So pretty, so swirly, so creamy, so decadent, so surprisingly easy to make. These vegan red velvet cheesecake bites look fancy pantsy, and while they do have a few steps to make them, I assure you that each and every step is easy to do. These make the perfect Valentine’s day gift or special occasion treat.
The buttery chocolate cookie crumb crust is topped with swirls of lemon vegan cheesecake and rich red velvet vegan cheesecake. It’s so cool how these bites have the same texture as classic cheesecake but the base is made simply from raw cashews and coconut milk. No weird ingredients!
Make these ahead of time, let them set in the fridge and then serve when ready. Be prepared for applause and to take a bow!
To make vegan red velvet cheesecake bites: crumble the chocolate wafer cookies in a food processor, blender, or by placing them in a sealable bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
In a medium bowl mix together the cookie crumbs with the melted vegan butter. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners then use your spoon or the bottom glass to firmly pack the crumbs down. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from the oven.
Add the softened cashews, coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and salt to a blender. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Divide the cheesecake base evenly among two bowls.
For the lemon swirl: in one bowl add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
For the red velvet swirl: add the cocoa powder and red food colouring to the remaining bowl and mix well. You may need more or less food colouring depending on the intensity of your food colouring, and the desired colour.
To assemble the cheesecake bites: spoon some of the lemon swirl onto the chocolate crusts. Follow with a spoonful of the red velvet swirl. Alternate between the two colours until the cupcake liner is almost full, dividing the cheesecake among all the liners evenly.
For the final touch, use a toothpick to swirl the top layers of colours together in any design you like.
To bake the cheesecakes: bake for 23 – 26 minutes until the cheesecakes are puffy and may have cracked a little. Let cool at room temperature- they will fall a bit as they cool. Finish by letting them cool completely in the fridge to set, minimum 30 minutes.
Swirls of lemon and red velvet cheesecake with a chocolate crumb crust. Easy to make, and no weird ingredients! Perfect for Valentine's day or a special occasion.
- 1 1/2 cup crushed chocolate wafer cookies, (check to make sure they are vegan)
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, softened (see below)
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vegan red food colouring
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line a muffin baking pan with 12 cupcake liners, or lightly grease it.
Crumble the chocolate wafer cookies in a food processor, blender, or by placing them in a sealable bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. In a medium bowl mix together the cookie crumbs with the melted vegan butter. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners then use your spoon or the bottom glass to firmly pack the crumbs down. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from the oven.
To soften the cashews: you can either boil or soak the cashews. To boil the cashews (the fast method): add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. To soak the cashews: add the cashews to a bowl, and cover with water. Let soak for 4 hours or overnight until tender. Drain and rinse cashews before using.
Add the cashews, coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and salt to a blender. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Divide the cheesecake base evenly amoung two bowls.
For the lemon swirl: in one bowl add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine. For the red velvet swirl: add the cocoa powder and red food colouring to the remaining bowl and mix well. You may need more or less food colouring depending on the intensity of your food colouring, and the desired colour.
To assemble the cheesecake bites: spoon some of the lemon swirl onto the chocolate crusts. Follow with a spoonful of the red velvet swirl. Alternate between the two colours until the cupcake liner is almost full, dividing the all the cheesecake among all the liners evenly. For the final touch, use a toothpick to swirl the top layers of colours together in any design you like.
To bake the cheesecakes: bake for 23 - 26 minutes until the cheesecakes are puffy and may have cracked a little. Let cool at room temperature- they will fall a bit as they cool. Finish by letting them cool completely in the fridge uncovered to set, minimum 30 minutes.
*When storing in the fridge keep them uncovered or covered with a breathable material such as a clean cloth. They can get a bit wet on top from trapped condensation if in an air-tight container. If they do get a bit wet, you can simply blot the tops with a bit of paper towel.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
How long can these be refrigerated before serving?
I would say 3 – 4 days. The only concern is that the cookie crumble may get soft. Enjoy!
I think I would choose to add raspberry juice for the food coloring, perhaps I could boil it down to make it concentrated enough for the desired color.
I’m not sure it would be potent enough but you could try. Be careful about adding too much extra liquid as it will change the consistency of the cheesecake. You could try making your own homemade food colouring from beets using a recipe such as this one. Hope that helps!
I made these yesterday but used graham crackers instead of chocolate wafers – we loved them, thanks!
Wonderful!! So happy you loved them, Eve-Marie 🙂
What can be used instead of cashews? My son has a nut allergy.
I’ve used raw sunflower seeds in place of cashews in several cases, theyd probably work here too !
Great, thanks!
I know blanched almonds or macadamia nuts will work well, but other than that I’m not sure I have a good substitute for you, unfortunately. Sorry, I can’t be more help!
Can you recommend a chocolate wafer cookie brand and food colouring? Thanks for any suggestions!
Mr.Christie’s chocolate wafer cookies are accidentally vegan, woot! I believe Nabisco might be the same thing in the US. As for food colouring, I just used what my grocery store had which was also accidentally vegan, I just checked the ingredients to make sure, or you can purchase vegan food colouring online. Hope that helps!
Use the whole can of coconut milk?
Nope, just 1 cup.
Hi Sam. You are so fun to follow! I’m trying to cut way back on sugar (especially the nasty white stuff!). Is here a better substitute you could recommend? Thanks so much!
Aww thanks so much, Kathy! I’m not an expert in sugar-free substitutes so I recommend checking out a few articles on how to substitute sugar, such as this one. Enjoy!
Do you include nutritional information with your recipes ie fat content, calories. ?
Usually just the calories which you can see noted in the recipe. 🙂
Just a heads up, you have the coconut milk in the ingredients list, but not in the instructions.
Fixed! Thank you 🙂
Sam, this is a recipe I’m so looking forward to making.
Excuse my English ignorance of American terms, but when you say chocolate wafer biscuits what do you mean? Can you give a brand name example? I’ll Google it and find a UK version if I can. I do wanna make these soon. Thanks
A common brand here in Canada is Mr. Christie’s chocolate wafer cookies, and they happen to be accidently vegan. Woot! They are just a very thin crispy simple chocolate cookie. I’m sure anything similar would work just fine. Enjoy!
Great, thanks
Wow, these sound good. I like the fact that they’re soy-free, too. (I have a soy intolerance).
Awesome!! I hope you love them, Lydia 🙂