No Bake Cheesecake Muffins

These mini Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins are the most fantastic bite. to fight any afternoon cravings.

Yummy - these Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins have been a real treat! They're created with a vegan cookie & date base and filled with a lemon vegan cheesecake made from cashew nuts and just a few simple ingredients.

They're easily created using a food processor and high-speed blender and set in the fridge. Yes, that's right - no oven needed! In order to keep these perfectly set, I have used agar powder in this recipe, but if you can't get hold of it, there are some alternative options (please see my recipe notes below!).

Ingredients

• vegan friendly cookies
• medjool dates
• fresh blueberries
• cashews
• agar powder
• vanilla extract
• lemon zest
• cinnamon
• maple syrup

Equipment

• food processor
• 6-hole muffin tin
• fridge
• high-speed blender

Instructions (Step-by-Step)

Preparation

To make these Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins, one important preparation step is to soak the cashews for a minimum of 4 hrs. If you're. in a hurry however, or simply not in the mood for soaking (been there), you can also boil the cashews in water on the stovetop for 20 minutes. It's important that the cashews are softened before starting to blend the cheesecake filling, otherwise your blender might struggle to create a smooth texture for your filling.

Creating the muffin base

To create the muffin base for the bottom and sides of your muffin tin, simply place the vegan cookies in the food processor and process for a few minutes until they're all crumbled up. Add your pitted Medjool dates and process further until everything is combined. You could end up with a slightly crumbly, thick & sticky texture.

Divide the mix into 6 muffin tins. Use your fingers to firmly press the base against the bottom and sides of each muffin tin. Try to create an equal thickness all around each muffin tin. Place the muffin bases in the fridge to harden whilst you're preparing the cheesecake filling.

Blending the cheesecake filling

Place all ingredients for the cheesecake filling into a high-speed blender: cashews, agar powder, vanilla extract, lemon zest, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Blend on high speed until smooth. This can take about 10-15 minutes and can vary depending on your blender. Try to get it as smooth as possible with your blender. If your blender is struggling, simply add in a little more liquid (ideally water, plant milk or lemon juice) to help.

Assembling the cheesecake muffins

Carefully remove the cheesecake bases from the muffin tin - it's important you remove them from the tin before filling, as it will otherwise get messy. Carefully fill them with the cheesecake filling from your blender.

Decorate with the fresh blueberries and place the cheesecake muffins in the fridge to set for at least an hour before serving. You can also keep your Cheesecake Muffins in the freezer and they will last for up to 3 months.

Variations for this recipe

• fruit: You can easily swap our the blueberries for raspberries or strawberries - or how about a mix!

• muffin base: If you're out of vegan cookies, you can also use almond or coconut flour as an alternative to create the cheesecake bases.

• cashews: if you're not a fan of cashews, or simply don't have any to hand, swap them out for almonds! Ideally with the skins removed. Be aware that they might need some longer blending to become smooth as they're a slightly harder nut than cashew. Still soak/boil them in advance and remove the skins after the soaking/boiling process.

• Agar: I know that agar is not always easy to come by, if you don' have a health food shop nearby. Alternatively you can order it on Amazon. If you wanted to go without the Agar, you can also use Vegeset or cornflour, but as with Agar you will have to heat up the cheesecake mixture to activate it properly and then transfer it to the cheesecake bases quickly before it sets.

Activating the Agar Agar

Similar to other gelatine replacements in vegan cooking and baking, Agar-Agar requires to be dissolved and then heated in order to be 'activated' and bring out it's gelatinous properties. You will see that in my original recipe, I am not heating the mixture after blending, which is because my high-speed blender heats the cheesecake mixture throughout the long blending period. You will need to blend the mixture for about 5-10 minutes - depending on your blender - in order to get the cashews & co completely smooth, and in my blender, this creates friction heat and my cheesecake mixture comes out hot by the time it's done.

However, if you're using a different type of blender or are unsure if your mixture has been heated enough to activate the Agar-Agar, I recommend transferring it to a nonstick saucepan after the blending process. And heating it through on a low/medium heat until it begins to become thick and gelatinous. Stir frequently to avoid the mixture setting too early and once your cheesecake mixture is ready, you will need to work quickly in transferring it to your muffin tins as Agar Agar quickly sets once it starts cooling down.

If you don't want to work with Agar Agar, you can replace it with cornflour or Vegeset (contains Karageenan), however, these also need to be heated through to be activated.

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