The BEST Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake (+ Airfryer Method)

This Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake is so creamy and silky with the perfect gooey centre and is flavoured with orange and sweet vanilla for a burst of spring-time freshness. It is light, creamy and made without dairy or nuts.

This eggless and dairy-free cheesecake is made with silken tofu and baked in the air-fryer to perfection. Just 5 main ingredients are required to make this crustless Spanish cheesecake.

Easy Burnt Basque Cheesecake (plant-based) - Vegan San Sebastian Cheesecake

This truly is an easy cheesecake, just pop the ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth, pour into a tin and cook. On top of that, it is crustless which is one less thing to worry about.

This silken tofu dessert is totally vegan and yet is creamy with a custard-like texture that resembles its original version.

The beauty of using tofu means that you do not need to use any nuts to make vegan cheesecake.

What is a Basque Burnt Cheesecake?

Basque Cheesecake is a crustless cheesecake recipe with a burnt exterior and mousselike filling. The original recipe is known as Torta de Queso and hails from La Viña in San Sebastian found in the Basque region of Spain.

The traditional recipe is made from philadelphia cheese, heavy or double cream, eggs, flour and sugar. It is baked in the oven.

Why you should make this cheesecake

• Easy to make - one of the easiest, simple and best cheesecake you will ever make

• Vegan, plant based and animal product free

• Gluten-free

• Nut-free

• Doesn't require a water-bath

• Make ahead so great for entertaining

• So forgiving - this doesn't need to be a pretty cheesecake, its allowed to be burned, wonky and without smooth edges

Why make Airfryer Cheesecake?

The beauty of the air fryer is that you can bake so many things in it. I solely rely on my air fryer to make my puff-pastry wonders because the results are always perfection. Some examples include my Rose and Pistachio Cream Horns and Air fryer Punjabi Samosa Puffs.

The air fryer cooks perfectly from all sides and including the bottom. Also, I find it easier to control the temperature of the air fryer digitally than an oven.

What is Vegan Basque Cheesecake made out of?

Silken tofu - the ultimate vegan ingredient - is it fair to call it that? Silken tofu makes a great substutute in vegan desserts due to its thick and creamy texture when blended

Vegan double cream - The cream provides the richness, you can use either coconut milk or vegan double cream

Sugar - use white granulated sugar, most sugar is vegan but check the packaging first

Cornstarch - cornstarch helps to thicken and set the mixture in the absence of egg. You can also use tapioca starch which has the same properties.

Vanilla extract - for flavour - you can use vanilla extract, vanilla essence or vanilla bean

Orange oil/extract - this is optional but if you want a incredible flavours use either Orange oil (the product used in Terry's Chocolate Orange) or orange extract

Orange zest - for extra oomph of flavour, add some orange zest

What is silken tofu?

Silken tofu, or soft, silk or Japanese style tofu is is softer in consistency compared with regular firm tofu.

Silken tofu require careful handling as it easily falls apart.

How is silken tofu made?

Silken tofu is made by coagulating soy milk without curdling the milk. It's also left unpressed, so every block retains all of its moisture while cooling. Because curds never form, the tofu has a smooth texture.

Where to buy silken tofu?

You can find silken tofu mostly in the World Food Aisle. It is packed into aseptic packaging and thus does not require chilling or refrigeration. In the UK brands such as Morinu, Yutaka, The Tofoo Co and Clearspring are quite popular.

What to make with silken tofu?

Apart from delicious vegan desserts, in fried rice, noodles, scrambled, in sauces or dressings and smoothies. It can be used in making vegan pasta sauce too.

Variations

If you leave out the vanilla and orange, you can have a lot of fun playing around with different flavours.

Here are some options you can try:

Lemon or lemon sugar - add lemon zest into the batter and sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with a mix of lemon zest and white granulated sugar.

Blueberry - fold in fresh blueberries into the batter prior to baking.

Pumpkin spice - add a pinch of pumpkin spice or cinnamon powder into the batter.

Coffee - add some instant coffee powder into the batter.

Matcha - use either green or blue matcha powder.

Pandan - pandan or screw pine is a leaf used in South-East Asian cooking and has flavour similar to sugar cane and mango. Use pandan juice in the batter.

Sugar-free Basque Cheesecake

You can also make vegan basque cheesecake sugar-free. The sugar does not contribute to the texture of the cheesecake, only sweetens it so you can use a sugar-free alternative like stevia and erythritol which is a 100% natural sweetener.

