Vegan Cinnamon Coconut New York Style Cheesecake. This cheesecake is dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and to die for. It is creamy, rich, smooth and made with only 8 ingredients!
Ah, New York style cheesecake. One of the best desserts known to man….and to my tummy. I knew I needed to create a vegan one. This is the easiest Vegan New York Style Cheesecake ever. You don’t even need an appliance to make this! No soaking cashews, no freezing, nothing.
First, I have exciting news I’ve been dying to share with you all! The Vegan 8 had it’s first magazine feature….an international magazine feature, that is! My blog and 2 of my recipes were featured in the popular Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine in the May/June issue, with Jason Wrobel on the cover. If there was ever a featured I’d want to be in, it is with him on the cover! He is amazing and the first vegan chef to have his own cooking show on the Cooking Channel.
To say I was excited, would be an understatement. My blog is featured on pg 64 in Nutrition expert, Monica Parodi’s column, and my recipes are full page on pages 66-67!
You can purchase one at Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc.
Now, back to this Vegan New York style cheesecake….the firm, dense, yet somehow fluffy texture you get in a New York style cheesecake, is what I love so much. This vegan cheesecake is nut-free, oil-free, tofu-free, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.
VEGAN CHEESECAKE MADE WITH COCONUT BUTTER
No cashews, oil or tofu in this baby, like you typically see in vegan cheesecakes/desserts. Coconut butter is the secret ingredient to this wonderful creation. Note, it is NOT the same thing as coconut oil. Coconut butter is the whole coconut meat shredded and processed into silky smooth butter, whereas coconut oil is just the fat separated and just taste like greasy oil. Do not use oil in this, it will not give the same result, at all. I make my own coconut butter, super easy and fast.
One of my most popular desserts on my blog is my Raw Vegan Cinnamon Spice Cheesecake Tart (the one featured in the mag). It is absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make. It requires several hours freezing time though. I wanted to create another totally different version that didn’t require any freezing and it also be NUT-FREE!
WHY I LOVE COCONUT BUTTER
If you haven’t noticed after following my blog for awhile (or are new to it), I love coconut butter. My 3 Ingredient Fudge is made with it and it has been a huge hit. It gives so much more flavor than just coconut oil and is much less greasy. It also is a secret ingredient to how I made the perfect brownie .
This Vegan New York Vegan Cheesecake tastes like a baked one and the crust is a hefty, oat crust with flavors from coconut butter, cinnamon and maple syrup. I wanted a nut-free crust and I have to say, I LOVED the oat crust/coconut butter combo because it didn’t taste raw…like the nut-based ones do.
It is different than a traditional French style cheesecake that is more creamy and light. I love that too, but this one is fantastic and is the same kind of texture of the dairy-filled cinnamon cheesecake I used to make on holidays or for friends, but contained dairy and eggs!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of this Vegan New York Style Cheesecake! Leave me feedback below after you make it!
Other Vegan Cheesecakes:
Cinnamon Coconut New York Style Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) fine oat flour use gluten-free if needed
- 4 1/2 tablespoons (90g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 3 tablespoons (45g) melted liquid coconut butter, NOT coconut oil!
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) apple juice or water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cake
- 1 cup (240g) melted liquid coconut butter, NOT coconut oil!
- 3/4 cup (180g) coconut milk, room temp
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup or agave, room temp
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons (10g) pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
NOTE
- As noted above, it is crucial that the liquid ingredients are all at room temperature when adding to the melted coconut butter for the cake. Otherwise, the coconut butter will sieze up if the liquids are cold. Also, coconut butter is not the same thing as coconut oil. Coconut butter is dried coconut that is processed into a liquid, whereas coconut oil is just the fat extracted, and will not give the same texture result.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- First, prepare the crust by adding the oats to a food processor (or use storebought oat flour) and process into a fine flour. I add 2 cups of oats and process for 2 minutes until it is finely ground. Measure out 1 1/2 cups and add to a bowl.
- Add the remaining "crust" ingredients and stir until a crumbly, wet texture forms. Line an 8 inch cake pan with plastic wrap, with it hanging over the sides. You can spray the pan first with nonstick spray and the plastic wrap will hold in place. (8 inch is best for a taller cake) Press the dough into the bottom of the lined cake pan, evenly and flat around to the edges. Place in the fridge.
- To prepare the cake, melt your coconut butter to a complete liquid if it is hardened. If using a new jar, the oil tends to separate from the coconut meat, so you must gently warm it up, remove the lid and heat in the microwave (15-30 seconds). I prefer to empty the jar into another large glass container, stir well until thoroughly mixed and store it this way. Heat a few more seconds as needed just until it's soft enough to stir until it fully melts. As you stir, the heat will melt it. It is important that it is a runny liquid when measuring, so the right texture is achieved. If using a batch you've used before, just gently melt in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, stir and heat again for a few seconds at a time until completely smooth and runny. Be careful about overheating it or it can burn. Make sure to measure it out at 1 cup after melted. Set aside.
