This vegan gingerbread cheesecake is the perfect festive dessert for your holiday table. Serve it alongside this vegan eggnog cheesecake for an epic vegan Christmas dessert spread.
With a tangy dairy-free vanilla gingerbread cheesecake filling on top of a no-bake ginger pecan crust, it's perfectly served topped with homemade vegan gingerbread cookies. You can freeze any cake you don’t use right away so that you have a sweet stash to hand out over the holidays!
Why this recipe works
- No-bake and easy to make
- Full of festive flavor and perfect for your holiday dessert table
- Creamy filling made using a combination of vegan cream cheese, cashews, and yogurt. This gives this vegan gingerbread cheesecake recipe a flavor and consistency that's close to non-vegan cheesecake.
- Can be adapted as gluten-free
- Eggless and dairy-free
Ingredient notes
- Pecans: These nuts add crunch and texture to the slices.
- Gingernut biscuits: I love using ginger biscuits for the crust as they really enhance the gingerbread flavors of this recipe. You can swap them out for any vegan-friendly biscuits such as digestives or vegan graham crackers if preferred.
- Vegan butter: This binds everything together as well as adds a delicious buttery flavor. I also add some sea salt to enhance the flavors of the cheesecake.
- Cashews: These versatile nuts make up the creamy base for the cheesecake filling.
- Vegan cream cheese: I use violife, but you can use any vegan-friendly cream cheese that’s available to you.
- Pure maple syrup: My go-to sweetener for vegan cheesecake recipes. Seeing as this is a vegan gingerbread cheesecake recipe, you could also go half and half with maple syrup and molasses for that festive flavor,
- Gingerbread spices: These spices make up the gingerbread flavor of this cake (ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and allspice). You can lessen the quantities if you prefer a more subtle flavor, as this recipe gives a flavorsome “gingerbread” taste.
- Vegan yogurt: You can opt for either plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt depending on your taste. Soy or coconut yogurt both work great and add a “cultured” taste and light consistency to the cheesecake filling. I personally love Alpro Greek-style.
- Lemon juice: A tough of fresh lemon juice adds a zing and helps to create that tangy “cheesecake” flavor for this cake.
- Coconut oil: This acts as the setting agent for the filling of the cheesecake. I have tried to make this recipe omitting the coconut oil and it doesn’t hold its shapes as well once defrosted, although it still tastes delicious!
- Sea salt: I always add a pinch of salt to desserts, as it helps to bring out the individual flavors of ingredients as well as marry them together.
- Maple syrup: A natural way of adding sweetness and flavor to the cheesecake base and coconut cream.
- Vanilla: This enhances and adds another layer of flavor to your cake. You can swap it out for one teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- Fresh pomegranate: Fresh pomegranate jewels add a Christmassy look to the cake, they almost look like little holly bushes with contrasting mint leaves. You could also use fresh cranberries if you have them to hand.
How to make this recipe (with step-by-step images)
(Full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post)
Make the no-bake crust
Start with the dry ingredients, you want to break them down to a flour consistency before adding in the wet ingredients which will give a more uniform end result. Simply add the ginger cookies, pecans, ground ginger, and salt to your food processor and blitz to a fine crumb consistency.
Next add the “wet” ingredients, in this case, vegan butter. Blend the ingredients together until they begin to stick together to form a dough-like consistency, You’ll know it’s ready as the mixture will stick together when pressed between your fingers.
Press the dough into the base of a 7" cake tin that’s been lined with parchment paper. Make sure you compact the dough into the base of the pan, you can use a spatula or flat bottomed glass to do this. The dough will be soft but don't worry, as it chills it the butter will solidify and create a crunchy base for your vegan cheesecake.
Make the cheesecake filling
The filling of the cake is as simple as adding the ingredients to the blender and blitzing them until smooth. But before you get to that stage there are a couple of things you’ll need to do to get you prepped in advance.
Next, simply pour that smooth cheesecake filling on top of your chilled no-bake crust and place it in the freezer to set it completely.
Place the cake in the freezer to set for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. I like to make the cake the night before, freeze it overnight and then decorate it the next morning. Once set, remove the cake from the tin whilst still frozen, if you wait for the cake to defrost first it will be difficult to remove it from the tin.
How to decorate your Christmas gingerbread cheesecake
To make the cream topping, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk well until combined. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and place it in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes to an hour. Pipe the coconut cream around the top of the cake.
Some topping options include:
- Homemade gingerbread cookies
- Crushed ginger nut biscuits
- Fresh pomegranate or fresh cranberries
- Fresh mint leaves or fresh rosemary sprigs
Storage instructions
This cake can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezing instructions
Alternatively, you can freeze any unused cake and defrost it as needed. I recommend cutting the cake into servings and then individually boxing or wrapping them so that you can grab them to defrost as needed.
