By Gretchen 27 Comments
My famous Bakery Italian Cheesecake just turned vegan!
If you have ever tried Italian Cheesecake you will know that it is not at all like a New York Style Cheesecake.
You will notice there is no crust since the authentic Italian recipe does not have a crust either
Italian Cheesecake is made with ricotta cheese so the texture is very different!
Although I do use both cream cheese and ricotta cheese in my recipe, the prominent flavor and texture is that of the ricotta cheese
I have a hard time explaining what Italian Cheesecake tastes like since it may come off sounding strange, which is why I prefer people just taste it!
Italian Cheesecake is a much lighter cheesecake and actually tastes a bit moist.
Probably the best description is it is actually just like a cannoli, but in cheesecake form!
Paired perfectly with my Vegan Cannoli or simply have a slice all alone
Notes for Success:
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
Many times people have complained that their cheesecake is like rubber and they don’t know why!
I only use Tofutti Cream Cheese for my BAKED recipes.*Not sponsored I have not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes, since for some reason the other more expensive brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
Although I think Violife has changed their formula since my first failed attempt with them and it now works, however I still prefer Tofutti
You can leave out the egg replacer altogether if you do not have it or do not like to use it
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS ITALIAN CHEESECAKE
Yield: serves 10-12 people
Italian Cheesecake ~ Vegan
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- Firm Tofu 20 ounces lightly squeezed to release excess water (560g)
- Vegan Cream Cheese *see notes 12 ounces (340g)
- Granulated Sugar 1½ cups (300g)
- Vegan Butter 4 Tablespoons (56g)
- Cornstarch 6 Tablespoons (48g) *see notes
- All Purpose Flour ¼ cup (31g)
- Egg Replacer 1 Tablespoon *optional see notes
- Plant Milk 1 cup (237ml)
- Vegan Lactic Acid or Apple Cider Vinegar 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 1 Tablespoon
- Ground Cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon *literally a small pinch!
- Lemon Zest from 1 small lemon approximately 1½ teaspoons
- Orange Zest from 1 medium orange approximately 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- First prepare the "ricotta cheese" by placing the drained, lightly squeezed of excess water tofu in the food processor and process to the same texture as ricotta.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and process smooth
- Pour into a greased and parchment lined 8" cake pan and bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour.
- Turn off the oven after 1 hour and let the cheesecake stay inside for another 30 minutes to cool, Then cool completely on the counter
- Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set (or overnight).
- Unmold the cheesecake and turn out onto a serving plate (remove the parchment paper circle) garnish with powdered sugar, vegan whipped cream and optional cannoli
Notes
Cheesecake must stay refrigerated at all times and will stay fresh loosely wrapped for up to 1 week
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Reader Interactions
Comments
loved this idea for what to make with vegan ricotta! cannot imagine how fantastic this will taste once I make it – suggested your recipe in my almond ricotta post to my readers 😉
https://nutriciously.com/vegan-almond-ricotta/
keep up the great work!Reply
SonyaWith the egg replacer, are you just using a tablespoon of the powder, or does it need to be mixed with water.
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- Gretchen
Correct I use the Plant Based Egg as a tiny extra binder here (not totally necessary! But I DO LOVE IT! LOL) and it does NOT have to be added to liquid! (In all the recipes I use it, I just add it to the dry!)
Reply
- Amanda
Hi Gretchen!
The Plant Based Egg has been out stock for quite a while. Is it still in production? I haven’t received any reply from them.Reply
- Gretchen
HI Amanda, I am not quite sure either. I have not been in touch with Deborah in a couple of years. I only helped her develop the wheat line, but never was compensated or directly affiliated with Freely Vegan or any of the products.
I honestly can’t say what happened or is happening. I do regret formulating so many of MY recipes around this 3rd party product though and have been revising all of my recipes using the PBE to offer substitutions.
I use Bob’s Red Mill as a 1:1 sub in most recipes that I’ve used the PBE with no real differences to the final result.Reply
- Amanda
Thanks a bunch for the quick reply! I appreciate the wealth of information and recipes you offer. You are an invaluable vegan sweets resource 😉
Delicious!!
Take care,
Amanda - Julz
Hello! I make my own vegan cream cheese (by The Gentle Chef) . Do you think that would work?
Thsnk you❣️ - Gretchen
Hey there! I’m not sure, Does Skye state on his recipe that it works in baked recipes?