- In a food processor, add the milk, syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the cinnamon and salt. Now, pour in the melted coconut butter and blend until completely smooth and thick like cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and place in the fridge to completely set. 1-2 hours should do it.
- Once set, just pull the cake out with the plastic wrap and slice. Top with coconut cream, cinnamon and strawberries, if desired. Keep cake stored in the fridge covered and it will retain the perfect shape that way.
Hello Brandi I found this lovely recipe of yours that I would love to try. I have one small issue is there anyway that the sweetener can be substituted by something diabetic friendly?
Hi Shyla! You could try date syrup and that is more diabetic-friendly I believe? It’s just made from dates. Other than that, it needs a liquid sweetener, so I don’t know what else would be diabetic friendly. I’m not familiar with that too much. I recently have been using this date syrup for my daughter and she loves it. It is thicker than maple syrup though, kind of like the texture of honey, and it’s not quite as sweet as maple syrup, but still really delicious. You would probably need a tad more for this recipe, that is a guess, maybe a tablespoon. Here is the link to the one I use! http://amzn.to/2i46qeQ
Shyla, I am Diabetic and I use Lakanto Maple Flavored Syrup in my cooking/baking when syrup is called for. It’s a blend of monk fruit and erythritol. It flavors beautifully, without the sugar.
https://www.lakanto.com/collections/syrups-drink-mixes/products/lakanto-maple-flavored-syrup-bottle-13-fl-oz
I can’t wait to make this for my son!! Thank you!!!!
Thank you Dianna, let me know what you think!!
I love it. I made it for my friends today. I love the flavor of the cinnamon vanilla new york style cheesecake, and I added some dates there, because I really love dates. Thank you so much.
I want to make this for Mothers Day tomorrow. My mom, sister, niece and daughter cannot eat dairy or gluten so I’m so excited to try this recipe. What is the coconut cream on top made of?
Hi Paula! It’s just whipped coconut cream from a can 🙂 Let me know how the cake turns out, I hope you all love it!
Thank you so much for this recipe, having scoured the web for a no-freeze raw cheesecake, so happy to find this. And no cashews, added bonus. I’m going to make a coconut crust and attempt a blackcurrant filling with berries from the garden.
Wonderful! I can’t wait to hear what you think! I love the MaraNatha brand for the coconut butter.
Do you have a sub for coconut butter? I see your recipes call for it and theres a coconut allergy here.
Hi Karen, unfortunately, Coconut Butter is necessary for this cheesecake to setup. If you are allergic to coconut, make this cheesecake instead.
https://thevegan8.com/2016/02/12/raw-luscious-chocolate-cheesecake/
Brandi, this is genius! I have a hard time with cashews and love cheesecake so using the coconut butter and coconut milk was perfect. I made it for our company’s fall pie contest. While I didn’t win, it was delicious, beautiful and everyone polished it off. It has the pefect texture, not too sweet and the oat crust was so good! I’ll be making this again. 🙂
Sorry I’m just seeing this Wendy, I’m so happy to hear how much it was a hit!!
Can almond flour be substituted for oat flour in your New York Style Cheesecake?
I’ve never tried it so I don’t know what the result would be. Almond flour is much more moist though, so you’d need probably double and the crust will be wetter.
Do you think this could be made in muffin tins to make individual servings? I need to bring a dessert to a party and would like to make something that doesn’t need to be cut and served!
I’ve been trying to make this coconut butter for almost 30 minutes now and I’m so close to giving up. Do you have any substitutions????
What kind of appliance are you using? Mine never takes more than 10 minutes. Are you in a very cold environment? Are you using regular unsweetened coconut flakes? Not the defatted kind, correct? That is odd that it would take that long unless you are trying it in a blender?
Cuisinart 4 cup work bowl, I’m using “let’s do organic unsweetened shredded coconut” It says reduced fat?
Oh no, that is why it’s not working then, reduced fat means a lot less moisture, which means it won’t turn into coconut butter unfortunately. Reduced fat coconut is nearly half the amount of regular coconut flakes and it won’t turn into butter without the fat-which is what turns it into liquid. You need regular unsweetened coconut flakes as listed. I used Bob’s red mill but there are lots of brands out there. If you don’t want to bother with making the coconut butter, that is perfectly fine, as store-bought is always 100% smooth anyways. My favorite brand is the MaraNatha brand, which can be found at a lot of stores like Sprouts, Walmart, Amazon, etc. The jar will be solid though, since coconut butter firms up at room temperature, so see my notes on this post how to soften/melt it carefully before using. Or just get the regular coconut flakes to make the coconut butter. Hope this helps clear things up! https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-cupcakes/
I tried to make the butter in my ninja and it did not work, I did it for almost a hour and it didn’t do a thing. Am I able to substitute with coconut manna ?
I don’t think it will work well in a blender, I always use a food processor. Yes, coconut manna is coconut butter, so definitely! Just make sure your briefly warm it up, if needed, to thoroughly mix it before measuring. Because the oil and coconut meat will naturally separate, so it needs to be mixed well first, or the cake texture will be off.