Expert tips
Chill the coconut milk:
For the cream topping, this vegan cheesecake recipe calls for full-fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream. You can keep a couple of cans to hand in the fridge for when you need them. Try to chill the coconut milk at least the night before you plan on making this recipe. Then scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of the cans, discarding the liquid or using it as a base for dishes such as curries.
Soak the cashews
The cashews for the filing of this cheesecake need to be soaked ahead of time. This gives them a creamier mouthfeel and makes the blending process much easier on your kitchen equipment! Place the cashews in a bowl and cover them with filtered water. Leave them to soak for about 4 hours, then rinse them clean and drain before use.
Note: If you’re in a hurry – don’t worry you can soak them in boiling water instead, then rinse and drain.
Blend the filling until completely smooth
As mentioned above, the filling of this cake is really as simple as blending all the ingredients together. It might take a little patience to get the desired consistency that is completely smooth and lump-free. Most good-quality blenders can get to the creamy stage in just 5 minutes or less, but if you have a lower-end blender, patience is key! Keep blending, even if it means allowing time in between blends for the machine to cool down. The consistency should be like silk, with no grit or lumps whatsoever.
If you're looking for more tips and tricks on how to make the best dairy-free cheesecake check out my guide to vegan cheesecakes.
Variations
- Almost raw gingerbread cheesecake: Swap the crust for 1.5 cups pecans, half a cup dried cranberries, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger for a healthier cheesecake crust.
- Vegan cream cheese: If you don't have access to vegan cream cheese you can swap this out for full-fat chilled canned coconut milk. Chill your cans of coconut milk at least the night before making this recipe.
- Gingerbread cheesecake bars: Make this recipe in a square 8x8" dish and cut it into bars or slices.
- Gluten-free: Opt for gluten-free cookies in the crust to make this a gluten-free gingerbread cheesecake.
More vegan gingerbread recipes
Don't forget to check out these 25+ vegan Christmas dessert recipes to get all your baking plans sorted this festive season!
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📖 Recipe
Description
Ingredients
Crust
- 14 (140 g) gingernut cookies, or digestive biscuits or graham crackers (gluten-free if needed)
- ½ cup (50 g) pecans
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground ginger
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) vegan butter
Filling
- 1 ½ cups (200 g) cashews, *soaked, see notes
- 10.5 oz (300 g) vegan cream cheese
- ½ cup (118 ml) maple syrup
- ½ cup (120 g) soy or coconut yogurt, unsweetened, Greek-style if possible
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
- 1 vanilla pod, or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste/vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons (55 g) coconut oil, solid
- 2 ½ teaspoon (5 g) ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon (4 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) orange zest
Coconut Cream Topping
- ½ batch vegan whipped cream
Garnish
- Fresh pomegranate
- Mint leaves
- ¼ batch vegan gingerbread cookies
Instructions
Crust
- Add the ginger nut cookies, pecans, ground ginger, and salt to your food processor and blitz to a fine crumb consistency. Add the vegan butter and blend again until the mixture sticks together to form a dough consistency.
- Line the base of a 7" springform cake pan with parchment paper and press the dough into the base of the pan, compacting it with a spatula. Set aside in the freezer to chill while you prepare the filling.
Filling
- For the filling, add all of the ingredients to your high-speed blender. Blend on high for a few minutes until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, with no lumps or grit.
- Transfer the filling to the base of the cake tin. Place the cake in the freezer to set for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
Garnish
- Make the vegan gingerbread cookies if using them.
- Remove the set cheesecake from the tin whilst still frozen. You can run a damp cloth around the outer edges to help loosen up the sides.
- To make the cream topping, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a bowl, and whisk well until combined. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and place it in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Pipe the coconut cream around the top of the cake and decorate it with homemade gingerbread biscuits, fresh pomegranate, and mint leaves.
- This cake can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Alternatively, freeze any unused cake and defrost it as needed.
Notes
- Nutritional information is based on cheesecake without gingerbread cookie garnish.
- Soaked cashews: Soak the cashews in water for 4 hours, rinse and drain.
- Vegan cream cheese: If you don't have access to vegan cream cheese you can swap this out for full-fat chilled canned coconut milk. Chill your cans of coconut milk at least the night before making this recipe.
- Gluten-free: Opt for gluten-free cookies in the crust to make this a gluten-free gingerbread cheesecake.
Nutrition
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*This recipe was originally published on October 26th, 2020. The recipe has since been improved and was last updated on November 6th, 2021.