Vegan Baking

Try to stay away from soy yogurts that contain ingredients ending in starch or gum. These thickeners isolate the activity of the Lactobacillus, making it less effective. This recipe must be used with soy yogurt. Non-soy yogurts such as almond yogurt and coconut yogurt lack sufficient flavor and fermentable materials necessary to develop the tart, dairy-esque flavor we’re looking for. Plus, non-soy yogurts consist of large amounts of starches and gums which often make them more similar to pudding than yogurt.

 

If you don’t have access to almond flour, 240 grams of whole unsoaked almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts or even pine nuts will do as long as nuts with skins have their skins removed. Each different type of nut will bring its own distinctive flavor to this cheesecake. Imagine using hazelnuts in a chocolate cheesecake! To use whole nuts, grind them in a food processor or blender until they’re the consistency of fine sand. Then add them to the soy yogurt and blend as directed in the recipe.

 

Coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt further enhance the yogurt mixture. Caramel and caramelized apples are then folded in, which truly brings this cheesecake to another level. I prefer to bake vegan cheesecakes at lower temperatures for longer periods rather than using thickeners like agar to save time. Thickeners tend to coat flavor molecules in their gel-like suspension which can make flavors draw out longer but less intense. I find that vegan cheesecakes benefit by as much flavor intensity of well balanced flavors as possible. The recipe steps may seem daunting at first but fear not, dear baker. This cheesecake can be prepared in sections leading up to serving day.