Replace the sugar directly with the natural sweetener by following the substitution instructs on the packet. I used it in this Badam Katli (almond thins), which was made in the Instant Pot.

Eggless Basque Cheesecake

If you want to make an eggless cheesecake but use milk-based products, you can use cream cheese, yogurt, cream, condensed milk, sugar, milk powder and cornstarch.

240 gram Cream cheese

120 ml Cream (single or double)

100 gram Greek yogurt

140 ml Condensed milk (sweet)

25 g Milk powder (full fat)

¼ tsp Baking powder

30 g Castor sugar

40 g Corn starch/cornflour

1 generous pinch Salt

½ tsp Vanilla extract

Equipment needed for Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Blender/Stand Mixer - I like to use a blender to mix the batter as it is convenient and also assures that there are no lumps left in the batter. However, the batter can be mixed by hand or with a stand mixer or hand blender too.

Spring form Pan - I personally like to use spring form cake tins for my bakes as it is convenient to open the sides for picture-perfect cakes. Also these cake tins are taller than most cake pans allowing for the mixture to rise.

Parchment Paper - The use of parchment paper to line the cake tins makes it so easier to remove the cheesecake from the pan after it has been baked. White or brown parchment is fine.

Air Fryer - Traditional or oven baked burnt cheesecake takes a lot of time to bake in the oven - atleast one hour to preheat the oven then 50-55 minutes baking time. In the air fryer, this cheesecake is made in half the time.

How to make Vegan Basque Cheesecake

The first step is to prepare the cheesecake batter. Simply add all ingredients to a blender and blend away until smooth.

Prepare your desired spring-form (ensure it fits into your air-fryer) by lining with parchment paper. Parchment paper ensures the filling does not leak through the springform.

Fill your spring-form pan ¾ of the way up. You may have to tap it a few times to dislodge any air bubbles.

Preheat the air fryer to 180C for 5 minutes.

Then bake at 191C for 35 minutes.

Bake until the top is dark brown and there is only a little jiggle left.

Allow to cool and then refridgerate preferably overnight.

Serve chilled

How to make Basque Cheesecake in the oven

If you do not have an air fryer, you can use your oven. Pre heat the oven beforehand.

Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven at 210C/410F for 50-55 min. You may have to turn the cheesecake at the half way mark so that it cooks evenly from all sides.

Some tips to remember to make the most perfect vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Make sure all the ingredients are at the room temperature - tofu and cream. This will ensure quick and even blending in the blender.

Do not overmix the cheesecake batter. The ideal blending time is between 40-60 seconds.

Keep an eye on the top of the cheesecake, if it appears to be browning too quickly, turn down the temperature. Only open the air fryer for a few seconds at a time to prevent it loosing too much heat

Each air fryer model is different to the next so you may have to adjust the time and temperature.

If you do not have a jug blender then use a stick blender or stand mixer.

Your cheesecake may jiggle and appear undercooked when taken out of the air fryer but it will firm up as it cools

Chill in the fridge to allow it to set perfectly. This is the hard part, but to enjoy your cheesecake at its best, chill at least 12 hours or overnight.

Wait until the cheesecake has fully set after refridgeration before attempting to take out of the pan or peel away the parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to cut the cheesecake cleanly.

Want your cheesecake less sweet? You can use less sugar to begin with and have a taste of the batter before baking.

Serving suggestions

Basque cheesecake is best enjoyed chilled, serve as it is or with a dollop of softly whipped cream.

Top it up with a brown sugar butter sauce along with fruits such as peach, pear or fresh berries.

Serve with a coulis, chocolate sauce (quick vegan chocolate sauce recipe in the recipe card below) or a freshly brewed hot black coffee.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It is best to eat in within 2-3 days.

You can freeze this vegan cheesecake by placing in a freezer-safe container. Either freeze whole or in slices. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight.

FAQs

Other Tofu and Air Fryer Recipes

Tawa Burger (vegan)

Tofu Mango Curry

Tofu Cutlets

Roasted Butternut Squash with Tofu Croutons

Super Crispy Air Fryer Tofu

Funfetti Nankhtai in Air Fryer

Air Fryer Apple Ring Donuts

Vegan Cornish Pasties/hand pies

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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