I have had my fair share of attempts at trying to make a vegan cheesecake and to be honest I’ve only come across inspiration for this recipe a few months ago after two disasters of trying to make a vegan cheesecake out of silk tofu…don’t try it, it just doesn’t work!

I’ve modified this recipe and made it into a Christmas version by using my favorite German Christmas cookies which are called ‘Spekulatius‘ and can be compared to gingerbread. But frankly, you can use any kind of cookies! For all of those that don’t know: Oreos are vegan! So ou could use them for the Cheesecake crust, too!

Ingredients

2 handful of cookies of your choice (roughly about 300gr)

some baking powder (roughly about 4 tbsp)

some sugar (depends on how sweet you want your cake to be! But you need at least 2 tbsp for the filling)

150 gr of vegan butter or margarine

4 tbsp of custard or vanilla pudding powder

2 packs of Alpro Vanilla

2 limes (optional)

This recipe is quite easy and doesn’t take too long, roughly about 15min preparation and 45min in the oven. We divided it into 2 different parts: the crust & the filling.

Let’s start with the cookie crust!

1. Start by crushing your cookies until there are no bigger crumbs left. The easiest way to do this is by placing the cookies in a (clean) plastic bag and using a hammer or any other hammer-like object to hit the cookies with! Great exercise for your arms, too!

2. Put the vegan butter in a mug and melt it in the microwave for about 30 sec. Then add it to the cookie crumbs and mix it until it becomes a firm consistency!

3. Add the baking powder and a little bit of cinnamon if you like.

4. Line a round baking form with baking paper and firmly press the cookie crumb mixture into the form using your hands.

How to make the filling

1. Start by mixing the custard powder and 2 tbsp of the sugar, add a little bit of boiling water and stir until the custard powder has dissolved and turned into a pudding-like consistency!

2. Mix the custard mixture and both packs of Alpro Vanilla in a bowl. Add about 2 tbsp of baking powder and some lime juice if you like. We think that the citrus note goes really well with the creamy cheesecake consistency!

3. Pour the filling on top of the crust.

Baking

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the cake for about 45 min. Use a knife, stick it into the cake to see if it’s done or still a little too moist.

2. When the cake is done it needs to cool down and sit for at least 4h to become firm, you can even put it in the freezer if you’re as impatient as we were when making this cake!

3. If you want you can save some of the Alpro Vanilla, put it on top of the cake and sprinkle some more cookie crumbs on it.

enjoy!

Baked and written by Katrine Jensen, Luisa Heisig and Michelle Pantke.