Go Dairy Free viewer, Lelly, alerted us to this fantastic vegan lemon cheesecake recipe:
I found this in a Mag. It was ranked best cheese cake and was tested next to a real one and they could barely tell difference. I don’t like Tofu and I thought it was great. The credit goes to a woman named Nicole Weston Nov. 2004 on a web sight called bakingsheet (now Baking Bites).
And Nicole was kind enough to permit reprint of the recipe and photos! Thank you Leslie and Nicole!
From Nicole of Baking Bites:
When I make something vegan, I do not tell people – excluding veg friends – that it is vegan. I prefer to suprise them with it once they’ve already eaten some. This cheesecake got good reviews, even after it was revealed to be vegan. I don’t think anyone would deny that this is a tasty cheesecake. It was a cross between a dense, New York style cheesecake and a lighter, European style cheesecake. It had a great texture, a bit melting, light and fluffy. I chose to make it lemon flavored, not wanting another dense chocolate dessert, but you could substitute orange or lime juice for the lemon. Per slice, not necessarily by weight, this cheesecake has half of the calories and more than 3 times less fat than regular cheesecake. Good reason to have seconds!
Special Diet Notes: Vegan Lemon Cheesecake
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, plant-based, vegan, and vegetarian.
- 1-14 oz package firm silken tofu
- 1-8 oz package dairy-free cream cheese alternative (Nicole uses Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-9 inch pie crust (use a gluten-free crust for gluten-free)
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Place silken tofu and vegan cream cheese in the food processor. Process for 1 minute, then add sugar. Process until smooth and no sugar granules remain, 3-5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and almond extract. Whisk in cornstarch. Pour mixture into the food processor and process until very smooth. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate overnight.
11 Comments
This is the BEST vegan tofu cheesecake recipe! I have used it over and over and have sent it to so many friends and family members as a recommendation. I’ve also tried using lime and I think it’s even better than lemon!
That’s fabulous! Thank you so much for your feedback on this recipe Lauren, and for letting us know that lime works well, too!
Could you use soft silken tofu? Or would it be too soft
Sorry Mj, your comments went into spam so we didn’t see them! Soft would be a little too soft I think.
Question
This looks amazing but can I also freeze Some off it since I live alone I would not be able to dat THE whole thing . I am a newbie at eating and loving veggan so still have a lot to learn.
Kind regards Sid
Tofu doesn’t tend to freeze very well, so I would hesitate on freezing this one. I would try either a cashew based recipe instead, or make a smaller batch of this recipe into tarts.
The cheesecake in the picture looks crust-less, could you also do it with no crust? I would prefer to make without a crust with dairy in it.
Hi Heather, if trialing without a crust, I would trial it first using extra-firm silken tofu, if available.
Pingback: 30 of the Best Dairy-Free Dessert Recipes
Pingback: Dairy Free Desserts To Try | Best Friends For Frosting
Pingback: Easter eats and adventuring! | EcoCouple