Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Strawberry Pudding

chocolate cupcakes filled with strawberry pudding

Ah, Valentine’s Day. The time of love and chocolate, and sometimes strawberries. To honor this holiday, I like to combine chocolate and strawberries (with love) in a decadent dessert.

There are several vegan chocolate cupcake recipes in my repertoire, so I pulled one up and searched for a strawberry aspect. Simply Delish Instant Strawberry Pudding is quick and vegan, so I knew it would make the perfect match for my chocolate cupcakes.

To give the cupcakes extra love, they were decorated with hearts. I used decorative sugar crystals by Color Garden, rainbow softies sprinkles by Supernatural, and some red sparkly stuff without a label that I found with my decorating supplies. Yeah, it got crazy in the kitchen.

Until next time, happy baking!

Print Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Strawberry Pudding

Ah, Valentine’s Day. The time of love and chocolate, and sometimes strawberries. To honor this holiday, I like to combine chocolate and strawberries (with love) in a decadent dessert.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, Chocolate, Cupcake, High Altitude, Valentines Day

Servings: 6

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

1 Stand Mixer
1 Pastry Bag
1 Muffin Tin

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

1/2 cup soy milk
1.5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3/8 cup natural cocoa powder not Dutch process
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons aquafaba
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup vegan granulated sugar

for the filling

1 box instant strawberry pudding (I used Simply Delish)
1.25 cups plant-based creamer

for the frosting

6 tablespoons cold vegan butter
2 tablespoons vegan shortening
3 cups vegan powdered sugar sifted
3 teaspoons non-dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a standard muffin tin with paper cups and set aside. Place soy milk in a jar and add the apple cider vinegar. Place the lid on the jar and shake gently to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes to curdle.
Put cocoa powder in a large heatproof bowl. Add boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in curdled milk, oil, aquafaba, and 3/4 tsp vanilla until combined. In a medium bowl, sift flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir to combine.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until they are half full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs. Let cupcakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Empty the packet of pudding into a mixing bowl with the creamer. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat on slow for 3-5 minutes until light and creamy. Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with the tip cut off. (No pastry tip needed). Set aside.
Next, make the frosting. Place the vegan butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the non-dairy milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla, until it is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
When the cupcakes have cooled, use a small knife or a cupcake corer to make a small well in the center of each cupcake. (Remove the cupcake bits to snack on). Using the pastry bag with the pudding filling, pipe the filling into the well to be level with the top of each cupcake.
Spoon a dollop of frosting on top of each cupcake, thus covering the filling. Smooth the frosting with a regular or offset spatula. Decorate as desired with whatever you have on hand.
Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Notes

You will have leftover pudding and frosting. This is not a bad thing. They are great sandwiched between two cookies.

5 No-Bake Vegan Recipes to Keep You Going Strong in Veganuary

Jan27

We are almost at the end of Veganuary. If you made the commitment to be plant-based this month, then Congratulations! I know that jumping right in to being vegan can be a difficult task, so to keep you on track I compiled my favorite easy no-baking-required recipes. And since desserts are kinda my thing, the recipes are all for sweet treats. Oh, and there’s lots of chocolate involved.

Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

It is fun to reimagine recipes I’ve made in the past. Often this is spurred on by scrounging around in my cupboard and discovering an ingredient that needs to be used up. In this case it was an aseptic box of tofu that was hovering near to its expiration date.

2. Chocolate Tahini Bars

Bar cookies are often rustic looking and are best to grab for a quick dessert. But these bars are different. They are elegant, delicious, and decadent, making them a perfect party treat. They also have no refined sweeteners so they are a healthier option. But if you don’t tell your guests, I won’t.

3. Vegan Espresso Date Shake

With a scorcher of a weekend imminent, it’s time to turn off the oven (no baking??) and bring out the blender. Thoughts of blended beverages has my imagination conjuring up frosty glasses filled with cool drinks. But then, an old memory surfaces.

4. Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips

I’m still celebrating World Plant-Milk Day (or Week, as the case may be). If you’re new to the event, and wondering what I’m talking about, then catch my post from earlier this week. If you’re ready for some advice on making your own plant milk, then read on.

5. Chocolate Crispy Rice Treat Cake

Argh! It’s still too darned hot to turn on the oven. But I won’t let that stop me from enjoying an indulgent treat. Rice crispy treats are a good one to turn to when the weather is a scorcher.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Vegan Chick’n Pot Pie, gluten free option

Jan20

We’ve made it halfway through January, the time when our new year resolve falters. To those who have accepted the Veganuary challenge, you could be looking for more inspiration right about now. Eating vegan may have sounded fun, but now your hungry for more. And by hungry, I mean you want something to eat now that is easy to make and offers some warm comfort in this cold month.

So, I am straying from my usual dessert fare into the realm of main dishes. Pot pies are often considered the ultimate comfort food, and making them vegan is quite simple. With a ready-made crust, the hardest part of this dish is waiting for it to bake in the oven. (I suppose chopping up lots of vegetables is also difficult for some people; maybe you can get a friend to help.)

You can choose a gluten free crust, if desired. If you get the frozen ones by Wholly Gluten Free, as I did, they come in pairs. This leaves you with a second crust which is perfect for making my Apple Blueberry Streusel Pie for dessert.

Vegan Chick’n Pot Pie inspired by Vegan Pot Pie

1 store bought frozen pie shell, gluten free if desired
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups vegetable broth, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes (yellow or red), diced
1.5 cups diced vegetables (see Note), lightly sautéed
1/4 teaspoon mushroom powder
2 teaspoons dried sage, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 – 8 ounces vegan chick’n strips (not a breaded variety), cut into chunks
1/2 cup bread crumbs, gluten free if desired
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Check defrosting/baking instructions for your pie crust.

Add cashews and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to a high-speed blender. Blend into a thick cream. (If you do not have a high-powered blender, then soak the cashews in the broth for 30 minutes prior to blending). Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the potatoes, vegetables, and 1/4 cup of broth. Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes just begin to soften.

Add the mushroom powder, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and chick’n to the skillet, stirring to combine. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the chick’n begins to soften.

Add the cashew cream and remaining 1.25 cups of broth to the skillet and stir. Let the mixture come to a boil, then simmer on low for five more minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the liquid has reduced into a somewhat thick gravy.

Unwrap the pie crust and place it on a baking tray. Use a ladle to scoop the filling mixture into the pie crust. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the filling.

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake the pie for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Remove the tray from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Sprinkle the pie with parsley, then let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Note: Choose 3 or 4 vegetables from broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, green peas, kale, yellow squash, and zucchini. All should be finely chopped (except the peas).

Until next time, happy baking!

New Year’s Eve Raspberry Brownie Truffles

Dec31

To celebrate the year’s end, a bit of chocolate is nice with champagne. Truffles and bubbly make a great pairing, along with a touch of raspberry. It makes me look forward to popping the cork on a bottle of sparkling wine.

To keep the truffles from causing too much of a sugar rush while sipping champagne, I borrowed the idea of using dates as the sweetener and adding nuts for a protein hit. That may sound too healthy but, trust me, these truffles are also decadent. They are the perfect way to welcome the New Year.

New Year’s Eve Raspberry Brownie Truffles inspired by Raspberry Chocolate Truffles

1 cup raw cashew pieces
pinch fine sea salt
1/2 cup date paste
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
4 ounces dark chocolate, broken into pieces
raspberry-flavored vegan jello mix (I used Simply Delish raspberry gel dessert)

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the cashews in a food processor and pulse until they have a fine crumb, similar to almond meal.

Add the processed cashews to a large bowl along with the salt, date paste, raspberry jam, and cocoa powder. Stir until a thick dough forms, adding non-dairy milk as needed. Place the dough in the fridge while you melt the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. When the chocolate has almost fully melted, turn the burner off and stir the chocolate until smooth. If your kitchen is cold, leave the double boiler on the stove to keep the chocolate warm.

