Creamy Vegan Blueberry Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe
This deliciously creamy vegan burnt Basque cheesecake is the easiest cheesecake ever and perfect for beginner bakers and seasoned pros alike! Topped with fresh blueberries, you won’t believe this Basque cheesecake is dairy free and gluten free!
Why this is the easiest vegan cheesecake you’ll ever make!
If baking a cheesecake intimidates you, then I want you to try out this Basque cheesecake. It’s probably the easiest traditional-style cheesecake you’ll ever make (aside from no-bake cheesecakes) with a texture that is ultra rich and creamy.
The beauty of a Basque cheesecake? It’s entirely crustless (so no need to pre-bake a crust) and it lends itself to being naturally gluten free as well (though traditional Basque cheesecakes use flour as a thickener, we’re using cornstarch! And then it replaces the eggs as well 🙂 ).
This recipe is so good, I had to make a chocolate version too. YUM.
What’s more, this is an entirely dairy free and vegan Basque cheesecake- yep, no dairy whatsoever, yet the texture and flavor is that of the classic: super decadent and lush with a beautifully sweet tang. And, this cheesecake is also eggless, so no need to worry about properly incorporating eggs into your cheesecake batter.
This is quite literally the easiest cheesecake you’ll ever make: simply make the batter and bake! you don’t even need a water bath. (Which is why I used this recipe as the base recipe for my vegan cannoli cheesecake! I wanted it to be super simple!).
Of course, I wanted to add a bit of a twist, so I topped mine with fresh blueberries- a lovely treat going into spring and summer time.
But if you want a classic burnt Basque cheesecake sans dairy and eggs, simply omit! Then once you realize how easy cheesecakes are, you can move onto the more fun versions, like this baked chocolate cheesecake, Oreo cheesecake, and cookie dough cheesecake!
What is burnt Basque cheesecake?
If you’ve never heard of a Basque cheesecake, you’re in for a treat. Unlike classic New York-style baked cheesecake, Basque cheesecake originated in Basque Country in Spain, and is an entirely crustless cheesecake.
What’s more, Basque cheesecake is ultra creamy and thick, with a deliberately burnt outer shell, thanks to the higher heat that it bakes at.
What do I need to make Basque cheesecake vegan and gluten free?
Typically, a burnt Basque cheesecake is comprised of cream cheese, heavy cream or milk, eggs, and flour. We’re straying away from the classic ingredients to make this blueberry burnt Basque cheesecake entirely dairy free, eggless, and gluten free.
All while maintaining the creamiest and richest cheesecake flavor!
So here’s what you’ll need:
- Vegan cream cheese: The star of the burnt Basque cheesecake show, I recommend using a store bought cream cheese for this recipe. Homemade cream cheeses are a bit trickier and have more variables (though I am developing a cream cheese that can be used in both frostings and cheesecakes! So stay tuned!). My favorite brands to use here are Tofutti, Kite Hill, and Miyoko’s. The best flavors I find are with Tofutti and Kite Hill.
- Vegan sour cream: If you can’t find vegan sour cream, you can just use dairy free yogurt! I love Forager Project for both vegan sour cream and dairy free yogurt.
- Heavy coconut cream OR vegan heavy cream: I have tested this cheesecake recipe with both heavy coconut cream (specifically Let’s Do Organic! Heavy Coconut Cream) and a vegan heavy cream. Both work wonderfully!
- Granulated sugar: Make sure that the sugar you’re using is certified vegan- I recommend Florida Crystals!
- Vanilla extract & paste: Extra vanilla is key here for a rich and “buttery” flavor.
- Cornstarch: You can also use arrowroot starch here if you have a corn allergy!
- Blueberries: If you want, you can keep this vegan Basque cheesecake traditional, and skip the berries. However, I find they’re really lovely!
Overview: Step by Step How to Make Vegan Basque Cheesecake:
Serving recommendations for your vegan Basque cheesecake:
The beauty of this easy vegan cheesecake is that it’s absolutely delicious on its own. However, you can also serve it with a warm berry sauce or homemade blueberry or strawberry jam.
It’s also lovely if you want to go even richer, and top with a vegan ganache or caramel sauce.
You’re just going to absolutely love this vegan Basque cheesecake! I can’t wait for you to try it!!
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Creamy Vegan Blueberry Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 70
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This deliciously creamy vegan burnt Basque cheesecake is the easiest cheesecake ever and perfect for beginner bakers and seasoned pros alike! Topped with fresh blueberries, you won’t believe this Basque cheesecake is dairy free and gluten free!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) dairy free yogurt or vegan sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) heavy vegan cream or coconut cream
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (70 g) cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 415F. Place a piece of parchment paper pressed into an 8″ springform pan. Make sure that the parchment paper is lining the walls of the springform pan. Measure out all ingredients.
- Make the batter: In a stand mixer with whisk attachment or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the vegan cream cheese until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add in the yogurt and heavy cream and mix again until fluffy. Add in the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, and sea salt, and mix again just until combined and fluffy. Make sure to stop to mix the batter with a silicone spatula and scrape the bottom to ensure everything is combined.
- Assemble the Basque cheesecake: Pour the batter into your prepared springform pan, Add the blueberries on top and gently press them into the top of the cheesecake.
- Bake: Place the cheesecake onto a baking sheet and into the oven to bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top of the cheesecake is slightly burnt. The cheesecake will still wiggle, but the middle of the cheesecake will look set.
