Creamy Vegan Apricot 'Cheesecake'

(*ad: in cooperation with pandoo)

There’s honestly nothing much more to add to this cute little apricot ‘cheesecake’, except that it’s vegan, it’s creamy, it’s fruity and it has a wonderfully crisp and crunchy crust. Oh, and with just a few adjustments it can also be made refined-sugar-free and gluten-free as well! It’s an honest allrounder, this little one.

Paired with its fresh and tangy apricot sauce, this cake is basically the perfect summery dessert or treat and will surely give anyone that happy cake-smile we all need sometimes.

So without further ado, let’s grab some apricots and get to the baking!

and here’s the recipe for this:

Creamy Vegan Apricot ‘Cheesecake’

Ingredients (for an 7 inch cake tin):

for the crust:

• 200g white spelt or all-purpose flour*

• 100g natural unsweetened cashew butter or vegan butter

• 80g maple syrup*

• 3-5 tbsp plant milk or water

• 1 tsp baking powder

• a pinch of salt

for the creamy apricot filling:

• 5-6 fresh apricots

• 400g thick plant based (greek) yogurt alternative*

• 100g vegan cream cheese

• 50g maple syrup*

• 40g cornstarch or instant vanilla pudding powder

• 65g vegan butter or coconut oil

• a pinch of vanilla

for the apricot sauce and toppings:

• 5 fresh apricots

• 1/2 lemon

• 1-3 tbsp maple syrup*

• some vegan white chocolate, sliced almonds or shredded coconut (optional)

Instructions: 

You will need to start preparing your cake one day prior to serving it!

1. First combine the crust ingredients, except the plant milk or water, until you get to a slightly drier dough consistency which can be formed into a ball of dough. If your dough won’t stick enough to be formed, add the 3-5 tbsps of plant milk and water.

2. Roll out the dough slightly and transfer it to a lined or greased cake tin. Press the dough into the cake tin to form a bottom layer and bring it up to the sides as well. Then prick the dough a few times with a fork.

3. Wash, core and slice the apricots for the filling in half. Then place half to the apricot halfs on the bottom layer of your cake and set aside.

4. Preheat your oven to 160°C (circulating air) or 180°C (upper and lower heat) and melt down the vegan butter or coconut oil in a small sauce pan.

5. Now prepare the creamy part of the filling. For that, combine vegan yoghurt and cream cheese alternatives, cornstarch, vanilla and maple syrup and mix together until creamy. Then add the melted vegan butter or coconut oil and mix once again until evenly combined.

6. Pour the creamy filling over the crust and apricots and add the remaining sliced apricot halfs on top.

7. Bake the cake for about 45-50mins and optionally cover with some aluminum foil. After the 45-50mins, turn down the oven and leave the cake inside for about 15 more minutes, keeping the oven door slightly opened. Then take out the cake and let it cool at room temperature first, then place inside the fridge overnight to harden. (The cake may still look a bit liquid at this point but it’ll set in the fridge!)

8. While the cake is cooling down, prepare your apricot sauce. For that, wash, core and slice up 4 of the apricots once again and heat them up together with the juice of 1/2 lemon in a small sauce pan over low to medium heat.

9. Add tablespoons of maple syrup to taste and let the mixture boil for a few more minutes until the apricots are falling apart. Optionally you can add the sauce to a blender and blend until there are no bigger apricot pieces left. Then let it cool down and place the sauce into the fridge overnight as well.

10. The next day, take out your cake right before serving it and spread the apricot sauce on top. Wash, core and slice up the last remaining apricot and use it to further decorate the cake. Lastly sprinkle some chopped vegan white chocolate, sliced almonds or shredded coconut on top and you’re done!

A summery cake for sure.

*Notes:

1. If you want to make this cake gluten-free, you can replace the regular flour for oat flour while making the crust. You may have to add a bit more oat flour or liquid, in case your dough is looking too dry or too sticky. When using oat flour, the texture of the baked crust will be a bit less crisp but still super yummy nonetheless!

2. Instead of maple syrup, you can of course use any sweetener of choice.

3. I used a vegan ‘quark’ alternative for this cake which has a similar texture to very thick yogurt or even greek yogurt. If you can’t find that, try to grab the thickest vegan yogurt you can find and sub a part of the amount of vegan yogurt alternative with more vegan cream cheese, so your filling won’t be too liquid-y!

Did you make this recipe?

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