Remove the bowl of chocolate dough from the fridge. Scoop out small balls of dough and place them on the parchment lined pan. Place a truffle ball on a fork and dip it into the melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off then place the coated truffle back on the lined pan. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle a bit of jello mix overtop the truffle. Repeat until you have no more chocolate balls.

Until next time, happy non-baking and a Happy New Year!

Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins

Nov19

As the year nears its end, I can spend countless hours in the kitchen. So why am I so hungry all the time? Well, a lot of the baked treats made during the holidays are for gifts or parties. So, in other words, the fruits of my labor are for others to enjoy.

To help allay any future hangries, I stock the fridge with easy to heat-and-eat foods. It helps to avoid eating all of the imperfect cookies while I’m baking. Not that that’s a horrible task, but sometimes I deem the majority of them not perfect enough and there are none left for gifting.

Having a protein-filled snack nearby is the perfect solution. It not only curbs a blood sugar spike caused by testing many sweets, but ensures a meal won’t take a lot of time when time is a precious commodity. I can bake a few dozen cookies, concoct a coffee cake, and prepare a batch of peppermint bark, and still have a chance to throw together an easy meal. Add some slices of spiced apple alongside these Breakfast Oat Muffins and you have a well-rounded lunch.

Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins veganized from Natural Grocer’s Savory Oat Muffins recipe

1.5 cups almond flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons spices of your choice (I used a mix of granulated garlic, granulated onion, smoked paprika, and thyme to equal the 2 teaspoons)
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Just Egg (a vegan liquid egg replacer)
3⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
6 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
1/2 cup dairy-free cheese style shreds (I used Violife cheddar)
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (see note)
1 roasted red pepper (if from a jar then blot it dry on a towel), finely diced (see note)
4 Beyond Breakfast Sausage links, cooked and crumbled (see note)

Preheat oven to 375F. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup muffin pan, or use a silicon muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and spices, breaking up any clumps. Stir in the oats.

In a medium bowl, add the Just Egg, non-dairy milk and melted vegan butter. Whisk well to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well until completely combined. Let sit for 5 minutes so the dry ingredients can absorb some of the moisture. Add the dairy-free cheese, thawed spinach, diced red pepper, and cooked Beyond Sausage. Stir to distribute the ingredients throughout the mixture.

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. Push the batter in each cup down with the back of a spoon, then transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm in the oven or toaster oven at 300F for 10 minutes.

Note: You can customize the add-ins. I used spinach, red pepper, and sausage, You can add drained and chopped olives, diced jalapeños, a different leafy green or diced vegetable that has been squeezed dry. You want the add-ins to total 1 ½ cups.

Until next time, happy baking!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

Sep30

Pumpkin Spice season has arrived! Admittedly, I do not like pumpkin spice in my beverages, however unpopular my idea may be. Cinnamon yes, but not the blend. However, the mix of spices is delicious in baked goods.

Apple season has also arrived, and apples and pumpkin spice pair together perfectly. Spiced apples are lovely to cook up, but I wanted something more substantial to make. The idea struck to use applesauce cake as a backdrop for spicy warm apples.

In my search for an applesauce cake, I looked at many recipes for cakes, quick breads, and cupcakes. What I came up with is a vegan mashup of all of them. I hope you enjoy my Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples for dessert, breakfast, or whenever you want a snack. It is best warm because the smells and tastes come alive.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

for the cake
shortening, to grease the baking pan
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup maple or coconut sugar
1.25 teaspoons baking powder
.75 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cups apple juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons canola oil
for the spiced apples
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans with shortening, then line them with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup maple sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice. In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, apple juice, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then whisk to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the spiced apples.

Sauté the apples in a nonstick skillet set on medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the 1 tablespoon oil, 3 tablespoons maple sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the apples are tender, about 5 more minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, tip them out onto serving plates and top with warm spiced apples.

Until next time, happy baking!

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

Aug27

It’s that time of year when peaches are peaking. Where I live, fresh juicy peaches are in abundance and demand to be eaten in everything. They complement muffins and pretty layered cakes, but I like them best when added to an easy snack cake. No muss, no fuss.

