This easy vegan black forest cheesecake combines two classic desserts in one delicious showstopper of a cake. The recipe is nut-free and can easily be adapted as gluten-free if needed. Perfect for cherry chocolate dessert lovers!
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.