Vegetarian Strawberry Cheesecake

When Ro was going on a visit to Germany and Austria for the in the last week of March this year, I decided to make this cheesecake as a send off treat for him. He would be away from home for more than a week and this was my way of showing the special man in my life that he would be missed! I even packed a slice for him for his onwards journey, to exonerate him from the boring and insipid flight food.
One of the highlights of this cheesecake is the topping. It is easy to make but looks attractive and tastes exquisite. It helps to bring out the flavour of the strawberries in this cheesecake.

Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake

Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake with Brownie Crust. Topped with Coconut Whipped Cream. Course Dessert Cuisine vegan Keyword brownie, cheesecake, strawberry, vegan Prep Time 3 hours Servings 12 servings Calories 400 kcal

Ingredients

Vegan Brownie Crust

• 1/2 cup coconut oil 105 grams, 3.7 oz
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips divided (350 grams, 12.4 oz)
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar 127 grams, 4.4 oz
• 1 cup mashed avocado about 1 avocado (226 grams, 8 oz)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup brewed coffee or milk of choice
• 1 cup almond flour 96 grams, 3.3 oz
• 1/2 cup oat flour 45 grams, 1.58 oz
• 1/4 cup cacao powder 31.25 grams, 1.1 oz
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips 175 grams, 6.2 oz

Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake

• 1 1/2 cup raw cashews 180 grams, 6.3 oz
• 1/3 cup coconut oil 70 grams, 2.46 oz
• 1/2 cup coconut milk 114 grams, 4 oz
• 1/3 cup maple syrup 107 grams, 3.7 oz
• 1/4 cup lemon juice about 2 lemons
• 1 cup freeze dried strawberries 28 grams, 1 oz
• 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped (166 grams, 5.8 oz)

Coconut Whipped Cream

• 1 can coconut milk

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Instructions

Vegan Brownie Crust

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a 8×8 or 9×9 cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. To make the Vegan Brownie Crust, start by melting the coconut oil and 1 cup of chocolate chips together.
3. You can melt them in the microwave, at 15 second intervals, always stirring in between.
4. Add coconut sugar to melted chocolate and coconut oil.
5. Whisk until combined.
6. Mash the avocado very well mashed and add it to the batter. I actually like to puree my avocado for this.
7. Add avocado to the batter. Whisk until combined.
8. Add vanilla extract and mix.
9. Add brewed coffee or milk of choice and whisk until smooth.
10. Combine almond flour, oat flour, cacao powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder together.
11. Add dry ingredients to wet.
12. Once ingredients are almost completely incorporated, add the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
13. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
14. Pour over prepared pan.
15. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie looks set, and if you touch its surface with your finger, it will spring back.
16. Set brownies aside to cool.

Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake

1. You want to start soaking your cashews for about 12 hours. (Note* You can do a quick soaking with some boiling water, leaving your cashews submerged for at least 1-2 hours)
2. Once cashews have soaked, you can drain them.
3. Process the freeze dried strawberries to turn them into a very fine powder. Set aside.
4. Add cashews, coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, and freeze dried strawberries powder to the bowl of a food processor.
5. Process mixture for a few minutes until smooth.
6. Add strawberries and fold with a spatula to combine.

Coconut Whipped Cream

1. Leave sealed coconut milk can in the fridge overnight. When you open the can, open from the bottom, so the water will be concentrated in the bottom and you will be able to easily drain it.
2. After draining the water, scoop the thickened cream in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. Whip on high for a few minutes until you see peaks forming.
4. You may add powdered sugar if you’d like, but I didn’t see the need.

To assemble

1. I have used this pan to make my cheesecakes. And I also had to use large metal rings like you can see in the pictures above because my pan was too small to hold all of the cheesecakes. I could have used cupcake tins as well.
2. Cut rings in the brownie pan that are the size of the bottom go the pans you choose to assemble your cheesecakes in.
3. Layer the bottom of the pans with the cut out brownies.
4. If you aren’t using a silicon pan, I suggest that you cut strips of parchment paper and place 2 crosswise strips in the bottom of the pan, before start layering the brownie crust in. This will facilitate the cheesecake removal from the pan, once chilled. Check pictures above in the post for reference.
5. Pour some of the vegan strawberry cheesecake filling over brownies.
6. Place pans in the freezer for a few hours, or overnight.
7. Once chilled through, you can make the Coconut Whipped cream and pipe over your beautiful cheesecakes, and then finish to decorate them with a fresh strawberry.

Storage

1. Store in the freezer, in a sealed container, for up to 1 week.

Recipe Notes

If you want to make just a large cheesecake instead of mini ones, you can just bake the brownie in the pan where you will later assemble your cheesecake. Then simply pour the prepared cheesecake filling over the pan where you baked and cooled down your brownie. Freeze for a few hours, or overnight and then you can top with the whipped coconut cream, and serve.

Vegetarian Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

One of the highlights of this cheesecake is the topping. It is easy to make but looks attractive and tastes exquisite. It helps to bring out the flavour of the strawberries in this cheesecake.

Ingredients:

For Crust:
70 gm, 1/2 cup flour
50 gm (1/3 cup) almonds, ground
50 gm (1/3 cup) walnuts, ground
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp dark brown sugar (muscovado or jaggery)
2 tbsp water

For Cheesecake:
500 gm, 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (I used Philadelphia cream cheese)
400 gm, 1 tin sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, pureed in a blender or food processor
600 gm (1 1/2 cup) yogurt, drained overnight in a cheesecloth covered strainer to make 3/4 cup thick yogurt

For Topping:
1/2 cup strawberries
2 tbsp sugar

Method:

Prepare the topping:

In a blender or food processor puree strawberries and sugar until smooth. Keep aside.

Prepare the Crust:

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the base and press into a greased 9 “ (23 cm) springform pan.

Make the Cheesecake mixture:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor or with a hand blender whip the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk, strawberry puree and vanilla. When smooth, mix in the yogurt and beat until well mixed.

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the prepared crust.

Gently pour the strawberry topping over the cheesecake mixture and tilt the pan to make it spread evenly.

Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degree centigrade, 325F, gas mark 3 for 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

Bring to room temperature and chill well, for atleast 3 hours in the refrigerator before you serve.