- Cool: Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature until it’s no longer hot (around 30 minutes to 1 hour). Then cover the cheesecake and place it into the fridge to set for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Slice and serve! Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and remove the springform pan. Pull the parchment paper off, and slice and serve your vegan burnt Basque cheesecake. Enjoy!
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Cream cheese: I recommend using either Kite Hill or Tofutti cream cheese here.
Sour cream: The vegan sour cream I LOVE to use in my baking is Forager Project. Dairy free yogurt will work, but sour cream is really a lovely choice!
Heavy cream: I’ve tested this recipe with both heavy coconut cream (Edward & Sons Heavy Coconut Cream) and vegan heavy cream (sometimes called vegan double cream- look for Plant Crock or Silk!).
Refined sugar free: You can use maple sugar if you’d like. NOT maple syrup.
Don’t want berries in your burnt Basque cheesecake? Not a problem! Skip the berries if you’re making this cheesecake around the winter time, and bake it just as the batter.
If you wanted a crust, could you add one?
Yes! You can use the one I have on my classic cheesecake recipe 🙂
Wow! Looks stunning! Would love to make it and was wondering how much the granulated sugar impacts the consistency. I can’t take much sugar so I usually use stevia powder or drops and some erythrit. Do you think I can either reduce the sugar amount to 100g or use the above mentioned alternatives without too many problems in consistency?
Also, what base does your cream cheese have? I could use chickpea, almond or soy based from what’s available here…
Thanks!
Hi Juliane! Oh I hope you do try it! For the sugar, could you swap in a granulated lower-sugar option, like granulated monk fruit? I think it’s important to keep the volume of sugar the same, if possible! I would only reduce by 1/4 cup (50 g) if at all. And for the cream cheese, I used Tofutti (soy based), and have also tested with kite hill (almond based) and Miyokos (cashew based) with great success! I hope that helps!
I avoid dairy, but do eat eggs – I wonder how many eggs would sub for the starch? Looks beautiful!
Hi Judith! Aw thank you! Unfortunately, I haven’t tested this recipe with eggs so I wouldn’t know what to recommend, as cheesecakes can bake very differently with eggs! If you have the starch, I do recommend using it because it truly is lovely!
Ugh. I am super bummed and have zero idea what went wrong. I have made your recipes countless times with perfect success (cakes, cookies, dinner rolls), but I just pulled a greasy, soupy boiled-over mess from my smoking oven. (Thankfully most of it was contained on the baking sheet.) Not only did I waste $40 worth of vegan dairy products, but I have to make a different dessert for my brunch tomorrow. I used Kite Hill cream cheese and Follow Your Heart sour cream. The filling that went into the oven was creamy and delicious…
I’m so incredibly sorry to hear this!! I have not used Follow Your Heart sour cream, but I just checked the ingredients and those should have been fine (though that might have accounted for the greasiness- I find coconut products tend to have a greasy feel due to the fat content being mostly oils)- I’m wondering how close the cheesecake was to the top of the oven? Sometimes a little bit lower (middle or low rack) is best. The cheesecake will puff up, but it should create a skin that prevents the spilling over, I’m so sorry that didn’t happen, and I’m not sure why unless there wasn’t enough cornstarch in there (I usually say use a kitchen scale because it’s the most accurate!). I’m so sorry this happened though, this shouldn’t have been the case for you (I’ve tested many times and with Kite Hill a few of those times, so it definitely wasn’t the Kite Hill that was the issue!).
32 ounces of cream cheese – is that right? That’s over 900 grams?
In the UK we don’t really use cups for measurement. So I’m always looking for the equivalent in grams. You’ve given some of the quantities in grams but not the cream cheese. So I’m just checking.
That’s correctly! It makes a large cheesecake!
hi hi.
love the look of your cheesecake.
i have to try to bake it.
i cant get vegan cream cheese. can i replace with Philadelphia cream cheese?
do you think I could use frozen bluberries instead of fresh ones?
You could potentially but I haven’t personally tried this! Typically with frozen blueberries in a cheesecake, you might want to try rinsing them in cold water first, then coat them in an extra tbsp of cornstarch or flour!
This recipe must be very dependent on the brands you use! I used down under cream cheese, ayam coconut milk and coyo natural yoghurt and also have unfortunately ended up with a soupy/oily mess. Followed the recipe to a T. Oh well, it was worth a try!
I’m so sorry about this!! I haven’t personally had this happen to me, but I’m thinking it’s the coyo- I’m wondering if because it’s super simple (just cultures and coconut milk and no binding/thickening agents) I’m wondering if that’s what’s causing the splitting of the oils. I’m going to make a note in the recipe card and then test this with a natural coconut yogurt, because I’ve tested it with cashew yogurt, soy yogurt, and a coconut yogurt that had a thickening agent, so I bet that’s what’s causing the issue!
hello! I tried the recipe today but the cheesecake “split”… it went brown (like dulce de leche) with oil at the top… do I need a tofu based cream cheese?
it tasted very good raw though!
Oh no! I’m wondering, what cream cheese did you use? and did you use coconut cream from a can? Sometimes a bad can can cause the split I’ve noticed
it’s a fast reply! I live in the UK and used what I could find here 🙂 Violife cream cheese (it’s coconut oil based), soya yoghurt and Flora double cream (made of lentil protein, oils and starch). Could it be temperature related and the heat contributing to a split of the cream cheese?
Oh interesting, I’ve yet to try the Flora double cream! I’m guessing it was the violife cream cheese, it can at times be finicky with the coconut oil!