Vegan New York Style Cheesecake

I definitely have a thing for cheesecake. It started way back in high school, and never really went away. In fact, a few of my friends and I have a tradition that whenever we’re together, we eat cheesecake. While it’s sad I don’t see them often, maybe it’s a positive thing.

Since I quit dairy, it was hard to find a substitute for the decadent dessert. Somehow, even though they’re tasty, the frozen varieties never really hit the spot.

This cheesecake, however, does it for me. And it’s husband approved - which is huge, considering he is even more of a cheesecake fan than I am!

The base of this cheesecake is cashews and vegan cream cheese (I’m sorry, nut sensitive friends!). I’ve also tried it with silken tofu, but somehow I like the texture the cream cheese gets. The arrowroot powder adds to the firmness of the cake. You also are in control of how tart you want it. I’ve tested this particular recipe with both as little as 3 TBSP of lemon juice and as much as a 1/4 cup of the liquid lip pucker.

I chose not to put the strawberries on top of the entire cheesecake, as we have a non-fan of the fruit living under the roof. Considering there is only one other human living in our house besides me, I’ll let you guess who that could possibly be.

You could make any type of fruit topping. In fact, get creative! And then let me know what combinations you like best! I’ve made strawberry and blueberry so far. I can’t wait to experiment with more flavors (and I’ve even made a galactic version of this for a space-themed birthday party which was a hit.

This is seriously the best basic cheesecake.

Vegan New York Style Cheesecake

For the Crust:

• 2 cups graham crackers

• ¾ cup melted coconut oil or vegan butter

• ¼ cup maple syrup or agave

• Pinch sea salt

For the Filling:

• 8oz vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti brand)

• 1 cup refrigerated coconut cream

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes

• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (get it from Amazon here)

• ¼ c fresh lemon juice

• ¼ c Maple syrup

• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

• Pinch salt

For the Strawberry Topping:

• 1 container (16 oz) of fresh strawberries, diced and a few just halved

• cane sugar

• lemon juice

• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder mixed in 2 tbsp water

what to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350ºF

2) Prepare the crust by combining all the the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and then press into the pie pan.

3) Bake the crust for 8 minutes, until browned. Set aside to cool.

4) While the crust cools, combine all of the filing ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until a smooth mixture with no cashew chunks, scraping down the sides as deeded.

5) Pour mixture into cooled pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula.

6) Bake 40 minutes - top will be slightly browned.

7) Allow to cool completely.

8) While cake is cooling, make your fruit topping.

9) Make topping by adding the diced strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes - the strawberries will break down. Make the arrowroot powder slurry and add it to the saucepan. Stir until the sauce is thickened. Add the halved strawberries and toss to coat. Cool before serving over the cheesecake.

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Do you like cheesecake? What is your favorite topping? Let me know below!

Trying this recipe? Don’t forget to tag #MapleAlps so we can see what you’re up to! :)

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Easy Moist & Delicious Strawberry Cupcakes (vegan)

I love summer. I love the sunshine and the trips to various bodies of water. I love not having to wear 15 different layers just to keep warm. I even love that the sun gently wakes me up with the singing birds way to early in the morning. I love that the farmer's markets are open, and that strawberries are pretty much everywhere. Strawberries are on my top five list for sure, and so when I saw some super sweet reds on sale the other day, I bought a few too many...

I then remembered that we were planning on leaving town for a week, and so the pressure was on to create something so they wouldn't go completely to waste. I love eating them on their own, but they are always fun to add to things too.

Inspired by these funfetti cupcakes from Minimalist Baker, I decided to take on the challenge and add a strawberry flare to a cupcake. 

I have always had a fascination with strawberry cupcakes. When I was young, I remember someone making some from a package, and I was smitten. Since my mom is a fantastic baker, I only got those cupcakes once or twice after that. I think the part that I really loved was the colour, because they never truly tasted like real strawberries. 

I didn't expect that these would turn out like the ones from a box - especially since I skipped on the dyes and strawberry preserves. I just wanted the taste of a strawberry, and the satisfaction that I could do it. Sometimes, I just need to prove myself to myself, you know?

Anyway, I had zero idea what I was doing, and they turned out great. I have had really bad experiences with vegan cupcakes in the past being bland and dry. My favourite part about these is that they are so moist! To me, there is nothing worse than a dry crumbly cupcake. I also will admit to licking the spoon when I was done...

These aren't exactly the healthiest for you, so don't bake them every week, but I figured my strawberries needed to go to a sweet cause, and sharing sugar once in a while is okay, right? Especially on a long weekend.

PS: My favourite part is the icing. Sure, I can only handle a bit of it, but the strawberry flavour really came out, which makes me extremely happy. I was doing a happy dance when I saw the perfect results!

Delicious Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), softened

• 3/4 cup cane sugar

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup strawberry puree (I just put strawberries in the food processor)

• A few strawberries, chopped (optional)

For the Icing:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance, softened

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 TBSP strawberry puree*

*Note: I boiled down the strawberry puree to get rid of as much water as I could to avoid a runny icing. It worked perfectly. 

what to do:

1) Preheat oven (350 degrees F) and line muffin tin with liners
2) Combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and allow sit
3) Cream the vegan butter with a hand mixer. Add vanilla and sugar and beat until fluffy.
4) Beat in dry ingredients and milk mixture. Mix until there are no lumps. 
5) Add strawberry puree and fold in strawberry pieces. 
6) Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7) Allow to cool completely on cooling rack. They must be completely cooled before being iced. 
8) Prepare icing by beating the softened butter in a mixing bowl. Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar. Add puree. 
9) Add icing to icing bag and place in refrigerator for at least ten minutes before icing cupcakes.

Inspired by Minimalist Baker

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My chocolate-loving husband has requested a chocolate cupcake next, so I'd better get on it, eh?

What about you? Do you love fresh strawberries as much as I do? Willing to try out this recipe and let me know what you think? I can always find you when you use #MapleAlps :)

Use the image below or at the top of the post to pin to Pinterest! :)