Hello lovelies, today I have a recipe for you for a sweet cake that I have loved since I was a child: cheesecake. But this time it’s of course a vegan version: the perfect vegan cheesecake - with silken tofu! I was very happy for the opportunity to create this recipe in cooperation with Taifun Tofu*, as I have been a huge fan of their tofu products for quite some time now. I didn’t want to just create a regular vegan version of this cake but rather use the original recipe from my childhood as a base. I was able to find it in the recipe book of all family recipes that my mother created a copy of for me when I first moved out (thank you Mama!!). I particularly like the fact that she always added the name of the person she had the recipe from – such a beautiful memory. It allows you to connect the recipe with the person.
The recipe for the cheese cake is from one of my aunts. I loved this one as a kid, but also the more fancy version with baked meringue on top - we called it golden drop cake. Because you leave it over night and in the morning little golden drops had appeared on the meringue - hence the cute name.
I baked both versions for you, the regular cheesecake and the one with meringue made from aquafaba, which worked perfectly! But let me tell you one thing, unfortunately the golden drops didn’t form naturally – I had to help with some maple syrup. Oh well, sometimes you have to create your own magic :-).
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
Cake base:
- 260 gr 2 cups flour
- 80 gr 1/3 cup sugar (i.e. cane sugar)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp soy flour
- 140 gr vegan butter /margarine
Cheese cream:
- 800 gr 28 oz. Taifun silken tofu
- 150 gr 3/4 cup cane sugar
- 60-70 gr 1/2 cup starch
- Pulp of 2-3 vanilla beans or 4 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 organic lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 70 ml 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 Tbsp soy flour
Meringue:
- 100 ml 1/2 cup aquafaba (water of chickpeas)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 100 gr 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake base:
- Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and soy flour
- Add cold butter/margarine
- Knead into a smooth dough – wrap it in foil and place it in fridge for approx. 30 minutes
Cheese cream:
- Add the silken tofu along with all other ingredients into a mixer/food processor and mix on high level until the mixture is smooth, there shouldn’t be any chunks left
- The more starch you use, the more solid the cheese cream gets
Meringue:
- Put the aquafaba into a bowl and whip it using a mixer or food processor
- Slowly stir in the cream of tartar, powdered sugar and vanilla
- Depending on which machine you use, it may take a little longer for the aquafaba to stiffen, approx. 5-10 minutes
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
- Take the cake base out of the fridge
- Either grease a large springform pan ø 26 cm (10”) or two small ones ø 18 cm (7“) or line them with baking paper
- Put the dough into the pan and press it down firmly as well as 2/3 from the sides
- Put the cheese cream onto it
- Bake the small pans for approx. 30-40 minutes, the large one for approx. 45-55 minutes
- If you bake the golden drop cake with meringue, put the meringue onto the cake for the last 20 minutes and bake it
- Let the cake cool off and take the cake out of the pan
This cheesecake will turn out very creamy because of the silken tofu and I’m very impressed by the consistency. It’s decisive to add lots of vanilla to the cream and if you like you can also add some turmeric powder in order to make the cake look a little more yellow. Silken tofu isn’t only suitable for cake, you can also perfectly add it to smoothies and I like to use it for savory quiches.
I’m pretty sure you will be able to convince vegans and non-vegans with this cheesecake. Unfortunately my aunt doesn’t live nearby anymore, otherwise I would have definitely made her try it. Do you also have cakes that remind you of your childhood? I’m very pleased I was able to create one more very delicious vegan version of a cake from back in the days. You can simply eat this cake pure or decorate it with fresh seasonal fruits to turn it into an extra beautiful highlight on your coffee table!
As mentioned in the recipe you can either bake two small or one large cake, or you just divide the ingredients by half and bake a smaller cake. You have to try the golden drop version, I love it. Here it’s important that you add genuine cream of tartar to the aquafaba meringue in order for the meringue not to collapse in the oven. I ordered the cream of tartar online but you can also find it in well-stocked baking supply shops.
Now I’m curious to find out whether you like this cheesecake as much as we do. I hope you will try this recipe! As usual I’m looking forward to your pictures and tags. And thanks to Taifun Tofu for this wonderful cooperation that provided a trip to my childhood!
Love, Verena
*This blog post was created in cooperation with Taifun Tofu – the recipes are my own.
This post is also available in: deutsch
comments
I made this a few days ago and the flavour is really lovely! It does remind me very much of traditional lemon meringue cheesecake and I really appreciate that the recipe doesn’t just call for ‘vegan cream cheese’!
I’d use less cornstarch next time. I used the lesser amount of 60g and you could feel it in the texture of the final product. I also used a smaller cake tin and baked for only 35 mins in total, but wish I had baked for a bit longer (as it was taller). The meringue did not need 20 mins – more like 15. It also really needs a good 3-4 hours at least in the fridge before you slice into it.
I also used reduced aquafaba in the meringue which was good. And I used almond flour instead of soy flour which (I think) had the same effect.
Hello! When you say “starch” do you mean “cornstarch”? I’m not sure if they are the same 🙂
Hello, yes exactly! You can use any starch, cornstarch works fine!
Hello,
yes you can, I always make it without, I just go for 75 g of cornstarch. It turns out amazing.
I also add orange juice and orange zest as I usually make a double portion of the “chese cream” and it gives it a nice more original flavour.
For the base is there supposed to be a liquid to bring it together?
Hello, no not needed, the butter/margarine will combine everything. If it seams to be too try, you can add a little bit of plant based milk.
Hello!
Can I ommit or sub soy flour?
Better not, since it is working as substitute for an egg. You could maybe try flax meal instead.