Vegan Baileys Cheesecake
Vegan Baileys cheesecake – this rich, creamy vegan cheesecake is the perfect dessert for celebrations. It is easy to make, eggless and dairy-free and tastes so good you would never guess that it’s vegan!
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
Base:
- 250 g (9 oz) vegan friendly digestive biscuits (or gingersnaps/ Oreos)
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) vegan block butter (not the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) melted
Filling:
- 80 g (½ cup) raw cashews soaked in boiling water for ½ hour, or in cold water overnight
- 450 g (16 oz) firm silken tofu* excess water drained off
- 150 ml (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) Baileys Almande**
- 250 ml (1 cup) coconut cream***
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 150 g (¾ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- 30 g (¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 20 g (2 Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Ganache:
- 150 g (5 ⅓ oz) dark chocolate chopped
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp) Baileys Almande**
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) coconut cream***
Instructions
- You need to start the day before you want to serve the cheesecake as it is best if it is refrigerated overnight. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Start by crushing your choice of biscuits for the base, you can do this in a food processor or put them in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin.
- Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix in the melted vegan butter. It should resemble wet sand. Tip this mixture into a good, non-stick 20cm/8 inch round springform cake tin, spread it out evenly and pack down firmly with the base of a glass.
- Bake the base in the preheated oven for 10 minutes then remove and set aside to cool.
- To make the filling, drain the soaked cashews well then add them to a blender along with the silken tofu, coconut cream, Baileys Almande, lemon juice, sugar, cornflour, flour, vanilla extract, nutmeg and salt.
- Blend until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Let it settle for 5 minutes to allow some of the air bubbles to pop.
- Meanwhile, wrap the bottom of the springform tin in a double layer of tin foil; the tin is going to be sitting in water so make sure that the top of the tin foil is high enough that no water is going to come over the top. Put the kettle on.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture over the baked base then bash the tin on the worktop a couple of times to burst any remaining air bubbles. Place the tin in a roasting tray and place it in the oven.
- Pour boiling water into the roasting tin so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the tin. Be very careful that none goes over the top of the tinfoil.
- Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour. When it is ready it should be set but still jiggle in the middle if you tap it. Switch the oven off but leave the cheesecake in there (it's fine to leave it in the water bath) and leave it to cool down slowly for an hour or so, then allow it to cool completely at room temperature before you cover it and place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, make the ganache. Place the chopped dark chocolate, Baileys Almande and coconut cream in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir until melted and smooth then remove from the heat.
- Let the ganache cool until it is room temperature but still pourable.
- Once the cheesecake is chilled, run a knife around the edge to make sure it isn't sticking to the tin then undo the clip and remove the rim of the tin.
- Pour the gananche over the top of the cheesecake. Either serve right away or referigerate until you are ready to eat it.
Notes
- *You need to use firm silken tofu which is the shelf stable kind, NOT the kind you would find in the fridge section. Most supermarkets have it, or you can easily find it online. If you don’t want to use tofu then you can probably swap it for vegan cream cheese.
- **I used Baileys Almande, but you can use any kind of vegan Irish Cream liqueur instead, whether shop bought or homemade.
- ***I used coconut cream that comes in a carton. If you aren’t able to get hold of coconut cream then you can use a tin of full fat coconut milk – don’t shake or stir it; use all of the solid white part then top up to the 250ml line with the leftover liquid.
- ***The coconut cream can also be swapped for a soy or oat based cream. The higher the fat content the better.
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them
- The cheesecake will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for around 3 days. It can also be frozen.