If you're a fellow chocolate cherry dessert fan then it doesn't get much better than black forest cake. Until it's combined with another classic dessert in the form of this vegan black forest cheesecake, that is!
Similar to these vegan black forest cupcakes, this easy no-bake chocolate cherry cheesecake is infused with Kirsch. It's then topped off with dairy-free coconut cream and fancy chocolate curls for a bit of wow-factor. This recipe is loosely based on my vegan chocolate orange cheesecake recipe.
📖 Recipe Overview
- Easy to make
- No-bake
- Eggless and dairy-free
- Nut-free
- Showstopper dessert
- Easily adapted as kid-friendly (without alcohol)
- Great made with frozen cherries making it suitable for any time of year
- Perfect for special occasions (birthdays, Christmas and holidays, Mother's day, Valentine’s, etc)
Ingredients overview
Ingredient Notes
- Cherries: This recipe works best with frozen cherries, as they are cooked they release their juices which help to create a cherry sauce.
- Dark chocolate: I highly recommend using a good quality dark chocolate for this no-bake cheesecake as the flavor will come through in the end result. The more bitter the chocolate, the less sweet the end result. I usually go for 70% chocolate.
- Vegan cream cheese: I use violife, but you can use any vegan-friendly cream cheese that’s available to you.
- Silken tofu: This ingredient sits into this cheesecake secretly, you won’t even notice it’s there taste-wise. But it does add an amazingly silky smooth texture which is incredible for vegan cheesecakes.
- Cocoa powder: For an additional kick of chocolate! You can use raw cacao powder which has a slightly more acidic flavor or Dutch-processed which will give a deep rich flavor.
- Pure maple syrup: My go-to sweetener for vegan cheesecake recipes.
- Lemon juice: This helps to give a slightly tangy flavor.
- Kirsch: You can also use brandy or Amaretto here, or cherry juice for a non-alcoholic version.
- Vanilla extract: The vanilla is used to balance out the flavors of the dessert as well as intensify the sweetness.
- Vegan Oreos or similar cookies: The biscuit forms the base of the crust while the cream centers help to bind everything together. You can also use homemade oreo cookies.
- Vegan butter: This helps to set the base as it solidifies when chilled. You'll need vegan block butter, not spreadable margarine. You can also use coconut oil in its place.
- Sea salt: This helps to balance the sweetness of the crust.
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🥣 How To Make Black Forest Cheesecake
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Cookie crust
To make the crust, simply add the dry ingredients (cookies and salt) to your food processor and blend until they reach a crumb consistency. Then add in the vegan butter and blend again to combine. The mixture should stick together between your fingers, in a dough-like consistency.
Next press the dough into the base of a lined cake pan. It's important to line both the base and sides of the cake tin with parchment paper as we don't be freezing this cheesecake, which will make it easier to lift it out once set.
Step 2: Cherry chocolate cheesecake filling
This vegan cheesecake has a cherry chocolate filling. To get a slightly tart flavor, cherries are reduced down with Kirsch. Once ready they will be almost like a syrup consistency. This step is important as adding fresh fruit to cheesecake filling will mess up the consistency due to the water content.
The cherry mixture is then blended up with the remaining cheesecake filling ingredients (apart from the chocolate). So that's vegan cream cheese, silken tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Once completely smooth, gently melt the chocolate over a double-boiler (bain-marie to sound fancy).
Now just pour the filling into your lined cake pan and pop it into the fridge to set.
Step 3: Cherry topping
You can't have a chocolate cheesecake with cherries without a juicy cherry topping. First cook the cherries and water. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve the cherries for later.
Now make a paste of the cornflour (cornstarch), Kirsch, and maple syrup and whisk it well. This forms a cornstarch slurry which will help to prevent lumps in your cherry sauce. Add the cornstarch mixture to the strained cherry juice and cook it out for 5 minutes whilst whisking. The mixture will become thick and glossy - yum!
Lastly, stir in those reserved cherries and watch them plump back up as they soak up the juices from the thickened cherry sauce. Be sure to allow the cherry sauce to cool completely before topping the cheesecake.
