Vegan Lemon and Lime Baked Cheesecake with White Chocolate and Ginger (Vegan, Gluten-free-option)

Zesty, tangy and tart, yet creamy, sweet and spicy, this vegan cheesecake is a riot of flavours. A gingery base, with a silky smooth cashew and silken tofu filling, flavoured with lemon and lime zest and white chocolate, drizzled with a sharp citrus curd and piled high with ginger nut biscuits and white chocolate shavings.

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It was my uncles 50th birthday recently and I was asked to make the cake. The instructions were that he wanted a cheesecake, and he wanted it to be sour and tangy. I interpreted this to mean ‘citrus-flavoured with a lovely balance between tangy and sour fruitiness, and creamy, sweet cheesecake filling, and also maybe some ginger nut biscuits’. And that is exactly what he got.

I adapted the recipe from my white chocolate and blueberry cheesecake, which is now a family favourite. I replaced the biscuit base with ginger nut biscuits, added lemon and lime zest and juice to the cheesecake filling, and made a super tangy lemon and lime curd for the topping. And then, seeing as it was a special occasion, I decorated some left-over ginger nuts with melted white chocolate and crumbled them on top, with some dehydrated slices of lemon and lime, and white chocolate shavings.

Did I make an absolutely colossal mess of the kitchen? Yes I did. Was it worth it? 100%.

Of course, you needn’t go to town quite so much on the decoration if you don’t have the time or patience. The cheesecake and curd by itself is still dangerously tempting, and can make a slightly more casual but still truly excellent dessert. I’ve provided instructions for the decorations nonetheless, in case you too are celebrating, or you’re just feeling a bit extra.

How to make Vegan Lemon and Lime Baked Cheesecake

I always make this a day in advance; the cashew soaking, baking, slowly cooling to avoid cracking, and subsequent refrigeration all take time, though surprisingly little effort.

The very first thing is to soak the cashews so they’re ready to be whizzed into a smooth and creamy paste for the filling. 4–6 hours in cold water should do it, or 1 hour in just-boiled water, or if you forget completely (which I do more often than I would like to admit), you can boil them for 15 minutes in a saucepan then leave to cool.

The Base

For the base, you’ll need a whole two ingredients, biscuits and butter, and a loose-bottomed cake tin, around 20cm diameter. Grease the tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Put the biscuits in a food processor and whizz to a crumb. I use ginger nuts – most supermarket brands and McVities are accidentally vegan, or you can use a gluten free version. If you’re not a fan of ginger then digestives or hobnobs would also be delicious. Whatever biscuit you choose, once whizzed, add the vegan butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block because it’s an excellent butter substitute but vegan spread or coconut oil would also work), and pulse until the mixture starts to clump together. Tip into the prepared tin, level out and then press into the base until it forms an even, compact layer, then refrigerate.

The Filling

For the filling, I use a combination of cashews and silken tofu. This gives a beautifully smooth and creamy cheesecake, without being too heavy or excessively rich. The key ingredient is vegan white chocolate which gives a lovely sweetness to counteract the sharpness of the citrus. In the UK you can buy this from the free from section in some supermarkets; Sainsbury’s do an excellent version that is just over £1 for 100g, and Tesco and Asda do smaller bars for comparable value.

Melt the white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, and leave to cool while you prepare the other filling ingredients. Using a clean muslin, jay-cloth or tea towel, wring out as much liquid as you can from your silken tofu, then scrape into your food processor and whizz until smooth. If you have a high-speed blender, this can help get your cheesecake extra silky. Drain the cashews and add to the high-speed blender along with the liquid ingredients (non-dairy yogurt, milk, syrup, and lemon juice) and blitz until smooth before adding to the food processor, with the remaining ingredients (minus the white chocolate). If you don’t have a high-speed blender, simply put all of the remaining ingredients (minus the white chocolate) into the food processor and whizz for 5 or 6 minutes, or until completely smooth.

Finally, with the motor running, stream in the white chocolate through the lid of your food processor until it’s completely incorporated. Give it a taste and add a little more syrup or citrus if necessary, then scrape on top of your cooled base, and bake for 35 minutes.

The perennial issue with baked cheesecake is the top cracking once it’s out of the oven. To avoid this, after 35 mins I turn off the oven and crack the door open, and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for at least an hour. I then let it cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating overnight, or for at least 3 hours.

For the Lemon and Lime Curd

The curd can be made shortly before you want to eat/decorate the cheesecake, it just needs a little time to cool. It’s largely a question of a bunging everything into a saucepan, however as the curd is thickened with corn flour, it’s best to mix this with a little of the non-dairy milk first to avoid lumps.

Zest half an unwaxed lemon and one unwaxed lime, then squeeze the juice out of both, plus another lime. You should have roughly 50–60ml juice. Add the corn flour to a small bowl with a tablespoon of the milk, and whisk until completely smooth. Pour this into a saucepan along with the sugar, zest, the rest of the milk, and 45ml (3 tbsp) of juice. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking constantly, then remove from the heat when it starts to bubble. Taste a little once it’s cooled a bit – you may want to add a bit more citrus juice or sugar depending on how tart you like it, although the cheesecake is pretty sweet so can stand up against a tangy curd.

Once the curd is completely cool, spread it over the top of your cheesecake, leaving a little gap at the edges so it doesn’t drop down the sides. The recipe makes enough for a decent layer, but you could always make double and put some in a jug on the side for an extra citrus hit.

Decoration

For minimum effort decorating, break up any left over ginger nuts into irregular pieces and pile on top of the curd, then grate or chop any remaining white chocolate and sprinkle over to finish. If you happen to have any edible flowers lying around, this is a sure-fire way to make it look like far more care and consideration has gone into your decorating than actually has (I am blessed with a green-fingered Mother which is incredibly useful in this regard).

For ultimate fancy-pants decorating, you can dehydrate slices of lemon and lime. This is not as difficult as it sounds but, as with the cheesecake, it’s best to do the day before. Thinly slice a couple of lemons and limes, and place on a baking tray in a single layer. Heat your oven to 70C fan and bake for 4 hours, turning the slices every hour. Otherwise, if you have a dehydrator, dehydrate the slices at 50C for 12 hours. For the ginger nuts, simply melt some white chocolate and drizzle over your remaining ginger nuts, then leave to cool.

As you can see from the pictures, the assembly is not a precise task. Break up and scatter the biscuits, leaving some whole or in large chunks, and place the citrus slices in some of the gaps. Finally grate a final bit of white chocolate over everything, and admire your handiwork – it’s most likely going to disappear very quickly.