Lest you think that I have been unusually obsessed with making vegan cheesecake lately, let me reassure you. I have and I haven’t. :)
First off, my husband made that vegan chocolate cheesecake and I am the one who made the raspberry sauce. Secondly, I did make the vegan peanut butter chocolate cheesecake but it was for my husband’s birthday. Finally, I take no blame for making these cute little creamy pops.
I had been seeing banners for The Daring Bakers on other cooking blogs for a while, and finally decided to investigate further. I hadn’t realized it, but being a member of The Daring Bakers means you have to participate in monthly baking challenges. I’m always up for a challenge, so I decided to join.
So there you go. The Daring Bakers are at fault for making me make cheesecake again. I’m not upset about it at all though.
When I first saw the recipe for these pops, as well as the directions that I had to stay pretty close to the recipe, I was a little concerned. Standard cheesecake has a lot of eggs and egg replacer probably wouldn’t exactly be a sufficient replacement for eggs. I already had a foolproof vegan recipe, so I was also afraid that if I attempted to veganize this other recipe I’d have a disaster on my hands – wasted ingredients and a terrible taste.
So what I did was cut this recipe down to an amount that wouldn’t be a huge disappointment if it did fail, and altered it enough to where the taste and texture would be just right.
Vegan Cheesecake Pops
Original non-vegan recipe for Cheesecake Pops can be found here
- 1 package of Tofuffi Better Than Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened Silk soy milk)
- 1 Tbsp. corn starch
- Boiling water as needed
- 1/2 pound chocolate (I used Trader Joe’s 70% Dark Chocolate)
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (You can probably use coconut oil here instead, although I did use the shortening myself)
- 10 Lollipop sticks, more or less (I used short skewers because I couldn’t find lollipop sticks)
- Sprinkles or anything else to roll the cheesecake pops in
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
In your food processor (or you can use a mixer), mix together the Tofutti cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, and vegan milk until smooth. Add the cornstarch and mix for another minute or two.
Lightly grease a small cake pan or Pyrex dish (not a springform pan). Pour the cheesecake batter into the cake pan and place in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. You will likely want to watch the cheesecake for the last 10 or 15 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
When cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchement paper-lined baking sheet.
Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.
When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.
Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.
The recipe says to refrigerate these for up to 24 hours, but I found that refrigerating only made them not hold together as well. I would suggest sticking these in the freezer.
These turned out really well. It was a relief when I bit into my first one to discover that they were tasty, and that other vegan cheesecake recipes do turn out.
I think that if I were to make these again, however, I would add some other flavors. They were a little on the bland side so peanut butter might be great, or making the cheesecake part chocolately might be a good variation.
At any rate, it shows that you really can be creative with cheesecake and that even non-vegan cheesecake recipes can be veganized.
So I challenge you – try these little suckers!
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When I made cheesecake the traditional way, before I became a vegan, I always had a little lemon zest in it, so I added it this time. I think it adds a lot to the pops – great recipe!
I know its been a while since anyone has commented on this post…
but I am in the midst of trying to make these…
and just pulled the pan out of the fridge from sitting in it overnight…am in the middle of trying to roll the mix into balls to put a stick in them and put them in the freezer…
I am having massive problems… they are very runny…
I have tried to add flour to my hands and tried adding a bit of flour to the mixture…
doesnt help…
the sticks are falling in my freezer as I type this….
any recommendations for the next time I try this?
Ugh – sorry you’re having such a hard time with these! The only thing I can think of is to maybe stick it in the freezer for 20 minutes or half an hour and then try to work with it quickly. You could also, if you have it, work on a marble surface – that would keep it cold and hopefully keep it all together. Not sure why it’s runny for you…maybe elevation has something to do with it too?
BTW – did you bake it before putting in the fridge overnight? I can’t imagine it would be runny after baking, but maybe you’re experiencing an unfortunate fluke. :(
thanks!!! for the help…
I did bake it…
I think next time I make these I will freeze a bit instead of just refridgerating…. cause I will make them again…they came out a bit blobby but I manipulated them enough to get the sticks to at least stay in them…they may have been at slight angles… but still… I think a half hour in the freezer would have been the perfect thing….
I just sampled one this morning for my holiday party I am having tonight…
they taste really yummy!!!!!!
The recipe for the cheesecake pops call for a containeer of Tofutti. My store I shop at only sells a 6 ounce container. Is that the amount you use in the reipe? Thanks Kathy from Olympia, Wa.
Hi Kathy – I think that I used an 8 ounce container. You should probably be fine with 6 ounces though. I am not sure it would really be necessary to adjust the other ingredients. Going from 8 ounces to 6 ounces is not significant enough to warrant reducing the other ingredients in my opinion.
These came out great! My husband ate em up!
I posted pics on my blog…and added a twist too!
http://enticingeatssparetreats.blogspot.com/
thanks for the inspiration!!
I just wanted to thank everyone for your lovely comments. These were fun, and I may have to try making them again.
@Jerry – if there’s one thing that being vegan has taught me it’s that food that seems unaccessible is accessible via one or more experiments in the kitchen. I hope you do try one of my cheesecake recipes. They are quite good – and rich!
@Maybelle’s Mom – I’m so honored you used my recipe for your cheesecake pops. Yours look really creative and pretty!
how awesome! I need to make these ASAP
I just saw this linked from BlogHer.com’s homepage – YUM! I’m going to try making them with my kids.
These look fantastic.
Great job on your cheesecake pops. i’m gonna need to give your vegan version a try!
I’m so glad we could “force” you to make cheesecake!! They look wonderful – great job!!
Oh so mouthwatering! Your dipping techniques put mine to shame! And it’s very impressive that you were able to make a vegan version of this recipe, as well.
Whoa! Tofutti! How cool! I’ve never thought of trying that. Now, I’ll have to!
They look great! Very well done!
Cheers,
Rosa
Whenever I see beautiful and inspiring vegan baked goods/pastries like your cheesecake lollipops, I seriously wonder why I quit being a vegan a couple of years ago, because it would allow me to bake properly!
Nice job.
xx fanny
Yay for vegan pops – that’s the first I’ve seen so far!
Congratulations on your vegan pops – they look delicious!
There are way worse things to be obsessed with. Trust me, I know. Anyway, your pops turned out great, the coating is super smooth. Welcome to the Daring Bakers :)
Congrats on making this vegan suitable, it looks great!
Your pops look awesome! I am going to have to try the vegan version
No need to defend all your various cheesecakes! The more the merrier!
Your pops look terrific and I’m glad your modifications worked out!!!
i will have to try the vegan version at some stage. sounds great.
I made your vegan cheesecake for the daring bakers challenge. thanks.
I have a vegan friend and felt bad that I couldn’t make it vegan, but now I can with your substitutions!
Thanks!
Well done! Welcome to the DB’ers!
You did a wonderful job on your cheesecake pops. I think doing a peanut butter version would be fabulous too.
Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go
These look great! I love to see how the alternative bakers will make each recipe. Congrats on a job well done!
Excellent job! They came out great
They look great, glad to hear another alternative success. I look forward to seeing you on future challenges too.
You are the supreme vegan cheesecake baker, from the sound of it there’s been lots of practice going on in your house. They look yummy!
I love your flavours! YUM! Also love to see more vegan pops out there on the Daring Barkers blogvibes!
They look amazing! I’m glad the recipe turned out for you! This was my first DB challenge too. It was a good one to start out on!
These look wonderful. Great job!
I love how smooth your chocolate coating is!