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slices of vegan caramel cheesecake on plate

Easy Vegan Salted Caramel Cheesecake (No nuts, no tofu!)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cooling time: 8 hours
  • Cook Time: 75
  • Total Time: 9 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Cheesecake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This ultra creamy salted caramel cheesecake has a crisp, ‘buttery’ graham cracker crumb, lush, silky caramel vanilla cheesecake batter, and topped with a thick layer of gooey salted caramel that pulls just how caramel should. It’s baked just like classic New York-style cheesecake, but entirely (and unbelievably) without eggs and dairy. This is a must bake cheesecake.

Ingredients

Scale
  • Caramel:
  • 2 batches vegan caramel sauce, divided
  • Graham Cracker Crust:
  • 280 g graham crackers or homemade graham crackers or Biscoff cookies
  • 5 tbsp vegan butter, melted
  • Caramel Cheesecake Batter:
  • 36 ounces vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 mL) vegan heavy cream, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 7 tbsp (70 g) cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) dairy free yogurt or vegan sour cream, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) vegan salted caramel from caramel above
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • Optional topping:
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. Prep: Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the edges of the pan with a bit of cooking or coconut oil as well, and line with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. Make the caramel: Prepare one batch of salted caramel per the instructions, and pour it into a square baking pan to cool more quickly. Set aside in the fridge while you make the crust.
  3. Make the crust: Add the graham crackers or cookies to a food processor, and pulse until you reach a fine crumb. Then add in the melted vegan butter, and pulse again until you get a wet crumb. Press the cookie crumbs into the bottom of your cheesecake pan, working up the sides of the pan as well. Place the pan into the oven to bake for 7-8 minutes to par-bake. While the crust is baking, make the filling.
  4. Make the caramel cheesecake filling: In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, or large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and dairy free yogurt until smooth. Add in the sugar, heavy vegan cream, caramel, vanilla extract and paste, and cornstarch. Cream together again until smooth. Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform pan, and smooth the top. Place the cheesecake pan onto a baking sheet.
  5. Reduce the heat of the oven: Reduce the heat to 325F.
  6. Create the water bath: Be ready to move to the next step immediately after finishing this step. Make sure that you boil the 3-4 cups water prior to pouring the water into the pan. Pour the boiling water into a small glass casserole dish.
  7. Bake the cheesecake: Carefully place the water bath into the oven on the low rack. Then place the cheesecake baking sheet onto the middle rack and quickly close the oven to bake for 65-75 minutes, or until the top of the cheesecake lightly golden. The center is set but still wiggly. Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 1 hour with the door slightly cracked. The water should also be completely dissolved. The cheesecake will still be wiggly. This is completely fine and should be that way.
  8. Chill the cheesecake: Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Then cover and place the cheesecake into the fridge to chill overnight.
  9. Serve and enjoy! When ready to serve, prepare the additional batch of caramel sauce 1 hour prior to serving to allow it to cool. Pour the caramel sauce over the top of the cooled and set cheesecake and place back into the fridge to let the caramel set for 15 minutes. Then remove the cheesecake from the pan, sprinkle with additional sea salt, and enjoy! Store any leftover cheesecake in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

Gluten free: Use gluten free vegan graham crackers or homemade gluten-free graham crackers.

Nut free: I like Tofutti for store bought vegan cream cheeses. My homemade cream cheese is also nut-free and a great substitute. I often bake my cheesecakes with my homemade cream cheese.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 621
  • Sugar: 41.9 g
  • Sodium: 645.2 mg
  • Fat: 39.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 22.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 60.5 g
  • Fiber: 1.4 g
  • Protein: 8.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 111.5 mg

Find it online: https://thebananadiaries.com/vegan-caramel-cheesecake/