Vegan Berry Cheesecake for Mary Trump

If you didn’t know better, you might not know this was a vegan cheesecake. The addition of yogurt (I used Forager’s cashew yogurt), plus lemon, lemon zest and berries help to, let’s be honest here, mask some of the odd flavor notes that non-dairy cream cheese carries with it. That’s not entirely fair, of course. The cheesecake is delicious and tastes like “real” cheesecake. This is a cheesecake that promises to make vegans and non-vegans alike happy. And I say this as a very definite non-vegan who loves her dessert.

VEGAN BERRY CHEESECAKE

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

A 9” pie plate

A hand/stand mixer or utilize strong forearms.

Cookies (You can use graham; I used Oreo thins…which is really good, btw)

(I used about 25 oreo thins). You want about 1 ½ cups of crushed cookies

5 tablespoons vegan butter or coconut oil, melted

3 tablespoons of sugar (2 if you you’re using Oreos)

16 ounces vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti. Don’t use a coconut oil based one like Violife)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

3 tablespoons vegan vanilla yogurt (I used Forager made with cashews)

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Zest from 1 lemon (more if you wish)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Fresh blueberries/raspberries (your choice). I added about ¾ cup….but you don’t even have to add them at all if you want to be a purist. I added them because I think it makes it taste more like “regular” cheesecake.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:  

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.     In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed cookies, butter and sugar until well-blended.

3.     Dump the mixture into the pie plate. Using a glass with a flat bottom, press the cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan, keeping some to push up the sides of the pie pan. Try not to leave any gaps in the bottom. No one likes leakage.

4.     Refrigerate until ready to use.

5.     In a large bowl, put the cream cheese, sugar, corn starch, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Starting on a low speed so the whole thing doesn’t go splatting all over the kitchen, begin mixing the ingredients. Slowly raise the speed to medium-high and blend for a minute or two until the mixture is smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides. If you discover a lump or two, mix for another 30 seconds or so to smooth out the mixture. You don’t want to over beat the mixture and incorporate air.

6.     Give the bowl a bang on the table to get rid of any air bubbles and any latent aggression.

7.     Pour three-quarters of the mixture into the pie crust. Add some berries on top, then pour the remaining cheesecake mixture on top and smooth to cover the berries.

8.     Bake for 30-50 minutes. When gently nudged, the center will look a little jiggly, but not soupy.  When it looks right, turn the heat off in the oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar and let the cheesecake rest in the turned off oven for about 10 minutes. Remove the cheesecake to a cooling rack and let cool for about an hour. You don’t want to put it in the refrigerator while stinking hot. Cover with foil or cling film and refrigerate for AT LEAST 8 hours. Overnight is best. The long rest allows the flavors to develop and the filling to set into a proper cheesecake texture.

9.     Serve with more berries. If you want, of course.