It’s always a good day to share a sweet vegan treat with someone you love.
Mother cows and their calves face heartbreaking suffering in the dairy industry, but you can enjoy creamy cheesecake without supporting that cruelty.
This Valentine’s Day, warm hearts with this delicious dairy-free and gluten-free recipe by Chef Gail Patak of Farm Sanctuary.
Prep time: 45 minutes
Bake time: 60 minutes
Makes: Tall 6-inch cake
Ingredients:
For the cheesecake batter:
2 (12-ounce) containers firm tofu
6 (8-ounce) containers vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
8 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon
For Cranberry-Citrus Sauce:
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
For granola crust:
12 ounces gluten-free granola
2 Tbsp vegan butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
For granola crust: Blend granola and vegan butter until finely ground. Prepare springform pan with parchment paper cut round to fit, then secure the pan sides to the bottom. Press crust down onto the paper, and bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool before adding batter.
For cheesecake batter: Place all ingredients (except the cranberry-citrus sauce ingredients) into strong blender, in 2 batches if needed. Blend on low, then turn to high and process until silky smooth. Pour mixture into the pan with the cooled crust.
For Cranberry-Citrus Sauce: Place all sauce ingredients in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Once cooled, pour into strong blender and blend on medium until smooth.
Cheesecake assembly & baking: Pour 1/2 of the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan with crust. Add 1/2 of the cranberry sauce. Add remaining cheesecake batter on top. Optional: Move a skewer through top layer to swirl the sauce. Bake for about 30 minutes, then turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes or until cake is pretty firm. Remove from oven, let cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Share and enjoy!
Meet Olive cow, who escaped a New York dairy farm and fled into the woods. For six weeks, we worked to rescue Olive, who was so fearful of humans—but is learning to trust and now has a life of sanctuary ahead of her.
