Go to the Recipe: Vegan New York Cheesecake
Sorry for the overly pedantic question. The ingredient coconut milk. Is this the kind in the can or carton?
Hey Jeff great question. I ended up settling on using Chaocoh coconut milk from a can. I found it great because of the flavor and it didn't have any extra gelling agents making it difficult to work with.
Happy to continue to have plant based recipes to learn with and from, thank you!
If this page is every updated in the future, a side by side shot of this cheesecake with and without the astaxanthin would be helpful, at least for me. My current take-a-way much like using titanium dioxide in The Yeti Brownie, astaxanthin is adds visual impact but I can't tell from the images after it was added how the color differs.
Great point m. If we find a good comparison image of it down the road we'll be sure to include it.
I do want to stress that astaxanthin was added to this recipe as the cherry on top. In my experience when making plant based versions of recipes (that are well known) they can get extra judgment when serving. When developing it I felt like I got the texture and flavor SO so close to a classic New York version of a cheesecake but the color was slightly off. The color wasn't off in a bad way at all, looked more like a white smoke/bone white. So to get past the visual judgment when serving, I found astaxanthin gave it the yellow tinge that the yolks bring in the classic cheesecake.
Thank you for the follow up, that's really helpful context and I completely understand it was a finishing touch.
Anyone had the vegan "cheesecake" at Vedge in Philly? So good, one has to wonder if it is really dairy free! Apparently the recipe is secret and they won't even let the staff watch them make it.
I thought silken tofu would in come in soft, but it is also sold as firm. Which one did you use here @Nicholas Gavin ?
Do you really need both kinds of gellan gum? If you could pick just one-which is preferable? Spending $50 for using 2g of 100g worth of gellan gums seems a bit ridiculous. Would xanthan gum work?
I made this for Thanksgiving this year, and it was a hit. I used the springform pan linked in the recipe, and that made a tall, very presentable cheesecake. And the slices stood tall on the plates! No falling over! Quite impressive presentation. I did not do the strawberry glaze this time. The cheesecake alone was delicious and definitely tasted complete, but I will happily try the glaze next time. In terms of how well it lasts, I made it the night before Thanksgiving, and had leftover pieces a week later that still looked and tasted like day 1. Some notes on a few gotchas and other questions in the comments: - The recipe spells it out, but to emphasize: your refined coconut oil *does* need to be the kind that is solid at room temp, not the liquid variety. I used the liquid version in the crust before catching the error, and it worked, but was probably more crumbly than expected. I am definitely sourcing the right kind of coconut oil for next time. - I used unrefined (solid at room temp) in the filling mix to get the right texture/firmness. It came out more coconutty in flavor, but in a very tasty way. If all you can find is unrefined, it will work. - I used Nasoya Organic Silken Tofu (no firm or soft designation). The description says it is "the softest variety of tofu," if that is helpful to anyone. The texture when getting it out of the container was closer to soft cooked scrambled eggs than a normal tofu block. - I added probably 4 fat drops of astaxanthin. In the blender, it looked like that was probably enough, but in the finished product, I kind of wish I had added 1 or 2 more. Before any is added, the mix is very tofu-grey, and like @Nicholas Gavin said in another comment reply, probably gonna get some plant-based recipe judgement. If you're making this cheesecake as part of a spread, I wouldn't skip it. - F
