Vegan Baklava Cheesecake Minis

vegan baklava cheesecake minis

With many holiday parties coming up (such as Thanksgiving in the U.S.), it’s good to have a go-to recipe that is simple to make and easily feeds a small crowd. Sure, you can bring cookies, but that’s what everyone else does. For me, I like these bite-sized cheesecakes that will stand out at a buffet or when passed around the dinner table.
On my hunt for a mini-sized dessert I found a full-sized cheesecake in a phyllo crust. Then I realized that it would work just as well in little phyllo shells. And, it would be faster to make. Plus the mini shells are adorable.
I was sold on the recipe but it wasn’t vegan. With a few simple swaps, like vegan versions of all of the dairy items, it was just about ready to go. A quick glance at my cupboard revealed I had a product called Vegan Honey which was perfect. If you don’t have this, then agave syrup is fine, too.
Until next time, happy baking!

Print Recipe

Vegan Baklava Cheesecake Minis

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, cheesecake, Cinnamon, cream cheese, Phyllo, pistachio, Recipe

Servings: 45 phyllo cups

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

large baking pan
Stand Mixer

Ingredients

for the phyllo shells

3 boxes mini phyllo shells (45 shells total)
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped walnuts toasted

for the filling

⅔ cup plant-based cream
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
⅓ cup vegan honey or agave syrup
⅓ cup vegan greek-style yogurt plain
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
3 tablespoons organic powdered sugar sifted
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

for the topping

⅛ cup shelled pistachios finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
To make the phyllo shells, remove the mini shells from their wrappings and defrost if necessary.
Stir together the ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, granulated sugar, and walnuts in a small bowl. Place the empty shells on the prepared baking pan and spoon the cinnamon-sugar mixture inside them. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, then set the baking pan on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.
Beat the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until stiff peaks form, then remove to a small bowl. Put the cream cheese in the empty stand mixer bowl and beat it until smooth. Add the honey, yogurt, and vanilla paste and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and beat until smooth. Add the whipped cream and gently stir with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
Place the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, then pipe the filling into the cooled shells. Sprinkle the pistachios over each shell.
Refrigerate the cheesecakes for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe at rodellekitchen.com

Cheesecake with Strawberries and Chocolate Crust

Jun21

raw cheesecake with strawberries and chocolate crust

It’s Father’s Day and I wanted to show my love by making a dessert. My initial inspiration was the gorgeous fresh strawberries in my fridge. Strawberries … chocolate is fantastic with strawberries … hmmm … chocolate cookie crust … what goes in the crust … cheesecake … Yes, I have it! A raw cheesecake from cocoa butter in a chocolate crust with strawberry on top. The chocolatey cocoa butter ties to the chocolate crust, and strawberry jam swirled into the cheesecake echoes the strawberry jam on top.

My cheesecake recipe search found a filling that was already vegan, and raw. The changes I made were to I bump up its tart flavor so it wouldn’t be too sweet when the jam was added in. This filling went with a simple cookie crust recipe I had. I chose a baked crust, but a raw one would work just as well. Strawberry jam and fresh strawberries were added, with a bit of shaved chocolate as a garnish. It was a dessert worthy of any special man.

Cheesecake with Strawberries and Chocolate Crust with a nod to Deliciously Raw Kitchen

cookie crust
8 chocolate cookies (I used Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Crunchy Cookies)
1-2 tsp vegan margarine, melted
cheesecake filling
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for two hours or up to 24 covered in water in the refrigerator
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
5 TBS agave syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp liquid lecithin (this is very sticky, so coat measuring spoon with oil first)
2.75 oz melted cocoa butter
5 TBS strawberry jam, divided
garnishes
fresh strawberry slices
chocolate curls

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 6” tart pan with cooking spray; a pan with a removable bottom is easiest for serving. Put the cookies in a food processor with 1 teaspoon melted margarine. Process until the mixture looks like damp sand and just holds together when pinched between your fingers. If needed, add additional margarine and process again. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the tart pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

For the filling: Rinse soaked cashews under cold running water. Place drained cashews in a blender together with the milk, agave syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lecithin. Blend until smooth, then add melted cacao butter and blend again. Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in 3 tablespoons of jam. Spoon filling into the cooled crust and chill until firm.

raw cheesecake with strawberries

To garnish: Put remaining 2 tablespoons of jam in a bowl and stir vigorously until spreadable. Spoon gently over the chilled cheesecake. Decorate the cheesecake with fresh strawberry slices and chocolate curls.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vegan No Bake Mini Blackberry Cheesecakes

Aug27

no bake mini cheesecakes

The motivation for this post was the August Baking Challenge by Tessa of Handle the Heat. Tessa presented a recipe for bakers to make and share. It wasn’t vegan but that was simple enough to change. And, because there was no baking involved, high altitude adjustments were not necessary.

