Description
This creamy and rich cinnamon roll cheesecake features a homemade graham cracker crust, gooey cinnamon roll filling, and silky and soft baked vanilla bean cheesecake batter- and it’s made entirely vegan, without eggs, and dairy free!
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust:
- 1 batch homemade vegan graham crackers
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
Cinnamon roll filling:
- 1/2 cup (62 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan butter, melted
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Cheesecake batter:
- 32 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1 cup (240 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 mL) vegan heavy cream or cashew cream , room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 8 tbsp (80 g) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Toppings:
- 1/2 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
- 1/2 batch small batch vegan cinnamon rolls*
Instructions
- 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.
- 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 10-12 minutes to par-bake. Once baked, reduce the temperature to 350F. While the crust is baking, make the filling.
- Make the cinnamon roll filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, vegan butter, and cinnamon together with a fork until it’s a consistent, sticky yet crumbly mixture. Set aside.
- Make the cheesecake filling: In a large food processor, 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, dairy free milk, vanilla extract and paste, and cornstarch. Cream together again until smooth.
- Assemble the cheesecake: Once the crust is baked, assemble the cheesecake. Pour half of the cheesecake filling into the springform pan, and smooth the top. Crumble the cinnamon roll filling evenly over the top, then pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon roll filling.
- Prep for baking: Place the cheesecake pan onto a baking sheet (SEPARATE from the baking sheet used for the water bath- this cheesecake baking sheet just helps to transport the cheesecake to and from the oven).
- 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 the pan.
- Bake the cheesecake: Carefully place the water bath baking sheet 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 55-60 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. Please see the video tutorial. The cheesecake should still be wiggly. This is completely fine and should be that way. This cheesecake will not seem cooked at all when you first turn off the oven.
- 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 for 4 hours, or overnight.
- Make the cinnamon rolls: If you’re making the mini cinnamon rolls for topping, I recommend making them the next day! Follow the instructions for the recipe linked in the ingredients section.
- Top: When ready to decorate and serve, make the vegan cream cheese frosting. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and pate. Pipe the frosting on top, along with the mini cinnamon rolls, and dust with extra cinnamon if desired.
- Serve and enjoy! When ready to serve, slice and enjoy! Store any leftover cheesecake in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Gluten free: Make sure you make the graham crackers with gluten-free flour, and that you swap in the all-purpose flour with gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. The cinnamon rolls can also be made gluten-free following the instructions in the recipe card for that recipe linked in the ingredients section.
Mini cinnamon rolls: I used half of the recipe for my small batch cinnamon rolls (brown butter version or regular), and rolled 8 mini cinnamon rolls from that dough.
Cream cheese: I recommend making your own vegan cream cheese (following the recipe linked in the ingredients section), but you can also use store bought. For store bought, I recommend Oatly, Kite Hill, or Tofutti. Violife seems to yield oily results.
