Cheesecake is one of those popular and delicious desserts that when offered, it is very difficult to refuse. I’ve always had a preference for no-bake cheesecake because not only is it my belief that it delivers a different and much deeper flavour compared to a baked cheesecake, but it is also easier to make and to garnish with a variety of different fresh fruits that can really cut through the richness of the cheese, creating one of the most intense-tasting experiences ever invented. If it sounds too good to be true for a plant-based dessert, I would recommend to grab the few ingredients needed to prepare it and judge for yourself – chances are that you’ll absolute love this recipe!
For the base
3.9ozdigestive biscuits, finely crushed
1.6ozbutter, melted
For the filling
15.5ozcream cheese (we used VioLife)
4.4ozgranulated sugar
0.9ozlemon juice
0.3ozlemon zest, finely grated
6.7ozsoy milk
0.17ozagar agar powder
For the topping
8.8ozfresh fruit of your choice, finely diced
0.9ozgranulated sugar
Instructions
- Grease an 18cm loose-bottomed, deep cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Mix the digestives and the butter until evenly combined.
- Use a straight-sided glass to press the crumbs evenly across the base of the tin, and place in the fridge to cool for 20 minutes.
- For the filling, combine the cheese, the sugar, the lemon juice and the zest as evenly as possible. Heat up the filling mixture in a microwave at medium power (300W) or in a bain marie until reasonably hot (60°C/140°F).
- In a saucepan, simmer the milk with the agar for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Combine the agar milk with the hot filling mixture, and pour over the biscuit base. Chill for 4 hours, or even better, overnight.
- For the topping, combine the fruit with the sugar, leave it to macerate for 20 minutes and use it to decorate the cake before serving.
Substitutions and Tips
- Sugar: You can use any granulated sugar you want for this recipe, but dark varieties will obviously yield a brown cheesecake. Liquid sweeteners are also an option, but the cheesecake will end up softer.
- Butter: The plant-based butter can be substituted with 50/50 mixture of coconut oil and almond butter.
- Zest: You can use the zest of any citrus fruit you like for this recipe. Some favourites are orange, Buddha’s hand, and obviously… lemon!
- Agar agar: There is currently no substitute for the agar agar, as any other product will give you a completely different result.
- Cheese: We have attempted this recipe with a variety of different plant-based cheeses, and they all gave us pretty impressive results. However, the one shown in the video (VioLife cream cheese) is the absolute best we’ve found so far for sweet recipes. Another option would be to follow our recipe for basic cream cheese, and use that cheese to make the cake, which also works beautifully.
Yield, Times and Info
Makes: 1 cheesecake of Ø18cm (7 inch)
Storage Times: Keeps for 4 days in the fridge or for 1 month in the freezer
Storage Times: Keeps for 4 days in the fridge or for 1 month in the freezer
Nutritional Info
Serving Size: 1 slice (⅛ of the recipe) Calories: 206kcal Carbohydrate: 28.8g Sugar: 21.6g Fiber: 1g Fat: 8.7g Saturated Fat: 3.7g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Protein: 4.4g Sodium: 203mg Water: 45g