Decorating the cheesecake
How to make chocolate curls
I know I know, it looks intimidating. But honestly making chocolate curls from scratch is pretty easy. You just need a small lunch box or plastic container, a potato peeler, some parchment paper. I also recommend latex gloves for this particular task because the chocolate will melt with the warmth of your hands which can become a pretty messy job!
Simply melt the chocolate and pour it into a container lined with some parchment paper (this will make it easier to lift out the chocolate once set). Then use a potato peeler to curl the chocolate at a 45-degree angle away from you or towards you.
Another method for making chocolate curls is to melt the chocolate onto a flat baking tray. Then scrape the chocolate using a chef’s knife at a 45-degree angle away from you.
🔪 Possible Substitutions
- Kirsch: This can be substituted with cherry brandy, brandy or Amaretto depending on what you have to hand. If you want to make this cheesecake kid-friendly, simply swap out the alcohol for unsweetened cherry juice.
- Vegan cream cheese: If you don't have access to vegan cream cheese you can use coconut cream in its place. I would suggest taste-testing the cheesecake mixture as you may want to add a little more sweetener, lemon juice, and/or salt to adjust to your taste.
- Coconut cream: For the topping, you can use an alternative plant-based cream such as soy oat, or rice whipping cream, but you need to make sure they are suitable for whipping.
💬 FAQs
This vegan black forest cheesecake is loosely based around and inspired by traditional black forest gateau, but it is by no means an authentic black forest cake. It consists of layers of chocolate cherry cheesecake, sour cherry sauce, coconut cream, and chocolate curls on a sweet cookie base.
Yes, if you plan on freezing this cheesecake I recommend doing so before garnishing it and making the cherry sauce and whipped cream before serving.
Yes, simply swap the cookies in the crust for vegan, gluten-free cookies of your choice.
Yes, this cheesecake is nut-free. However, be sure to check the ingredients of separate ingredients, in particular the vegan cream cheese. I use violife, which is free from nuts.
This is totally dependent on your own personal taste. My preference is for no-bake cheesecake recipes as they are usually much easier to make, but they do tend to be on the richer side. You can also check out my baked vegan cheesecake if that's more to your liking.
🍒 More Black Forest Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Black Forest Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 14 (140g) (0.5 oz) original oreos or oreo style cookies
- 42 g (3 tablespoons) vegan butter
- ¼ tsp (¼ teaspoon) sea salt
Filling
- 250 g (8.82 oz) frozen sour cherries or frozen sweet cherries
- 350 g (12.35 oz) silken tofu
- 200 g (7.05 oz) vegan cream cheese
- 90 ml (6 tablespoons) Kirsch or cherry brandy/brandy/Amaretto or cherry juice for alcohol free
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 300 g (10.58 oz) dark chocolate
- 10 g (2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder optional
Cherry topping
- 400 g (14.11 oz) frozen sour cherries or frozen sweet cherries
- 60 ml (0.25 cup) water
- 60 ml (0.25 cup) pure maple syrup
- 60 ml (0.25 cup) Kirsch or cherry brandy/brandy/Amaretto or cherry juice for alcohol free
- 15 g (2 tbsp) cornstarch
Optional garnish
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan chocolate
- 240 g (1 cup) vegan whipped cream
Instructions
Crust
- Add the cookies and sea salt to your food processor and blitz for about 30 seconds until evenly finely ground. Add in the vegan butter and blend again until evenly combined and the mixture sticks together between your fingers. Line the bottom and sides of a 7" or 8" cake tin (with removable base) with some parchment paper. Press the cookie mixture into the base of the cake tin, and smooth it out with a spatula or flat bottomed glass, making sure it is compact. Set aside in the fridge.
Filling
- Add the cherries and Kirsch to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cooked cherries to a high-speed blender or food processor along with the silken tofu, vegan cream cheese, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, and blend until smooth and creamy. Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie (double boiler). Add the melted chocolate to the filling mixture and blend again until evenly mixed. Taste the mixture and if you want a deeper chocolate flavor add the cocoa powder and blend again.
- Transfer the filling into the cake tin using a spatula to smooth it out. Place in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours (or overnight if preferred).
