Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake

Step 1

Let's start with the cheesecake base! Place your biscuits into a freezer bag and crush them - alternatively, you can process them in a food processor until they are broken down into crumbles. Pour the melted dairy-free spread over the biscuit crumbles and stir together until well combined. Line an 8-inch round cake tin and press the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the tin to create the base for your cake. Transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight, whilst you're preparing the rest of your vegan cheesecake.

Step 2

Place the tofu into a high-speed blender, pour in the maple syrup, lemon juice and sprinkle in the vanilla powder, then blend on a medium speed until smooth. Add the vegan cream cheese and blend until it's combined, then add the icing sugar to the running blender spoon by spoon.

Step 3

Lastly, whisk up the agar agar powder in a little water to just about dissolve it and pour it into the blender. Blend for another minute to evenly incorporate the agar mix.

Step 4

Pour 250ml of the cheesecake mixture into a bowl and set aside. Pour the rest of the cheesecake mix into a saucepan and heat it on the stove over low/medium heat whilst whisking continuously for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour onto the biscuit base and smooth out the top. Gently tap the cake tin onto the counter to remove any air bubbles. Transfer the cake tin into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Step 5

In the meantime, remove the stalks from your strawberries and add them to the blender (no need to clean the blender in between!). Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and blend the mix at a high speed until all the strawberries are broken down. Run the mix through a fine sieve to remove any strawberry pips and transfer it to a saucepan over medium heat.

Step 6

Sprinkle in the light brown sugar and stir in the 250ml of cheesecake mix we set aside earlier. Heat over medium heat for 3 minutes, then mix the agar agar with a little water to dissolve and add it to the saucepan. Heat the mixture whilst continuously stirring for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Step 7

Carefully pour the strawberry mix onto the cheesecake and transfer it back to the fridge for a minimum of 2 hrs to set.

Step 8

Gently, remove the cake from the cake tin and decorate with fresh strawberries, vegan whipped cream, mint leaves and/or edible flowers.