Vegan No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

Hi baking friends!

You guys aren’t ready for this vegan no-bake lemon cheesecake recipe I’ve been working on all week! I’m confident this is one of the best, if not the best “no-bake” lemon cheesecake recipes you’ll ever try! The zingy, tongue-pop worthy lemon jelly layer complements the decadently rich and creamy cheesecake layer. All balanced perfectly with that buttery biscuit base.

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 this same attempt I was a little heavy-handed with the agar and I 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!

It’s also a personal preference but I like to add a sour jelly layer to my fruity cheesecakes! Before I went vegan, I used to admire those elegant cheesecake slices you could find at expensive cafes and they always had a striking, shiny layer of jelly on top! I know it may seem intimidating but agar is super easy to use and does a very good job replacing gelatin. 

For this recipe you’ll need at least 8 lemons! (Sorry, it’s worth it though!!)

Regulars of this blog will remember this cheesecake used to have agar in the filling. The reason I started with this method was because I wanted to introduce a LOT of lemon juice to the filling but whilst keeping the structural integrity of the filling. I’ve made a lot of cheesecakes since I posted this recipe and I eventually decided that the filling didn’t need the agar. If you carefully balance the liquids with the fats, the filling is sturdy at room temperature with no setting agents. This is the recipe you will see below.

This recipe depends heavily on sourcing the right ingredients. It is essential that your coconut cream be absolutely solid at room temperature (the kind you find at the top of a can of chilled coconut milk). You must avoid at all costs adding any of the actual coconut milk or water from the can to this recipe or the structure will not hold up!

If you would prefer to set the cheesecake with agar then you will need an extra 2 tsp of agar and you can make the following adjustments:

• Blend all the filling ingredients as per the recipe but hold back the coconut cream and sugar.
• In a bowl, whisk together the sugar with the 2 tsp agar until combined. Add 50ml of water to this mixture to make a sugary paste then add this to a pot on the stove with the coconut cream.
• Turn on a medium-low heat and bring the cream mixture to a simmer. Stir constantly to prevent the agar from clumping.
• Once you reach a rolling simmer, turn off the heat and pour this cream mixture into the food processor with the other ingredients and blitz on high until smooth. Pour into the cake tin on top of the crust.

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).
• 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 loose-bottom cake tin
• food processor/blender

Enjoy!!

5 from 5 reviews

Vegan No Bake Lemon Cheesecake

August 20, 2020

Servings: 12

Prep: 30 min

Cook:

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Medium

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There's nothing quite like a zingy, zesty and sweet lemon jelly on top of an indulgent layer of creamy, lemony cheesecake filling, balanced perfectly with a butter biscuit base.

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 160g vegan Digestive biscuits
• 70g melted, salted vegan butter
• pinch of sea salt
• Filling:
• 400g vegan cream cheese (2 x packs)
• 250g cashews
• 80ml lemon juice (+1 lemon zest optional)
• 200g coconut cream (from a chilled can)
• 120g icing sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract or ½ vanilla pod)
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• pinch of salt
• Jelly layer:
• 125ml lemon juice
• 150ml water
• 60g caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp agar agar powder
• 2 drops yellow food colouring (or a pinch of turmeric)

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 cake out. Place the crust mix into the cake tin and spread evenly. Use the bottom of a cup and some baking parchment to firmly 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 them with a tea towel and place them into the food processor with the lemon juice. Blitz until smooth.
• Step 4 Warm up the vegan cream cheese and coconut cream in the microwave for 30 seconds so that it will be easier to blend (if it’s coconut base it’ll soften easily, if it’s tofu-based it may only get a little soft).
• Step 5 Add both to the food processor with the icing sugar, vanilla paste, lemon extract 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 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 together the sugar, cornstarch and the agar powder in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the water until the sugar and agar are dissolved.
• Step 8 Pour this into a pan with the rest of the water and the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to medium-low and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute. The agar will only set once you reach boiling point so make sure it gets there.
• Step 9 Take it off the heat and wait 10 minutes for it to cool slightly.
• Step 10 Gently pour onto the cheesecake layer. Chill for at least 1 hour. Serve!