and creamy cheesecake texture.

It’s also a personal preference but I like to finish off all my cheesecakes with a jelly layer. Since we don’t use gelatin, the vegan substitute for the setting agent is agar agar powder. If you’re not familiar, agar is a naturally gelatinous powder derived from marine red algae. It mimics a lot of the qualities of gelatin but it has a unique texture- slightly more crumbly and more of a bite than gelatin. It’s a super popular ingredient in Asian desserts such as jelly cakes so you’ll often find it for cheap in your local Asian supermarket! If you can’t find agar agar powder then here is the conversion for other forms it comes in:

1 tsp of powdered agar = 1 tbsp agar flakes = 1/3 cup agar strings =will set 350ml (1 1/3 cup of liquid) into a firm jelly.

Use slightly less agar for a softer jelly but too little and the jelly will fall apart. 

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

• For the coconut cream, buy these cans of coconut whipping cream. If you don’t have access to cans of coconut whipping cream then chill some cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight and then scoop out the cream from the top of the can!

• I buy my agar wholesale online because I use it so often but it’s also sold in Waitrose (or plenty of Asian supermarkets).
• McVitie’s Rich Tea biscuits for the base (if you’re gluten-free you can buy these gluten-free biscuits).
• Blue spirulina powder was purchased online. If you don’t have access to blue spirulina you can omit it and just use blue gel food colouring!
• 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

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Vegan Blue Raspberry Cheesecake

May 18, 2021

Servings: 12

Prep: 45 min

Cook:

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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This vegan no-bake blue raspberry cheesecake may be the most exciting dessert you'll ever make. It is eccentric, eye-catching but most of all, delicious!

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 160g vegan biscuits
• 70g melted, vegan butter
• pinch of salt
• Filling:
• 300g vegan cream cheese
• 250g cashews
• 250g coconut cream
• 40ml lime juice (1 large lime)
• 1 small banana (80-90g, not overripe)
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp blue spirulina
• 2 tsp raspberry extract
• pinch of salt
• Jelly layer:
• 90ml lime juice
• 180ml water
• 60g caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp raspberry extract
• 2 tsp spirulina
• 1 tsp agar agar powder

Directions

• Step 1 Crust: Pulse the biscuits in a food processor until they are completely crushed. 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 crumbs into the cake tin and spread evenly. Use a cup and baking parchment to flatten it down. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Step 3 Cheesecake filling: Bring half a saucepan of water to a boil and boil the cashews for 30 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, banana and lime juice. Blitz until smooth.
• Step 4 Mix the dry ingredients (icing sugar, spirulina and salt) in a separate bowl until fully combined. Add in the vegan cream cheese and whisk until you get a bright blue vegan cream cheese. Add this all into the food processor with the other ingredients.
• Step 5 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 in on top of the frozen crust and leave it in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.
• Step 7 Jelly Layer: Mix the agar powder with the sugar and cornstarch until completely incorporated and then add a few tablespoons of the 180ml water. Stir until completely dissolved then pour into a pot on the stove. Add in the rest of the ingredients and then turn on a medium heat and bring up to a simmer, stirring continuously.
• Step 8 Allow the jelly to simmer for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat. The jelly must reach boiling point for the agar to set so don’t take it off too soon.
• Step 9 Wait a further 10 minutes for the jelly to cool slightly, stirring occasionally then pour it through a sieve on top of the chilled cheesecake filling.
• Step 10 Cover again and refrigerate for an hour before serving!