Presenting my Vegan Crème Egg Cheesecake! Not another bloody Crème Egg recipe I hear you cry, why, why so many Crème Egg recipes (kneeling on floor raising hands to the sky).
Well calm yourself my dear, this is no ordinary recipe. Did not not hear me? This is vegan – egg and dairy free as well as gluten free. That means I can eat it and hopefully you can share in my excitement too.
Around the Easter period it seems that Cadbury’s Creme Eggs get shoved into and on top of everything; brownies, brookies, blondies, traybakes, drip cakes and yes cheese cakes too.
So naturally I decided to develop the most dairy filled dessert topped with dairy and egg packed crème eggs and make it totally gluten free and vegan – naturally!
What is the filling in Crème Eggs?
Normally a Cadbury’s Crème Egg is made of dairy chocolate, and filled with a deliciously (possibly oversweet) fondant. Some assume that the white and the yolk of the fondant centre is a different flavour but no. The only difference is that one is left naturally white, the other is coloured to look like a golden yellow/orange egg yolk.
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Is there egg in normal Crème Eggs?
The fondant is primarily made of icing sugar, then palm oil and finally egg white to give it a smooth viscose texture. So your normal Crème Egg does in fact contain eggs!
How do you make a dairy free and egg free Crème Egg fondant?
The answer to this came with a little bit of fiddly recipe development back in 2018 when I first set to work developing my Supersize Creme Egg; gluten free, dairy free and vegan. It took a few attempts to get the right flavour and texture on the tongue. However, after attempt no. 4 I cracked it (pun intended).
The trick was to create a fondant that was smooth, creamy and had a gloss to it. I settled on a combination of;
- icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- coconut oil
- soya milk
That’s it, three magic ingredients in the right quantities plus a touch of egg yellow food colour paste.
How do you make a vegan creme egg cheesecake?
To make the cheesecake element of the vegan cheesecake I used vegan and dairy free cream cheese, icing sugar, plant based cream, vegan butter and dark dairy free chocolate.
By making a cheesecake dairy free you are actually taking out the essential fat content of the dessert, it’s this fat content that aid the no-bake cheesecake in the setting process. Without it, your cheesecake will struggle to hold its structure. Therefore I add vegan butter and the addition of chocolate aids the setting of the cheesecake.
Can I use a different chocolate in my no-bake vegan cheescake?
Yes, you can use different chocolates. This could vary depending on your taste and your budget.
I actually used 50/50 Bournville and 85% Lindt chocolate in my recipe as this is cheaper than using an expensive chocolate but for those allergic to dairy please be warned that Bournville is a may contain.
If you prefer a sweeter less dark chocolate then opt for a dairy free milk chocolate. This will sadly be a more expensive option as we all know that dairy free chocolate bars cost the same as an ingot of gold these days!
Why not switch things up completely, and swap the dark chocolate for white dairy free chocolate, this will create a beautiful contrast to the vegan crème eggs decorating your no-bake Vegan Crème Egg Cheesecake.
How do you store this vegan cheesecake?
This is a robust cheesecake and it will happily keep in the fridge for up to a week. Preferably keep it in a Tupperware container to prevent it absorbing any other fridge smells and flavours. To serve you can simply slice straight from the fridge. For a creamier slice remove the cheesecake about 20mins before serving and allow it to come up to room temperature.
Here are some other free from dessert recipes for inspiration
Celebration Vegan Crème Egg Cheesecake Recipe
Vegan Crème Egg Cheesecake with Gluten Free Base.
Ingredients
For the biscuit base
- 300 g gluten free digestive biscuit(s) effectively two packets
- 100 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter) I use Flora vegan and dairy free butter
For the no-bake cheesecake layer
- 350 g vegan cream cheese two tubs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 ml dairy free cream I use Emlea Plant Double Cream but single is fine
- 25 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- 300 g dairy free ‘milk’ chocolate I used dark chocolate
- 100 g icing/confectioners sugar or add gradually to taste
For the vegan crème eggs
- 35 g dairy free 'milk' chocolate
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp dairy free milk I used soya milk
- 6 tbsp icing/confectioners sugar
- egg yellow food colouring
Instructions
To make the gluten free biscuit base
- In a blender blitz the gluten free digestive biscuits until you have biscuit crumbs.