The cake recipe that crossed my path was already vegan, and gluten-free as well. The first way I changed it was to add peaches instead of apricots, but you could even use plums or cherries here. The next swap was to use aquafaba instead of packaged egg replacer because aquafaba helps maintain the structure that can be lacking in gluten-free baked goods.

For high altitude baking, I reduced the baking powder and baking soda. I also swapped the water for milk, for more flavor, then curdled it with apple cider vinegar for a greater leavening effect that boosts gluten-free flours at altitude.

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake adapted from Gluten-Free Blueberry Apricot Cake

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 small peach, pitted and sliced

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and it set aside to curdle. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Whisk the aquafaba and add it to the mixer bowl along with the vanilla. Beat until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer’s speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture then half of the curdled milk. Scrape down the bowl and repeat the sequence with the remainder of the dry and wet mixtures.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33 to 38 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before slicing.

The cooled cake can be covered in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

Jun24

Tofu for dessert often ends up in the blender to become vegan mousse or pudding. You can make a pie or tart shell to hold this blended mixture, but I was feeling lazy. However, by layering it with cookies or cake and other sweet bits you create an easy and elegant parfait.

Over the years of making tofu pudding I have discovered a few tips to ensure smooth success. I added these steps to my recipe so you have the perfect parfait for a warm summer evening.

Chocolate Pudding Parfait based on Chocolate Mousse Pie with Cookie Crust and Raspberry Coulis

chocolate pudding
1 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened nondairy milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or substitute coffee extract for a deeper chocolate taste)
12 oz silken tofu, drained (soft or firm, the choice will affect the texture), at room temperature
parfait add-ins
6-12 chocolate cookies, depending on size
3-18 vegan marshmallows, depending on size

For the chocolate pudding: To melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler method, place them in a glass or metal bowl. (Note: The bowl should be large enough so that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water in the pot you set it over.) Set this bowl over a pot filled with 1/2 cup of simmering water. Heat the pot over low-medium heat on the stove, stirring the chips occasionally until they are melted.

Once the chips are melted, take the bowl off of the pot and allow the chocolate to cool slightly. (Note: Do not allow it to cool enough so that it re-solidifies. You want it somewhat cool so it’s closer in temperature to the other ingredients).

Place the nondairy milk, extract, and tofu into a blender. Process until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the melted and cooled chocolate. Process the mixture until completely smooth.

To assemble the parfaits: Crumble the cookies and cut up the marshmallows if they are large. Add some cookie crumbles to the bottom of a dessert glass. Next, add a few spoonfuls of pudding then a few bits of marshmallow. Continue layering the ingredients until the glass is almost full. End with crumbles and marshmallow bits. Add fresh fruit, chocolate shavings, and nondairy whipped cream if you’re feeling fancy.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins

Apr30

I’ve been enjoying the challenge of scaling full-size recipes down by using different pan sizes. It’s helpful if you have a smaller family, or if you’re concerned about not eating too much dessert. (Although that second idea is nonsense because there is no such thing as “too much dessert,” is there?)

My favorite taste tester was looking for a quick afternoon snack, so I thought I’d go for mini muffins. They are great anytime, really; breakfast, mid-day, late night. Just ask my tester because he ended up eating them all day long.

Now it was time to learn how to make smaller treats. Craftsy covers a variety of pastimes on their blog, including baking, and they had a post on how to Make It Mini. Their good advice included ingredient preparation. “Chocolate chips, dried fruit, and nuts are all excellent mix-ins because the(y) can easily be chopped down to a suitable size.” That meant I needed to chop my dried fruit so when I bit into a muffin it wouldn’t just offer a big, fat raisin. It also made me realize that cutting up the fresh apple strands would help distribute the ingredients.

Other recommendations were for greasing the mini muffin pans in lieu of using liners, and adjusting the baking time to avoid overbaking. I followed these suggestions and the result was perfectly moist muffin bites.

