Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Start by soaking your cashews if you haven't already. A quick soak in boiling hot water for 30 minutes is great, but overnight in room temperature water works too!
- Make the crust: Add the graham crackers or cookies to a food processor and blend into fine crumbs. Pour in the melted vegan butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press firmly into the bottom of a parchment- lined springform pan, or lined baking dish. Transfer to the freezer while you prepare the filling.
- Make the cheesecake filling: Add the pressed tofu, soaked cashews, coconut cream, fresh strawberries, freeze-dried strawberry powder, strawberry protein powder, maple syrup, tahini, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt to a high-powered blender or food processor. Optionally, add in a tsp (to start, you can add more after) of beetroot powder or about 1 tsp of freshly grated/sliced beet for added pink colour.
- Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed. Once smooth, slowly stream in the melted coconut oil and blend again until fully incorporated.
- Taste the filling and adjust if needed. Want more strawberry flavour? Add a little more freeze-dried strawberry powder. Prefer extra tang? Squeeze in a little more lemon juice. More pink? Add more beetroot powder or fresh beet shavings.
- Pour the filling over the chilled crust and smooth the top.Option 1: Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, until fully set. This will result in a softer texture, like very thick pudding.Option 2: Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer when solid and let thaw at room temp for about an hour before slicing. You will have a sliceable frozen cheesecake that’s firmer, perfect for a hot day.
TIP: If you bought whole freeze-dried strawberries, simply blend them up first and measure out enough for the recipe, and store the rest in a sealed container. It will stick to the inside of the blender quite a lot so I recommend washing it out first.
Optional: Make Strawberry Sauce
- In a small pot, add the sliced fresh or frozen strawberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, cornstarch, vanilla and salt. Mix and bring to a boil, then reduce temperature and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until it's become saucy.Let cool for 10 minutes to thicken, then pour over the entire cheesecake or store in the fridge for drizzling over individual pieces of cheesecake.
Notes
Macros per slice (makes 8): 470 cal, 13g protein, 40g carbs, 29g fat
Without crust (just the filling): 275 cal, 12g protein, 19g carbs, 17g fat
Cashews: To quick soak, add to a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling water overtop, and soak for about 30 minutes until softened. For overnight soaking, simply soak in room temp water overnight.
Tofu: I've tried this recipe with both medium-firm and extra-firm tofu, both giving great, but different, results depending what you're looking for. If you want a silkier smooth, more pudding-like texture, go for medium-firm or firm tofu, and for a more dense, classic creamy cheesecake texture, use extra-firm.
Freeze-dried strawberries: This ingredient is non-negotiable! It gives essential strawberry flavour without watering down the filling too much with fresh strawberries. It also helps bind and thicken. In the USA, Trader Joe's carries freeze-dried strawberries (sliced) and they're available in many grocery stores as well as on Amazon. I have not found strawberry powder, so in this recipe I make it myself simply by blending them up whole in my blender.