Veganer Kirsch-Käsekuchen (vegan cherry cheesecake)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Base
- 200 g oat biscuits, vegan rounded
- 80 g coconut oil, melted rounded
Filling
- 350 g cashews, soaked in cold water at least 4 hours, drained rounded
- 200 ml coconut milk rounded
- 90 g sugar rounded
- 40 ml lemon juice rounded
- 60 ml neutral oil rounded
- 5 ml vanilla extract rounded
Cherry topping
- 400 g sour cherries, pitted, well drained if jarred rounded
- 80 g sugar rounded
- 100 ml cherry juice or water rounded
- 3 g agar-agar powder rounded
Method
Method
- Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs and stir in the melted coconut oil until it looks like wet sand. Press firmly into the base of a 22 cm springform and chill while you make the filling.
- Blend the drained cashews, coconut milk, sugar, lemon juice, oil and vanilla together until completely smooth, a full 2 to 3 minutes past the point it looks smooth; any remaining graininess will still be there once set.
- Pour the filling over the chilled base, smooth the top, and chill for at least 4 hours, until firm enough to hold a topping.
- Combine the cherries, sugar and cherry juice or water in a pan. Whisk in the agar-agar powder while cold, then bring to a full boil, stirring, and boil for 2 minutes; agar needs this genuine boil to set, a gentle simmer is not enough.
- Cool the cherry topping for 10 minutes, until it starts to thicken slightly but is still pourable, then spread it evenly over the set filling.
- Chill at least 4 more hours, ideally overnight, before releasing the ring and slicing.
Notes
- Blend the cashew filling far longer than seems necessary. Cashews look smooth in a blender well before they actually are; any remaining graininess is far more obvious once the filling is cold and set.
- Agar sets differently from gelatine and needs a real, rolling boil to activate, not just a warm-through; skip this and the cherry topping stays liquid no matter how long it chills.
- Soak the cashews properly. Under-soaked cashews blend to a grainy paste no amount of processing time fixes; a full 4 hours in cold water, or 1 hour in just-boiled water, softens them enough.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge, covered.
Ingredient substitutions
- Sour cherries can be sweet cherries, pitted, with the sugar reduced slightly.
- Agar-agar comes in flakes as well as powder; flakes need roughly double the quantity and a longer boil, so check the packet if using flakes instead.
- Coconut milk should be full-fat for the right body; light coconut milk gives a thinner filling.
- For a nut-free version, sunflower seeds soaked and blended the same way give a reasonable, if less rich, alternative to cashews.