Dairy Free Cheesecake with Gluten Free Base
The Wrote Oat
August 21, 2023
As I’ve said before, you don’t have to give up good, delicious food because you live a gluten and dairy free lifestyle! This is one of those recipes that I know many dairy-free people think they may never have again, or if they do, it won’t be very good and may have an unusual texture and unpleasant aftertaste.
But I have good news! After one major baking fail attempting, for the first time, a dairy-free cheesecake, I have worked out the problems and difficulties that may arise in attempting a dairy-free cheesecake. Read on for a delicious and delightful recipe!
My recipe uses a 7″ springform pan. If you have a larger pan, I recommend doubling this recipe.
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Ingredients
Adjust Servings
| 3/4 cup crushed cookies or graham crackers I used gluten-free Oreos. Make sure whatever you use is gluten-free! | |
| 2 Tbsp dairy free butter, melted | |
| 1/3 cup white or coconut sugar | |
| 1/4 cup plain cashew yogurt | |
| 2 Tbsp cornstarch | |
| 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice | |
| 1 tsp vanilla extract make sure it's gluten free | |
| 16 oz dairy free plain cream cheese I used Daiya brand |
Optional fruit add-in
| 1/2 cup chopped strawberries | |
| 1 Tbsp sugar |
Directions
1.
1.
Preheat oven to 350* F and line the outside of a 7" springform pan with foil.
Grease the inside of the springform pan.
Mark as complete
2.
2.
Prepare the cookie base by crushing the cookies in a plastic zip bag with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor. Pour into a medium-sized bowl and thoroughly mix with the melted dairy-free butter.
Press the cookie crumb mix into the base of the springform pan.
Mark as complete
3.
3.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt, cornstarch, and lemon juice until smooth.
Add and beat the room-temperature dairy-free cream cheese until smooth. Unlike "normal," diary-containing cheesecake where you shouldn't over-mix the batter, in this case it has to be mixed heavily because the dairy-free cream cheese may have the texture of cottage cheese if under-mixed and not beaten until smooth.
Mark as complete
4.
4.
OPTIONAL:
I added strawberries to this cheesecake. While preparing your cheesecake ingredients, heat on the stove on low in a small saucepan the strawberries and 1 Tbsp sugar until the strawberries release their juices. Mash the strawberries periodically and ensure that it doesn't burn.
Mark as complete
5.
5.
Reserve the strawberry juice for the top of the cheesecake and put the mashed strawberries in the cheesecake batter and beat with the hand mixer.
Mark as complete
6.
6.
Spoon the cheesecake batter over the cookie base and smooth the top. Swirl the strawberry juice into the top of the cheesecake with a toothpick.
Place the foil-lined-on-the-outside springform pan in a shallow baking dish and pour 1-2 inches of water into the base of the baking dish, ensuring you don't get water into the cheesecake pan or foil.
Mark as complete
7.
7.
Bake 60 minutes. Don't open the oven door.
Once the hour of baking is done, turn off the oven, crack the oven door slightly, and leave the cheesecake to cool down in the oven for 45-60 minutes.
Mark as complete
8.
8.
Don't be concerned regarding how liquidy and "unset" the cheesecake seems. It will set. No amount of further baking will make it set. Remember, this is dairy-free baking, it isn't like a dairy cheesecake.
Remove from the oven and place to cool in the refrigerator over night (this is necessary so that it will set) and serve chilled.
Mark as complete
Notes
This probably won't have the texture of a dairy cheesecake. It may turn out more gelatinous but it isn't like a jello cake. Dairy free baking results in slightly different textures because it doesn't have dairy in it. Most dairy-free cheeses contain some or all of the following: tofu, tapioca, various oils, and xanthan and/or guar gum. I thought this turned out great! I was not disappointed in the least and highly recommend you give this a try!
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