Yup.
It's official.
THIS is my new favorite dessert I've made. I know, I know, I've said it before. I'll most likely say it again. This was devoured by my non-allergy affected friends with really, at the end of the day, is the only goal I have.
I made this in a small batch so the directions are for that. It's just myself and my husband in our house so every once in awhile I make them this size. However, you can easily double up the recipe and use a larger pan!
You can definitely let this cheesecake chill if you make it the same day you need to serve it but I highly recommend letting it sit overnight. That way, it sets completely.
For the base of this dairy free cheesecake, I used a gluten free vanilla wafer. I have made it with gluten free graham cracker too and that will give you a more crispy base. It completely depends on which you prefer. With Coronavirus still causing shortages at the grocery store, and summer in full swing, my store was totally our of gluten free graham crackers. This just gives us a great opportunity to find substitutions that work just as well!
For the cream cheese, I 100% recommend using Tofutti brand. I have used other brands and they aren't bad, but Tofutti dairy free cream cheese is my favorite for many recipes. I use it in a lot of savory meals and in this dairy free cheesecake, in all its sweet, sweet glory, it works wonderfully!
Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. OF COURSE, follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Your support is always greatly appreciated!
Much love,
Cass
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (150g) crushed gluten-free cookies or gluten free graham crackers
1/2 cup dairy free butter, melted
10 ounces dairy free cream cheese (see above for brand recommendation, it DOES make a difference)
2 medium eggs
3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup dairy free sour cream (I use Tofutti for this as well)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups fresh or frozen berries (I used raspberries and strawberries for this one but get creative and use whatever you have!)
Directions:
In a small saucepan, cook the berries over medium-high heat until they are broken down. Approximately 6-8 minutes for frozen, 3-4 minutes for fresh.
If you are using mostly raspberries or a fruit with a lot of seeds, pass the sauce through a seive to remove them. If you are using mostly seedless fruit, skip this step.
Return sauce to saucepan if you passed it through a seive and allow to thicken for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 7x9 pan with parchment paper. You can use another size pan, this is just the one that I used. A 9x9 will provide a thinner cheesecake, but the photos provided were made in a 7x9 pan. You can also use a smaller pan if you want a thickener cheesecake! If you do adjust the pan size, be sure to adjust the baking time. Details on what it should look and feel below!
Mix together the melted butter and crushed cookies. Press the mixture into the pan so it stretches to the ends of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes and set aside. Adjust temperature of your oven to 320 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon. Using a hand mixer, combine on medium for 1 minute, just until combined. Do not over mix. Pour over the baked cookie crust.
Drizzle the berry sauce over the cheesecake and using a butter knife, swirl the batter together using a back and forth motion. Feel free to add some additional berries to the top of the cheesecake here if you would like! The more, the merrier.
Bake at 320 degrees for 60 minutes. The filling should be light golden brown on the edges and when you tap the pan the insides should slightly wobble.
Cool on the counter until the cheesecake hits room temperature. Then transfer to the refrigerator. Allow minimum 2 hours in the fridge, but ideally overnight until you serve!