Cherry layer
- Add the frozen cherries and water to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, set the cooked cherries aside, and add the liquid back to the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, Kirsch, and cornstarch into a paste until smooth. Add the cornstarch paste to the saucepan with the cherry liquid and simmer for 5 minutes whilst whisking and stirring. The mixture will thicken. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before stirring in the reserved cooked cherries. Cover and keep at room temperature until ready to top the cheesecake.
Assembly
- To make the chocolate curls, melt the chocolate and pour it into a small plastic container lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 20-30 minutes, then remove the block of chocolate from the container and use a potato peeler to create chocolate curls in long movements while applying pressure. I recommend wearing latex gloves for this step as the heat from your hands will melt the chocolate. If the chocolate gets too soft, return it to the freezer for 10 minutes and repeat.
- Once set, remove the cake from the tin. Spoon the cherry mixture on top of the cake and top with whipped coconut cream and chocolate curls.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days.
Notes
- Kirsch: This can be substituted with cherry brandy, brandy or Amaretto depending on what you have to hand. If you want to make this cheesecake kid-friendly, simply swap out the alcohol for unsweetened cherry juice.
- Vegan cream cheese: If you don’t have access to vegan cream cheese you can use coconut cream in its place. I would suggest taste-testing the cheesecake mixture as you may want to add a little more sweetener, lemon juice, and/or salt to adjust to your taste.
- Coconut cream: For the topping, you can use an alternative plant-based cream such as soy oat, or rice whipping cream, but you need to make sure they are suitable for whipping.
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Hi Christina, I just made this recipe and have placed it in the fridge to set to serve for Christmas day. I'm a little concerned it won't set because it seemed a little too liquidy. Reading the recipe, it mentions smoothing it with a spatula but mine didn't need it at all! I made the 'cream cheese' and followed the cashew based recipe.
How liquidy is it meant to be?
Fingers crossed 🤞
Rose
Hi Rosita,
I haven't made this one with cashew-based cream cheese before, but there is quite a lot of dark chocolate in the filling, which is what makes it set. So it shouldn't be an issue as long as all the measurements were correct. Don't worry, sometimes cheesecakes can seem like they won't set but after 4-6 hours in the fridge it should firm up. If you feel at that stage it isn't setting and something may have been off, you can melt more dark chocolate and reblend the filling. Let me know how it goes and if you need more help x
Before I shop for the ingredients, what type of silken tofu would you recommend? Soft, firm or extra firm?
Hi Audrey,
I use soft silken, but firm will be fine too! Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
it's awesome recipe... thank you so much 🙏
So happy you enjoyed, thank you for your feedback!
Hey Christina,
Before I will start to try out your fantastic receipt I want to ask if I can change the frozen cherrys with final cherrys from a glas so that I don't have to cook them. Do you see what I mean?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you 🙂 Kind regards!
Hi Monique,
Yes I think so! And you could use the juices from the jar in place of water in the filling.
Great recipe! My husband is German, loves black forest cake, and he enjoyed the cheesecake very much. Thank you for another fantastic vegan dessert!
If I may, I agree with Kaitlyn: the crust could be a bit thicker. But it's a matter of personal taste, and the recipe is already wonderful as is. Thanks again!
Hi Marie,
I'm so happy you and your husband enjoyed the recipe - thank you so much for sharing your feedback! Noted about the crust, I will bear this in mind the next time I update the recipe 🙂
Wow. This was surprisingly easy and the filling is insanely creamy. I had my doubts it would set, but it did no problem! Only two bits of feedback on my end, but these are more personal preference than anything else: I think the filling needs to be much sweeter, and I would prefer a thicker crust with the amount of filling there is in the actual cheesecake. Which I guess would make it a bit more decadent, but I'm reminded of how thick some of the crusts on vegan cheesecake recipes are and I think the ratio is a bit more balanced... Anyway! Thank you for the amazing recipe, it was my birthday "cake" this year and it was amazing!
Hi Kaitlyn,
Happy belated Birthday! I'm happy you loved the recipe, and thanks so much for your feedback. Next time, you could add a little sugar to the cherries as they're cooking down to make it a little sweeter, and you could definitely times and a half the crust to make it thicker.
Any substitute fir Tofu
Hi Alka,
You could try thick Greek-style vegan yogurt