The article’s description of yield didn’t match up with what I produced. “Mini muffins are one-third the size of regular muffins, which means that a big muffin recipe that yields 12 large muffins will produce 36 mini muffins.” But, at altitude it’s best not to fill the muffin cups all the way (as mentioned in my post Misguided High Altitude Guidelines). Therefore my tins had batter that didn’t exceed 2/3 full, and I ended up with 47 minis.

Okay, enough prep talk. Let’s bake!

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins adapted from Allergy Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch fine sea salt
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you love cinnamon like I do)
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted then cooled slightly
3/4 cup + 2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 small to medium apples, cored, peeled, and grated into short strands
2 tablespoons chopped raisins
2 teaspoons vegan cane sugar for sprinkling on top
vegan shortening, for greasing the muffin pans

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 47 cavities of your mini muffin pans, and set aside.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar into a medium bowl. Add the melted vegan butter, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and stir until almost incorporated. Add the grated apples and chopped raisins and stir to combine. The dough will be thick.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until the cups are 2/3 full. You may need to press the fruit bits down into the cups with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cupcakes are pale golden and firm to the touch. Set the muffin tins on a wire rack until the minis are cool. They should tip out easily when ready.

Mini muffins can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Cheesecake

Feb11

This recipe nailed it.

I have made vegan cheesecakes in the past. Some were raw versions, which are a bit runny. To solve that texture issue I could add coconut oil, but I don’t like coconut. I scoured baked examples and found other ingredients I wasn’t interested in, such as cornstarch.

So, the search for the perfect cheesecake continued until I got very, very creative. I combined ideas from just about every vegan cheesecake recipe I found. And it worked.

My chocolate chocolate cheesecake is rich, but not too dense. It’s got chocolate filling and a chocolate crust, so the taste is amazing. And it is baked in the oven so the texture has the firmness I remembered from non-vegan cheesecakes. Also, the presentation is gorgeous. (Hubby said I could sell it in restaurants.)

The process it took to get to this treat took a winding path, from varying ingredients to changing baking pans. At least I looked at vegan recipes so I didn’t have to make alterations for that. Luckily, I also didn’t have to adjust for high altitude.

Here is my creation, in all of it’s restaurant-worthy glory. I hope you enjoy it for Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s day, or just when the mood strikes you.

Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Cheesecake

for the crust

vegan shortening or vegan butter to grease the pan

1-1/2 cups vegan oreo-style cookie crumbs

1/4 cup vegan butter, melted

for the filling

2/3 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

7 ounces vegan cream cheese, at room temperature

12.3 ounces extra firm silken tofu

3/4 cup organic granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the decorations

vegan white chocolate chips, melted

vegan oreo-style cookies, whole or crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F. Place a parchment round on the bottom of a 9” round springform pan, then grease it and the sides of the pan.

In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter, and mix until the crumbs resemble wet sand. Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared springform pan, pressing it down with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set it on a wire rack to cool a bit while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven on.

Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips to the top of a double boiler. Allow them to melt almost fully, then stir the chips until they are completely melted.

In a food processor, combine the cream cheese, tofu, sugar, vanilla, and melted chocolate, and process until smooth. Spread the filling evenly onto the crust. Bake until just firm and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 23-27 minutes.

Transfer the springform pan to a wire rack and let the cheesecake cool completely, about 2 hours. Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan for 3 hours, cover it with plastic wrap, then refrigerate it for 4 hours or more.

Remove the cake from the fridge. If the top of the cheesecake collected moisture, then blot it gently with a paper towel. Carefully release the springform pan and transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate. Decorate the cake with melted vegan white chocolate and additional cookies.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vegan Baking Up High

making tasty vegan treats at high altitude

Category Archives: peanut free

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Strawberry Pudding

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Strawberry Pudding

Equipment

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

for the filling

for the frosting

Instructions

Notes

5 No-Bake Vegan Recipes to Keep You Going Strong in Veganuary

Vegan Chick’n Pot Pie, gluten free option

New Year’s Eve Raspberry Brownie Truffles

Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins