Cheesecake was one of my favorite desserts before I became vegetarian so coming up with a vegan version was a very high priority for me! Great for anyone that's lactose intolerant as well. This is one of our simplest recipes and is absolutely delicious. Be sure to make it the day before because it's best after being refrigerated (or frozen) overnight.
Preparation and Assembly Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 1 cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
24oz vegan cream cheese - plain (Daiya® and Tofutti®) are good choices
¼ cup vegan sour cream
¼ cup vanilla creamer (we use Silk®)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Ener-G® Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
1 deep dish (or extra serving) graham cracker crust
OPTIONAL TOPPING
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all of the ingredients for the cheesecake (except the pie crust) in a large bowl. Blend thoroughly with a mixer, or stir by hand. Make sure you mix until the batter is smooth.
2. Pour the batter into the pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes. It is important that the cheesecake bakes thoroughly so that it will be thick the next day.
3. After baking, remove from the oven and let cool completely. Refrigerate (or freeze) overnight or at least 8 hours and then slice and serve with strawberry topping if desired. It can be kept in the freezer for extra thickness.
4. For the strawberry topping, simply combine the fresh sliced strawberries and the sugar in a bowl. Let sit for about 2 hours; it will make its own glaze and then be ready to use, or you can refrigerate overnight with the cheesecakes.