- Brittani
Could chocolate chips be added without compromising the recipe?! Thanks 😊
Reply
- Gretchen
yes!! I’d opt for the mini’s though since they are lighter (for the batter to hold up) and less “chunky” to bite into
Reply
- Isabel
I followed the recipe! So tasty! But after I watched the video, I noticed I was supposed to take the tofu ricotta out of the processor and remix! I accidentally blended it smooth with the rest of the batter. Perhaps that could have been clearer in the instructions 😩😩
Reply
- Gretchen
Hey thanks for the comment! I’ll make this instructions more clear! But it sounds like you did it correct!
*I have to revisit this one, but I’m not sure why I wrote to take it out of the processor? I think the way you did it ~ is the way I would want to do it! LOL
Sometimes in the videos I do things and then re-think it as I write the instructions, this could have been the case in this one! At any rate thanks for the feedback, glad you liked the cheesecake!Reply
- Paul
Gretchen this cake is AMAZING!!!
I had an issue with the baking time though. I followed it as instructed. But when i cut a piece, it was still undercooked. After a day in the fridge, i thought i’d attempt to pop it back into the oven to give baking it further a go.
After about another hour it was way better. So total baking time I found was 2 hours 15 mins..
Are you using a fan forced oven perhaps?Reply
- Gretchen
Oh wow! Ive never baked any of my cheesecake for that long! I do (* as you read- leave the cake in AFTER turning OFF the oven for an additional hour) but that is for a slow cool.
I made this cake several times, as I quickly became addicted! LOL And always stuck to the temp & times as listed. Of course all ovens are different and why it is difficult to always stick to EXACT times, but an extra hour?! Yikes! At any rate I am glad it worked out in the end and you LOVED IT! YEAH! *Ps- no I use standard oven no forced airReply
- Eileen
Do you think this would work with erythritol substituted for part/ all the sugar?
Reply
- Gretchen
Yes I think here it would be fine, since you are not “creaming” or relying on the sugar to do any science-y stuff LOL it will be OK!
Always remember: a sugar substitute and not real sugar, so foods that you bake may have a different taste or consistency than you’re used to.(But again I think you will be fine here!) How do you feel about Monkfruit? that also has erythritol in it? *I say that because I often use Monkfruit, and that has a certain amount of the E..tol in it.Reply
- Eileen
Thank you! I made this today for my husband’s birthday with 1 cup of a 50:50 erythritol/ oconut sugar blend and used 2 eggs, since I had no egg replacer, and cut back on the milk. It came out great! I made a cherry topping. It cooked perfectly and looked beautiful , just slight darker than yours due to coconut sugar. It was a big hit.
Reply
- Alison E
Hello! Have you tried to make this with the tofutti vegan ricotta? If so, how many ounces of ricotta do you think i should use? Thank you! I am excited to try this!
Reply
- Gretchen
Yes you can use it! The entire container is 16oz that would be great
- Nicole
Hi Gretchen,
You have written 12oz for Tofutti, but then 170g in brackets, but 12oz does not equal 170g so just wondering which weight is correct? And can I confirm the weight for tofu is indeed 20oz (which is 566g)? Thanks so much, super excited to try this one!
Reply
- Gretchen
Hey thank you for pointing that out! You are correct! It is 340g and yes to the 20 ounce tofu which is about 560g
THANK YOU! I’ve updated/corrected the recipe!Reply
- Nicole
Thanks so much for the quick reply. Im excited to get started! 🙂
Reply
- Cyn
Hi! Do you have any recommendations of what gluten free flour would be best to sub in this, if any? I want to adapt this for a my temporarily low fodmap diet but not sure what flour to use! Thank you!
Reply
- Gretchen
Sure thing! The flour is in the recipe to help absorb some of the liquid nothing more. SO you can leave it out altogether * add a touch more cornstarch (like 1 teaspoon more?)
But otherwise any GF flour blend you have = to All purpose would be fine!Reply
- Lily
Hi
Lovely recipe, can’t wait to try. Can I replace the cornstarch with tapioca flour and if so, same quantity?Thanks
Reply
- Gretchen
Yes you can use it! Just add 10-12Tbs though because Tapioca is not as strong as cornstarch
Reply
- Maria Esposito
As an Italian, please don’t call this Italian cheesecake. Although this may be a good recipe, there is seriously nothing Italian about this recipe…period…end of story. I appreciate all of you who need a vegan life style but please don’t try giving this recipe a name that clearly does not reflect the intended recipe.
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