Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Food

VEGAN LEMON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• If making GF version, mix psyllium husks with 30 ml / 2 tbsp of water in a small bowl and set aside to hydrate.
• Place almond flour, GF or regular flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
• Add in melted fat and, if making a GF crust, activated psyllium to the dry ingredients and use a little less fat (I found 5 tbsp of melted coconut oil to be sufficient). Rub them into the dry ingredients with your fingers. The mixture should resemble slightly moist crumb by the end.
• Grease the baking tin (I used a round 20 cm / 8" springform tin) and line the bottom and the sides with baking paper.
• Using your hands, spread the crumb on the base of your tin and mould it to the bottom and a little to the side using your fingers. Compress the crust using a flat bottomed glass over a piece of baking paper. Pierce the bottom with a fork in a few places.
• Bake in a 180° C / 355° F oven for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool.
• Place drained cashews, oat milk, lemon juice and lemon zest in an upright blender. Blend until the mixture is super smooth and there are no lumps or visible grain.
• Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth again.
• Pour the mixture over the pre-baked base. Tap the tin against the workbench a few times to burst any air bubbles in the mixture as they will cause cracks after baking.
• Bake in a 160° C / 320° F oven for about 40-45 minutes - it's ready when the sides are set, but the middle is still a bit wobbly. Cool completely (overnight is best) before cutting.
• Decorate with blueberries and dollops of vegan meringue or vegan whipped cream. Once cut, store leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 5 days.

(VEGAN) LEMON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place silken tofu and vegan cream cheese in the food processor. Process for 1 minute, then add sugar. Process until smooth and no sugar granules remain, 3-5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and almond extract. Whisk in cornstarch. Pour mixture into the food processor and process until very smooth. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes.
• Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate overnight.

VEGAN LEMON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Put the cashews in a large bowl, pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 1 hr. Meanwhile, blitz the ingredients for the base with a pinch of salt in a food processor. Grease a 23cm tart tin with coconut oil, then press the mix into the base and pop in the fridge to set (about 30 mins).
• Drain the cashews and tip into the cleaned out food processor. Add all the remaining topping ingredients, reserving a quarter of the lemon zest in damp kitchen paper to serve, then blitz until smooth. Spoon onto the base and put in the fridge to set completely (about 2 hrs). Just before serving, scatter over the reserved lemon zest.