The vegan substitutions I made were to use vegan margarine in place of unsalted butter, vegan cream cheese for the cream cheese, and soy creamer instead of heavy cream. Another alteration I made was to put the cheesecakes in jars. Vegan dairy substitutes are often runnier than their dairy counterparts and make goopy cheesecake. I created a few in small mason jars where all they would require the eater to have was a spoon. The rest ended up in shot glasses for a fun party treat.

Vegan No Bake Mini Blackberry Cheesecakes adapted from Handle the Heat
For the crust:
1 sleeve (9 crackers) graham crackers (gluten-free, if desired)
4 TBS vegan margarine, melted
For the cheesecake:
12 ounces vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegan sugar
3/4 cup soy creamer
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup seedless blackberry preserves
For the topping:
1 cup blackberries
1 TBS vegan sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Blackberries, for garnish
For the crust: Place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add in melted margarine and pulse until moistened. Divide mixture among jars or glasses. Firmly press into the bottom of each cavity.
For the cheesecake: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until creamy and well combined. Add in creamer, lemon juice, and preserves and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes, until well combined and thickened. Pour mixture over crusts and cover with plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
For the topping: Combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until pureed. Top each cheesecake with a dollop of sauce. Garnish with whole fresh blackberries.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Raw Red, White and Blue Cheesecake

Jul2

Raw Red, White and Blue Cheesecake

Lately it has been too hot to turn on the oven, but I had to make something patriotic for this week’s American Independence Day. My search came up with a no cook cheesecake with wonderful ripe summer fruit. It sounded like a perfect way to celebrate without heating up the kitchen or myself.

The recipe was already vegan, so that box was checked off. No bake meant no high altitude changes. So, to put my spin on the recipe, I made it a bit healthier by replacing white sugar with dates and agave syrup. I also made it multi-layer and added blueberries for the blue. I know they can look more purple than blue when blended, so I kept the blue holiday theme by arranging blueberries on top in the shape of a star.

Raw Red, White and Blue Cheesecake adapted from Raspberry Lemon Yogurt Cheesecake
2 cups plain, non-dairy yogurt
7 large dates
1.75 cups walnuts
1/4 cup agave syrup
1.5 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 10 fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, with extras for garnish
Place yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl. Let drain in fridge for 10 hours or overnight. Discard the strained liquid. Pour boiling water over dates and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and remove pits. Place dates in a food processor with walnuts. Mix until they come together in a sticky ball. Press this mixture into the bottom of an 8” springform pan. Place in refrigerator. In a bowl, stir together strained yogurt, agave, lemon juice and vanilla. Divide yogurt mixture into 3 equal portions and put each portion in its own bowl. Crush 1/2 cup of raspberries and stir into one of the bowls. Leave one bowl as is. Take the final bowl and put its contents in a blender. Blend with 1/2 cup of blueberries.
Slice the 10 raspberries. Remove crust from refrigerator and spoon in raspberry yogurt mixture. Scatter sliced raspberries over the top. Place cake in freezer for 10 minutes to help to keep the layers from blending together. Spoon in the plain layer. Place cake in freezer for 10 minutes. On the top, spoon in blueberry layer. Place remaining blueberries on top of cheesecake in a star pattern. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Summer Celebration Strawberry Cheesecake

Jun21

On this summer solstice, strawberries are sweet and fresh and make a perfect dessert. A cheesecake would make a beautiful way to present them, or so I thought. I tried several types of recipes – entirely raw, with a cashew cream base, with macadamia nuts – and none of them turned out quite right. I couldn’t get textures and flavors that were reminiscent of a classic cheesecake. Admittedly I had never made a cheesecake before, vegan or not, but I didn’t think it should be this hard.

After much trial and error, which included a gummy dessert that was inedible, I decided to combine the parts of recipes that I liked to make the perfect whole. I chose a baked crust that added hemp seeds for a change of taste and then combined it with a strawberry cheesecake recipe where I replaced vegan items for their non-vegan counterparts. With a few more minor tweaks, including more flour for altitude and blueberries as a colorful garnish, I achieved a cheesecake worthy of a summer celebration.

Until next time, happy baking!

Print Recipe

Summer Celebration Strawberry Cheesecake

On this summer solstice, strawberries are sweet and fresh and make a perfect dessert. A cheesecake is a beautiful way to present them, or so I thought. I tried several types of recipes but none of them turned out quite right. I combined parts of recipes that I liked to make the perfect whole.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, Cake, High Altitude, Recipe, Strawberry

Servings: 8

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker