Vegan No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Hi baking friends!

Another instalment in the no-bake cheesecake saga – strawberry cheesecake! This classic flavour was the most highly requested on my instagram so I had to jump in straight away. For this cheesecake I decided to keep things simple and just use a plain cheesecake filling but elevate it with real vanilla bean. This results in a sublime overall flavour profile, not to mention the striking pattern of fresh vanilla bean in every cut. The salty, crunchy base is the final element of this showstopper and rounds out the flavour to make a perfect mouthful. My usual test subjects said this was the best dessert to date! So hopefully you will enjoy it as much as they did.

If strawberries aren’t your cup of tea 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! 

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! 

For this recipe you’ll need a LOT of strawberries! 400g for the jelly and you should always have some spare for decoration. One last note – I used vegan squirty cream to decorate my cheesecakes. It works well for quick photography but unfortunately it doesn’t last very long. If you want to achieve the same effect I would suggest whipping up some coconut cream with a pinch of icing sugar! 

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

4.5 from 4 reviews

Vegan No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

April 5, 2021

Servings: 12

Prep: 1 hr

Cook:

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Medium

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This no-bake strawberry cheesecake is about to blow your mind. There's nothing quite like a deliciously fresh and sweet strawberry jelly on top of that creamy cheesecake filling, balanced perfectly with a biscuit base.

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 160g vegan biscuits
• 70g melted, vegan butter
• Filling:
• 400g vegan cream cheese (2 x packs)
• 300g cashews
• 150g coconut cream
• 60ml lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
• 120g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla paste (or 1 vanilla bean)
• pinch of salt
• Jelly layer:
• 400g strawberries
• 60g sugar
• 40ml lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 50ml water
• 2/3 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 300g 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 and lemon juice. Blitz until smooth.
• Step 4 Add the vegan cream cheese to the food processor with the vanilla paste, icing sugar 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 5 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 6 Jelly Layer: Add the strawberries and lemon juice to a food processor and pulse until it is completely smooth. Pour the purée through a sieve into a bowl on a set of scales. You will need 300g of strawberry purée.
• Step 7 Discard any excess then add the 300g of purée and 50ml of water to a pot on the stove.
• Step 8 Mix the agar powder with the sugar until completely incorporated and then add this to the purée in the pot. Turn on a medium heat and bring up to a simmer, stirring continuously.
• Step 9 Allow the jelly to simmer for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat. 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!