Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

I served it at Thanksgiving in 2018 and then at Christmas in 2019 (yes, I skipped the pumpkin and took a non-traditional route in the Thanksgiving dessert department), and it was such a hit. My partner’s father couldn’t believe it was vegan, even though he knows I’ve been vegan for several years. And his friend’s jaw literally dropped as he devoured his slice and insisted that I start selling my cheesecakes to Whole Foods. Does it sound like I’m bragging? Maybe. But only because I want to emphasize how much your family and friends will love this cake, including the omnivores! Table of Contents:1. Why you’ll love this recipe2. Ingredient notes3. Tips for making this recipe4. How to convert cake pan volumes5. Recipe card with notes

Why you’ll love this recipe

The holidays can be a stressful time of year for us vegans, as most people want to indulge in traditional dairy-laden side dishes and main courses that feature animal carcasses. To avoid such stress, I try to be the chef in charge, or at least one of a few chefs in charge. That ensures that there are at least a few dishes I can happily enjoy, but also that the omnivores in my life will be happily surprised with delicious plant-based alternatives to holiday favorites. I promise you that this Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is one of those crowd-pleasing recipes that everyone in your life–from the strict vegans to the carnivores–will love. It’s rich and dense and creamy, just like traditional New York style cheesecake. But the richness of this chocolate cheesecake is well-balanced by the tartness of the cranberry-raspberry topping. And like any good cheesecake, this cake has the perfect sweet-tangy contrast. Oh, and did I mention it’s gluten-free? Yep, it is!

Ingredient notes

The crust is inspired by my favorite condiment from my pre-vegan days, Nutella. Luckily, it is easy to make a healthier, dairy-free version of Nutella, and this crust reminds me of that. It features toasted hazelnuts that get blended with cocoa powder, maple syrup and a pinch of salt for a delectable and rich crust. As with my baked vegan pumpkin cheesecake bars, this cheesecake filling has three main components: raw soaked cashews, coconut cream, and store-bought vegan cream cheese. I’ve done a lot of cheesecake recipe testing over the past year, and this triple threat combination works the best for achieving the rich creaminess, dense texture, and tangy taste of traditional cheesecake. For vegan cream cheese, my recommend brand of cream cheese is Tofutti. I recognize that I haven’t had dairy cream cheese in a few years, but I honestly cannot tell the difference between (I actually like Tofutti more than I used to like regular cream cheese). If you can’t find vegan cream cheese, you can omit it and use more cashews and coconut cream. You will need to increase the amount of each of those ingredients: use 2 cups raw cashews (instead of 1 1/4 cup) and use 1 cup coconut cream (instead of 1/2 cup). For an ultra decadent cheesecake filling, I use melted dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder. I prefer using a 70% dark chocolate, but if you like things a little sweeter, feel free to use a 60% dark chocolate (just make sure there’s no added milk). To enhance the chocolate flavor, I add a bit of espresso powder because coffee has this magical way of bringing out the chocolate flavor in baked goods without making them taste like coffee. And now for the cranberry-raspberry compote, which is what brings this cheesecake together. Believe it or not, but I got the idea from a four-year old. Earlier this year, I made a gooey fudge cake for friends and garnished it with fresh raspberries. If it’s not cranberry season, just double the amount of raspberries. My friends loved it, and fed it to their four-year old son. The boy child also loved the cake, but he made it a point to ask for more raspberries because the chocolate cake was so rich. This mini chef-in-training was onto something, and from now on, whenever I make a rich chocolate dessert, I make sure to pair it with something acidic or tart. In this case, a cranberry-raspberry compote because it’s the holidays! The compote recipe is really quite simple, and if you have leftovers, I recommend serving it over waffles/pancakes/French toast or on top of some vegan vanilla ice cream.

Tips for making this recipe

Finally, a few technical tips for baking this vegan cheesecake. First, you will need to do some advance planning: (1) refrigerate the can of coconut milk for at least 24 hours to solidify the coconut cream and (2) soak the cashews for 8 hours or overnight. Another option is to stick with the listed amount of ingredients and use a larger or smaller springform cake pan. If you are using a larger cake pan (i.e., 8 inches tall), the cake will be shorter and therefore will need to be baked for less time; if you are using a smaller cake pan (i.e., 6 inches tall), the cake will be taller and therefore will need to be baked for more time. However, I haven’t tried this method so I can’t prescribe a certain bake time, but my guess is that you would bake the cake for approximately 5-10 fewer minutes. Third, I wrap the bottom of the cake pan in aluminum foil and bake it in a water bath, which is the recommended method for baking traditional cheesecakes to ensure even cooking and prevent cracks. Usually, eggs are the culprit behind a cracked cheesecake, and since this is an egg-free cheesecake, the water bath might feel a bit unnecessary. However, as a food photographer, I didn’t want to risk having a cheesecake with any cracks. So, if you are focused on presentation, I recommend taking the extra step of making a water bath (and wrapping the cake pan in aluminum foil to prevent any leaking). As you can see in the photo directly below, the surface of my cheesecake came out perfectly smooth without any cracks! Speaking of that cranberry sauce, are you curious about it? Well, I made a double batch of the cranberry-raspberry compote and then I blended half of it until it was puréed and then strained the juice using a fine mesh sieve. Why did I do go through all that extra effort? Simply for the sake of taking a photo that showed off the sauce’s beautiful red color. For eating purposes, it is totally unnecessary, as I prefer the whole, chunky version of the compote, both taste- and texture-wise. If you make this Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake this holiday season, be sure to leave me a comment below!

How to convert cake pan volumes

V= H x Π x r2

V = volume of the pan, in cubic inches H = the height of the pan (measure on the inside of the pan from the bottom to the height you would fill it) Π = the constant 3.14 r2 = half of the diameter of the cake pan

For a pan that is 9 inches in diameter and 2 inches tall, the volume will be: Volume = 2 x 3.14 x 4.5 x 4.5 Volume = 127.17 cubic inches (rounded to 127) So if you want to use a 9×2” springform pan instead of the 7×2” pan, you would calculate the Volume of both pans. For the 9×2” pan, it’s 127 cubic inches; for the 7×2” pan, it’s 77 cubic inches (2 x 3.14 x 3.5 x 3.5 = 76.93). Then, divide the volume of the cake pan you are using (127 cubic inches) by the volume of the cake pan called for in the recipe (77 cubic inches). The result is 1.65. Round that to the nearest common fraction, and you get 1.666667, or 1 2/3. That means, if you are using a 9×2” springform pan, you would multiply all of the ingredients by a factor of 1 2/3 or 1.666667.