NEVER ENOUGH GARLIC

What is the ultimate vegan dessert challenge? In our humble opinion, it has to be cheesecake because a vegan cheesecake has almost none of the original ingredients in a traditional cheesecake. After all, there's no cream, eggs, butter, or cheese in it. Yet it is still possible to make just that: a vegan cheesecake without dairy or eggs! 

While some would argue with the semantics of calling a vegan cheesecake a "cheese" cake, we don't actually care what it's called. All we care about is the taste and the consistency. Is it creamy? Yes. Is it smooth and melt-in-your-mouth-ish? Yes. Is the crust buttery and crisp? Yes. So whatever you call it, this cake is amazing, and you need to make it right now. And the best part is that making it is much easier than it looks!

As a little bonus, this cake is both gluten free and refined sugar free.

Psst... we took this cake to an omni family dinner, and no one guessed it was vegan (most of them didn't even know that we eat plant-based until that night). So if you're looking for a holiday dessert to impress everyone about the deliciousness of vegan food, this is the one to go for!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 113 g oats (gluten free if necessary)
• 112 g almonds
• 100 g vegan butter (or sub with coconut oil), melted 
• 6 pitted dates
• Pinch of salt

Cheesecake Filling:

• 340 g silken tofu, soft
• 200 ml coconut cream (not coconut milk - that would make the batter too thin and liquidy)
• 55 g vegan white chocolate, melted (we used iChoc's White Vanilla)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp. maple syrup
• 30 g vegan butter
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

• Juice from half a lemon

• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• Pinch of salt
• Approx. 1 litre boiling water for water bath

Blueberry Mousse:

• 260 g blueberries (we used frozen but fresh would work just fine too)
• 200 ml coconut cream
• 150 g vegan cream cheese
• 250 ml vegan heavy cream
• Juice from half a lemon
• 4 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 (small) tsp. agar agar
  
• Pinch of salt

 

 Instructions for Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 175^oC (350°F).
2. In a high-speed blender or food processor, blend the oats, almonds, dates,and salt into a coarse meal. It doesn't have to be fine - just avoid big chunks.
3. Add the melted vegan butter and pulse until properly mixed.
4. Line a springform cake tin with baking paper on the bottom and the sides (this makes it easier to transfer the finished cake onto a serving tray later). Alternately, grease the tin with coconut oil or vegan butter to prevent the cake from sticking. 
5. Firmly press the crust mixture onto the bottom of the tin using a flat-bottomed glass until there are no loose bits of crust.
6. Bake the crust for approx. 10 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown. Then remove the tin from the oven and let cool. 

Instructions for Cheesecake Filling:

1. In a high-speed blender or food processor, blend together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
2. Pour the cheesecake batter over the cooled crust, and lightly tap the cake tin on the kitchen counter to release any trapped air bubbles in the batter. 
3. Fill a deep, oven-proof tray with about 1 litre boiling water, and place the tray somewhere at the bottom of the oven (the tray must be under where the cheesecake will be). This gives us the benefits of baking the cheesecake in a water bath without having to waterproofing the cake tin.  
4. Place the cheesecake on a rung above the tray of water, and bake in the oven at 170^oC for 50-55 minutes. Then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside the oven for another 30 minutes without opening the oven door as this will cause the steam to escape. 
5. After the 30 minutes, take the cake out of the oven, and let it cool for about 15 minutes. The cheesecake should be a light golden brown on top.
6. Cover the cake, and refrigerate it for at least 5-6 hours, preferably overnight. 

Instructions for Blueberry Mousse:

1. In a small pot, bring the blueberries, coconut cream, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt to a slow boil.
2. Add the agar agar, stirring constantly, and let simmer for a few minutes.
3. Using a hand blender, blend the mixture into a purée. Alternatively, carefully transfer the mixture into a blender to blend.
4. Let the blueberry purée cool completely, preferably overnight, so that the agar agar can set. Once completely cooled, the purée should have a spreadable consistency.
5. Once cooled, beat the cream cheese into the purée until creamy and smooth.
6. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks start to form. 
7. Slowly fold the blueberry mixture into the whipped cream until evenly combined.

Combining it:

• Gently layer the blueberry mousse on top of the cooled, set cheesecake, smoothing it out evenly with a spatula.
• Let the mousse set in the fridge for about 2 hours to firm up. 
• Top with fresh berries and white chocolate shavings for extra wow factor.
• Serve cold and enjoy!