Raspberry Cheezecake, with Oreo crust
One of my cooking magazines had a lovely photo of a raspberry cheesecake on the cover, and I knew I had to try to make it, my way of course. Since I've recently discovered a new vegan cream cheese here, I decided to try that instead of the old standby, Tofutti.
This one is made by the same company that makes the margarine I've discovered here. Pure is made by Puresoya, and their products so far have been excellent.
And since I had some Oreos, I used that for the crust instead of graham crackers or digestives. (Note: British Oreos are not vegan, but American ones are. I have no idea why.)
I used a small springform pan—for a larger pan, your cheesecake won't be as thick, but that's okay. I also forgot to save some of the strained raspberries to drizzle over the cheesecake before serving.
But it tasted wonderful regardless. In fact, it was so good we took the leftovers to Germany on our road trip. Saved it in our cooler and put it in the hotel fridge—it made for a delicious breakfast in Cologne!
Here's how:
Raspberry Cheesecake (Vegan)
Crust:
12 Oreos, separated and white part scraped off
2 1/2 tablespoons melted margarine
Note: if your pan is larger than 7 inches, you may need more cookies.
20 ounces (600 grams) vegan cream cheese
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup vegan yogurt
1/2 lb raspberries
Crush the Oreo cookies in a food processor or with a rolling pin, placing the cookies between pieces of wax paper. When they have been pulverized into fine crumbs, combine them with the margarine in a small bowl.
Line the bottom of a small springform tin (mine was 7 inches or 18 centimeters) with the crumb mixture. Bake in a preheated 180C/350F oven for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Combine the vegan cream cheese, flour, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and yogurt in a bowl and blend with a mixer at high speed until the mixture is combined.
Place a few of the raspberries on the bottom of the baked crust. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the top. Reserve a few of the remaining raspberries for garnish, and crush the rest with a wooden spoon against a wire mesh strainer, straining the raspberries into a bowl. (The seeds and some of the pulp will remain in the mesh strainer; discard.)
Pour about two tablespoons of puree over the top of the cream cheese. With a knife, cut through the raspberry puree, swirling it into the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 180C/350F oven. Remove and let cool, then serve with the remaining raspberries.