Vegan passionfruit cheesecake tart with a coconut shortcrust pastry and a creamy filling. No vegan cream cheese and easy to make!
This tart is a smaller tropical version of my popular baked vegan cheesecake recipe. It is the perfect Summer dessert to bring to gatherings or have all yourself. If you're in Australia, passionfruit is in season in Winter making this a great dessert all year round :).
Making the coconut shortcrust base
To make the base, you'll need:
- Plain or all-purpose flour
- Dessicated coconut (or sub for more flour)
- Vegan butter, margarine or coconut oil
- Cane or coconut sugar.
Simply add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined. You can roll it out on a floured surface and transfer it to your tart tin. However, I found it easier to press it directly into the tin. I was feeling lazy!
Parbake the crust while you make your filling :).
Making the vegan cheesecake filling
You will need:
- Soaked cashews
- Firm silken tofu (or silken tofu)
- Plant-based milk
- Coconut yoghurt
- Sweetener, lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
Simply blend all ingredients until it's thick and as smooth as possible. Pour into your parbaked cheesecake crust then bake for another 20 minutes or so.
Decorating the vegan passionfruit cheesecake
I topped my cheesecake with fresh passionfruit pulp (frozen will work too). The tangy passionfruit really balances out the creaminess of the cheesecake.
I also think coconut cream (or yoghurt) and coconut flakes go well on top of the cheesecake but these are optional!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I did! xo
More Vegan Cheesecake Recipes
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Baked passionfruit vegan cheesecake with a coconut crust
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup (95g) all-purpose plain flour, or gluten free flour
- ½ cup (40g) desiccated coconut
- 3 tablespoons (20g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, or coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup (75g) vegan butter or margarine, or solid coconut oil
Cheesecake filling
- 1 ½ cups (195g) raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
- ¾ cup (195g) firm silken tofu, (also known as 'traditional tofu')
- ~¼ cup (80g) any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup, or cane sugar, to taste
- ¼ cup (65g) dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup (60g) dairy-free yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
- Pinch of any good-quality salt*
To decorate
- ½ cup (125g) passionfruit pulp
- ¼ cup (60g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream, whipped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a loose bottom tart tin. Mine was 20cm wide and 4cm deep (8 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep).
To make the crust:
- In a large bowl or food processor, combine all of the base ingredients. Roll out onto a floured surface and transfer to your tart tin. Alternatively, directly press the mixture into your tart tin.
- Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the sides are only very slightly golden brown.
To make the filling:
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until there are no lumps.
- Pour cheesecake filling into the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the cheesecake to make sure the crust doesn't burn!
- Leave the oven door ajar and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to come to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and set it aside in the fridge overnight.
To decorate
- Spread your passionfruit pulp on top of your cheesecake. If desired, use a piping bag with a star nozzle to pipe stars on the tart.
- Enjoy immediately or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Don't omit the lemon, vanilla and salt as these help it taste like a cheesecake.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in August 2018 and updated in March 2021.
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This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
My daughter is allergic to cashews pistachio and hazelnut, can this be swapped for anything else?
You can use blanched almonds (soak them for longer as they are firmer) or macadamia nuts. Sunflower seeds also work but they have a strong earthy flavor. I hope that helps!
The best vegan cheesecake recipe! Very easy and the crust is so delicious. I doubled the crust ingredients because I used a 24cm wide tart tin and it worked out perfectly. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Hi Anthea
Is this cake freezable? I read a comment that it tasted rubbery the next day. I have three cakes to make this Saturday and I would love to do this in advance... any tips would be appreciated.
Many thanks for this recipe.
Sandy
Hi Sandy, I wouldn't recommend freezing it because the tofu or milk will make the filling separate. I've tested the filling a few times and believe it'll have an odd texture *if* you bake it for too long. To bake it in advance, I'd recommend making and pressing the crust in the tin then keeping the filling separate. Bake the whole tart 1-2 days beforehand. The recipe is very similar to my baked cheesecake recipe here which has been baked many times by others. Hope that helps.
Excellent, enjoyed by all!
So glad to hear Sue, thank you!
Yummy cheesecake
Quite easy to make but I should have taken it out at 40 mins not 50 little over done so keep an eye on it 🙂
Very moorish
So glad to hear! And great tip about the timing of the baking - I'll update the recipe to include this 🙂
Hi Anthea xxx I made this cheesecake to your recipe yesterday. I've had a new, unused tart tin in my draw and I swear these two? Their a match made in heaven. It all worked out perfectly. The crust was not too thick and not too thin. It was perfect in every way. I too am a baked cheesecake lover from way back. I've made some really fantastic ones in my lifetime. The filling was absolutely perfect amount. It's not a deep cheesecake, but well balanced with its base. I think the key is having the right tin to bake it in coz I had no problems. As we are in Passionfruit Paradise presently, this was a natural 'go to' recipe. Thankyou for it! And as any recipe, if you want to tweak it, by all means tweak away, but Anthea has done the hard yards for us and I thankyou for that xxxx
Hi Cubby, Oooh I'm *so* glad to hear that!! Yes I agree, I think the cheesecake is balanced well with the base and anyone else is welcome to tweak it to their tastes if they wish. The passionfruit are definitely amazing at the moment! Thanks for your lovely comment xoxo
Loved the texture of this vegan cheesecake and REALLY loved the crust. I did take on board feedback from Isa re having a thinner crust so made 1.5x the filling and 1x the crust - ratios were perfect. If I make this again I think I'd add passionfruit or a different flavouring (maybe mango, blueberries or even dark chocolate) to the filling itself as I found it a little bit plain and the taste of the cashews overpowering. Overall though very decadent and delicious, and a hit with my omni friends!
Glad that you loved this cheesecake! Good idea to use those proportions for the filling and crust and to add fruit to the filling. Sometimes the lemon juice and vanilla helps mask the taste of the tofu and the cashews but it depends on your palette and the ingredients! Thanks for popping by!
I finally made this yesterday! It's a good combo-an anzac-biscuity base with the zingy passionfruit topping. Man, I really love passionfruit! I feel like there could have been less base and more filling tho. Also, by today the filling was quite rubbery, rather than creamy. If I make this again I might consider using a muffin tin to make mini-tarts instead of one big cake and freezing the extras.
I was a bit confused by the measurements - 1/4 C + 3 T (for the maple syrup and plant milks) seemed an odd measure, given 1/4 C is like, 63 mL, and 3 T is 60 mL, why not just say 120 or 125mL? I wasn't sure what the rationale was - were they meant to be added separately, or was it just the way you tweaked the recipe?
Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it Isa! Yes, in hindsight I should've used a taller tart tin. However, a thinner base does not always work as it needs to be thick enough to maintain shape and not crumble (one of the only downsides of making a crust made with wholefoods). Good idea to use a muffin tin to use mini tarts!
I tweaked the recipe to include more milk and syrup. However, I used a standard American tablespoon which is 15mL so 3 tablespoons is only be 45mL. That would mean that it'd be 63mL + 45mL of milk and syrup. It's weird because I purchased those tablespoons in Australia!
I hope that helps!
This looks beautiful! I absolutely love anything passion fruit 😛