A crunchy biscuit base, a dairy-free white chocolate and vanilla cheesecake filling, topped with a sticky salted caramel sauce.
What’s better than a delicious cheesecake? A light and creamy caramel and white chocolate cheesecake topped with homemade caramel sauce, sea salt and dairy-free white chocolate, that’s what!!!
I am on a bit of a cheesecake hype at the moment. Since making my Vegan Oreo Cheesecake, Twix Cheesecake and Lemon Ripple Cheesecake, I knew it was on for me to create another incredible recipe for you all.
I am so excited to share with you my latest recipe, which I am extremely proud of! I’ve worked super hard to create a mouth-wateringly good cheesecake which is topped with a gooey, sticky and *very moreish* salted caramel sauce!
The baked filling has a ‘New York cheesecake’ feeling and flavour to it. It’s ultra-creamy and melts in your mouth. It’s one of those desserts you’ll be going back for more!
This cheesecake is:
- Gelatin free
- 100% vegan
- Made using tofu (see notes*)
- Easy to make
- Can be made gluten-free (if you use gluten-free biscuits in the base)
- Drenched in delicious salted caramel sauce
- These dessert is a serious winner if you love baked cheesecakes!
When I sat down to brainstorm some new cheesecake flavours, this was the one that stood out to me. White chocolate and caramel are a match made in dessert heaven. If you love cheesecake as much as I do, you’ll absolutely LOVE this recipe!
The cheesecake had the perfect texture, its thick and full of white chocolate whilst the caramel sauce adds a saltiness which cuts through the sweetness.
Looking for more cheesecakes? Look no further:
Baked Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Vegan Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake Bars
Notes*
- Cashew nuts: The cashew nuts need to be soaked overnight in water. Just make sure the water is covering the nuts! This makes them softer, which creates a grain-free and smooth cheesecake filling.
- Tofu: My favourite tofu to use for cheesecakes is silken tofu. It’s soft and makes for a really creamy cheesecake. My favourites are ‘Clearspring Organic Tofu’, ‘Satono Tofu’. Any tofu that comes in a box will be perfect, just make sure you drain the water from the tofu before use. If you don’t, the cheesecake maybe soft but still extremely tasty!
- Cream cheese- To be honest, any dairy-free cream cheese will work perfectly in this recipe. My favourites to use are: ‘Violife Cream Original’, Sainsbury’s own Free From Cream Cheese’. Any soft, and creamy cream cheese is great!
Baking time: 1 hour +
Chilling time: Overnight
Serves: 10
Level: Medium
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Ingredients for the caramel sauce
- 180g of caster sugar
- 65g of coconut cream
- 50ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
Ingredients for the base
- 250g of plain biscuits (I use vegan digestives)
- 120g of dairy-free butter/ margarine
Ingredients for the filling
- 50g of dairy-free white chocolate
- 300g of cashew nuts (see notes*)
- 500g of dairy-free cream cheese (see notes*)
- 100g of silken tofu (see notes*)
- 100g of icing sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 50g of coconut cream (see notes*)
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Method (caramel sauce)
1. Place the sugar into a large pan over low/medium heat, stirring continuously until it begins to dissolve and turn into a golden-like syrup, then turn off the heat.
This will take around 10-15 minutes.
When it’s golden and liquid, add in the coconut cream and salt, stir vigorously. It will steam and bubble but keep stirring. Be very careful!
2. Once the caramel cools down, pour in the dairy-free milk, stir until everything is dissolved.
3. Place the pan back onto a low/medium heat bring it back to the boil. It will begin to bubble, just keep stirring. Stir for around 1-2 minutes.
4. Turn the heat off and pour into a heatproof bowl and pop into the fridge. Chill overnight for best results.
Method (base)
1. Line an 8” loose base/push up cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Place the biscuits into a food processor/blender and whizz up until crumbly, but not too fine.
3. Melt the dairy-free butter/margarine in a small saucepan over the hob.
4. In a bowl, add in the crushed biscuits and pour over the melted butter and mix until like wet sand. You want it to hold its shape.
Press the mixture into the lined cake tin and up the sides, making sure to compact it in using a spoon or clean hands. The more compact it is, the less likely it will crumble.
Place into the freezer whilst you make the filling.
Method (cheesecake filling)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c fan. Drain the cashew nuts from the water and place them into a food processor/blender along with the dairy-free cream cheese, tofu, icing sugar, salt, vanilla extract and coconut cream. Whizz up on high speed for around 5 minutes until smooth. Add some more coconut cream if needed.
I use a ‘Kitchenaid Powerplus blender’. It’s best to use a high-speed blender if possible as the mixture is quite thick, and you want it as smooth as possible.
You might need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides a few times to make sure everything is incorporated.
2. Fill a small saucepan 3/4 full with water, creating a bain-marie, place onto the hob over low/ medium heat. Place a heat proof bowl over the saucepan and add in the white chocolate. Allow the chocolate to melt.
Once melted, pour into the cheesecake mixture and whizz up to combine.
3. Pour the cheesecake filling on to the crust. Tap the cheesecake on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
4. Place the cheesecake into the oven and bake for 1 hour + 30 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake turn golden in colour. If it’s burning or turning to golden, you can cover the top of the cheesecake with some foil.
Test the cheesecake to see if it’s baked by jiggling the tin. If the cheesecake jiggles only a little bit in the middle, it’s ready. If it looks too wet, it needs more time in the oven to bake.
The cheesecake will look soft in the middle, but it will firm up whilst it cools down.
5. Once the cheesecake has baked, transfer it to a wire rack to cool in the tin.
When it’s fully cooled, place it into the fridge overnight, in the tin.
Don’t try to remove the cheesecake from the tin, as it will break apart. It will firm up in the fridge.
6. Once ready and set, carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and place into a serving plate.
Serve with a drizzle of the salted caramel sauce, a sprinkling of sea salt and grated dairy-free white chocolate (optional).
To store:
Store this cheesecake in the fridge in a sealed container. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Best enjoyed within 3 days of making.
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Hiya, this looks amazing. What heat did you bake it on? x
It bakes at 180 degrees c xx
Can’t wait to try this! Is there a particular coconut cream you’d recommend?
Aw thank you so much! xx enjoy