- Melt the dairy free butter. I use a microwave for a few seconds.
- Add the butter to the blender and whizz again until all the biscuit crumbs are coated in melted butter.
- Tip into a prepared 20cm loose bottom round cake tin. To prepare mine I simply add a circle of grease proof paper to the base of the tin held in place with a little spray of coconut oil.
- Tip the biscuit crumb mixture into your tin and with a large metal spoon smooth down evenly pressing firmly until you have a flat even biscuit base.
- Pop the biscuit base in the fridge to set while you set to work on the creamy cheesecake layer.
To make the cheesecake layer
- This is very simple, add the two tubs of dairy free cream cheese and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
- Next melt the butter in a little jug (I use the microwave) and then pour the 100ml of cream into the melted butter, this cools it down to add to the cream cheese.
- Pour the cream and melted butter into the cream cheese and beat again, you'll notice the cream cheese thicken a little at this point.
- Now melt your dairy free chocolate [see notes on how to melt] and pour this into the cream cheese mixture beating well to incorporate.
- Finally add the icing sugar, it's better to sift this into the bowl to prevent lumps. I've recommended 100g in the ingredients, you can add as much or as little to taste.
- Now remove your chilled biscuit base and pour the chocolate cheesecake mixture onto the base. Using a spatula smooth the mixture to the edges of the tin and leave a nice even finish (doesn't have to be perfectly flat so don't sweat it).
- Now return the tin to the fridge to chill and set your cheesecake. This only takes 30 mins to set.
To make your vegan crème eggs
- Melt the 35g of dairy free chocolate (I do do this in the microwave as a little amount like this will melt easily before it burns)
- Spoon tiny amounts into 10 mini egg silicone moulds and tease the chocolate up the sides to coat the entire mould. With any excess chocolate make more solid chocolate halves if you can.
- Pop the chocolate mould into the fridge to chill and set.
- Meanwhile, make you fondant filling. To do this simply melt 1tsp of coconut oil in a little pot, add 3tbsp icing sugar and then 1tsp dairy free milk, stir briskly to beat out any lumps.
- Now repeat the last point with 1tsp coconut oil, 3tbsp icing sugar and 1tsp dairy free milk but this time add a tiny drop of egg yellow food colouring.To give you an idea, I dipped a wooden cocktail stick into my yellow food paste and stirred the second fondant mix until it turned a gorgeous yolk yellow.
- You now have two little pots of fondant, one white representing the egg white and one yellow representing the egg yolk.
- By now your egg moulds should have set, remove from fridge and gently pop out halved egg shells. add a dollop of the white to the empty chocolate mini mould, then add a tiny dollop of yell for the yolk.
To decorate
- You'll find you have some yellow 'yolk' coloured fondant left. If needs be, heat for a few seconds in the microwave and drizzle the yellow fondant over your cheesecake in a non-uniformed squiggle. Finally, add your mini vegan crème eggs placing them evenly around the edge of the cheesecake.
- You can serve this immediately or keep it in the fridge until needed.
Notes
Nutrition
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Courtney says
Hi! This sounds delightful and I’m planning on making for Easter. However I’m not a huge chocolate person and was wondering if you think the no bake cheesecake layer would set without the chocolate in it? I’ve tried to do a vegan cheesecake like this years ago but it didn’t set (although the use of silken tofu in lieu of thickened cream may have something to do with that)
Thanks for the recipe anyway!!
Glutarama says
You’re right in assuming that the chocolate has a great impact on setting the cheesecake. It’s the spolid fats you see. Are there no chocolates that you’d tolerate? If no then increase the solid fat ratio to ensure a good set. Let me know how it goes.
Jenn says
This looks downright sinful. I love how you garnished with the creme eggs!
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
That looks amazing as always! Creme eggs & mini eggs are always everywhere at Easter – nice to see an alternative that is suitable for everyone! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare :)
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
This looks utterly beautiful Rebecca. I love that it’s also made with standard ingredients but DF. I am really not a fan of ‘cashew cheesecakes’, so it’s great to see that normal cheesecakes can be made this easily but vegan. Gorgeous!
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Forgot to rate! xxxx 😁
Glutarama says
haha, thank you lovely, I do that too then am horrified I’ve not rated!