Welcome to what dreams are made of! This vegan banana cheesecake is a deceptively healthy alternative to your typical dairy laden cheesecake. It’s sweetened with mainly banana, is entirely gluten-free, and has a perfect tangy creaminess thanks to the combination of silken tofu, cashews, coconut, and lemon juice. It takes only 10 minutes to throw together and uses only a blender so there’s no need to worry about a full sink of dishes staring back at you.
I chose to go for a banana cheesecake because I had some very ripe bananas on hand, but you can definitely play around with this recipe and substitute the banana with another fruit such as strawberries or mango – although you might have to adjust the amount of added agave syrup, or other liquid sweeteners to get the sweetness to your liking!
Another thing to keep in mind is the time it takes for the cheesecake to set – as you can tell from the photos above, I was very impatient and I only waited for one hour before pulling the cheesecake out of the fridge and digging in (after a mandatory, hasty photoshoot). It was delightful, but definitely a little bit on the messy side… So, although the taste isn’t any different, it really makes all the difference to let it sit for at least 8 hours in the fridge in order to get a similar firmness you’ll find in the real thing.
Now, for the toppings. This is a very flexible recipe, so you could leave it naked and but I highly recommend the additions of my Coconut Caramel and Coconut Whipped Cream, and I would warmly welcome chocolate chips as well!
I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I did and would love to see what your creations look like, so don’t forget to tag #cocosgreendeli once you do!
Vegan Banana Cheesecake with Coconut Caramel
A luxuriously creamy banana cheesecake, entirely vegan, gluten-free, and with minimal unrefined sugar added. Enjoy as a decadent dessert, snack… or breakfast…
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups teff flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, almonds, or other nut/seed of choice
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup soaked cashews (4+ hours)
- 150 gram silken tofu
- 1/3 cup coconut yogurt
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 tablespoon agave, maple syrup, or rice syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- To prepare the base, combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and transfer mixture to a 11′ cake pan. Press it down with the back of a spoon and put in the fridge to set while the cheesecake layer.
- For the cheesecake layer add all ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour it onto the base layer and return to fridge to set. I recommend letting it set overnight, or at least 8 hours for the right texture.
- I highly recommend topping this cheesecake with my Coconut Caramel and Coconut Whipped Cream!
