DELICIOUS NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE
No-bake cheesecakes are so easy to make (no oven required), so rich and creamy, and perfect for summer. Although I must admit, I make them no matter the season.
This layered Stracciatella maqui white chocolate cheesecake has a nutty crust and two delicious creamy layers. The crust contains roasted almonds and cashews, cacao powder, coconut oil, and agave. If you don’t like agave, use maple syrup instead.
It is topped with two creamy layers. The stracciatella layer is actually creamy vanilla with added dark chocolate pieces. My favorite ice cream flavor turned into a cheesecake. I mean, who could not love that?
The second layer is the white chocolate layer with a gorgeous purple hue from maqui berry powder. It tastes sweet and tart, without either overpowering the other.
MAQUI BERRY POWDER
The purple hue of stracciatella maqui white chocolate cheesecake comes from maqui berry powder. Are you familiar with maqui berry?
Maqui berry is a berry that is so high in antioxidants that it is already being referred to as the new superfruit. They contain very high levels of anthocyanins – pigments responsible for the purple color.
The flavor of maqui berry is mild. They taste similar to blackberries, with a subtle sweetness and a bit of tartness. When freeze-dried, the tartness is more obvious due to the powder being more concentrated.
You can add 1-2 teaspoons to your smoothie, stir some into your oatmeal, yogurt, or make colorful raw desserts. Always make sure that your maqui berry powder is of the highest quality.
HOW TO MAKE IT
CRUST
STEP 1
Line the base of a 16 cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
STEP 2
Place roasted almonds and cashews (check How to roast nuts) in a food processor and process until they are finely ground. Add agave, coconut oil, and cacao powder. Process until the mixture sticks together. Adjust sweetness if needed.
STEP 3
Once it’s all combined, press the crust mixture into the cake tin, making sure you press it out evenly. Place the crust in the fridge.
STRACCIATELLA LAYER
STEP 1
After soaking cashews for a minimum of 4 hours, drain them well and place them into a high-speed blender. Add coconut cream, agave, coconut oil, and lemon juice and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Adjust sweetness if needed.
NOTE ON COCONUT CREAM
Always use full-fat canned coconut milk or the cake won’t turn out creamy. Chill it in the refrigerator overnight so that you can easily separate cream from the liquid. The cream should be firm enough so that you can scoop it out with a spoon. If it’s too watery, the cake won’t be able to hold its shape.
STEP 2
When the mixture is nice and creamy, gently stir in finely chopped dark chocolate and layer the filling on top of the crust. Place the cake in the freezer while you make the second layer.
Note: Before adding finely chopped dark chocolate, make sure the filling is not warm or the chocolate will melt (the filling can be a bit warm after blending so it’s best if you put it in the fridge for 10 minutes). Also, I always put chocolate pieces in the freezer for half an hour before adding them to the filling to ensure they won’t melt.
MAQUI BERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE LAYER
STEP 1
Melt vegan white chocolate in a medium pot over low heat. Stir until smooth.
STEP 2
Soak cashews for a minimum of 4 hours. Drain them well and place them into a high-speed blender. Add coconut cream (see note on coconut cream), coconut oil, agave, lemon juice, melted white chocolate, and maqui berry powder. Process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Adjust sweetness if necessary. If the mixture is too thick, add 3-4 tablespoons of almond milk.
STEP 3
Pour the mixture on top of the first layer.
STEP 4
Place the cake in the freezer to set for at least 4-5 hours until firm.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Just before serving, drizzle with melted chocolate (check How to drizzle chocolate) and top with blueberries.
TIPS AND HOW-TOS
TIP 1: If you don’t have maqui berry powder, you can add any natural food coloring you like or have in your pantry. Check out Color Me Naturally for some ideas.
TIP 2: Always use full-fat canned coconut milk or the cake won’t turn out creamy. Chill your coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight, being sure not to shake the can to encourage separation of the cream and liquid.
HOW TO ROAST NUTS
Roasting nuts deepens their flavor and gives them a crisper texture. Here is how to do it:
Preheat oven to 180 °C. Spread nuts in an even layer on the baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes. Stir or shake the tray every 5 minutes to help nuts to cook evenly.
When the nuts are browned and smell nutty, remove from the oven and immediately transfer onto a plate or another baking sheet.
Note: Always toast different nuts in separate batches cause roasting time might be slightly different for each type of nut.
HOW TO DRIZZLE CHOCOLATE
When the cake is set, take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes. Melt dark chocolate in a small pot over low heat.
Using a teaspoon, do a test drip by letting melted chocolate run down the side of your cake. If it falls rapidly and reaches the bottom of the cake, your chocolate is probably too warm. Let it cool down a bit and then try again until you create those beautiful, perfect drips!
Having the melted chocolate and the cake at the right temperature is essential for this. You might need a little bit of practice, but it’s very easy once you get it.
STRACCIATELLA MAQUI WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE IS:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- No-bake
- Creamy
- A great summer dessert
Thank you for stopping by! If you try this recipe, please let us know what you think in the comments section below. Your feedback means a lot to us! Also, if you post it on Instagram, please tag us with @alltheworldisgreen because we love to see your remakes.
Stracciatella Maqui Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 80 g roasted almonds
- 80 g roasted cashews
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 level tablespoons cacao powder approx. 12 g
- 2 tablespoons agave
Stracciatella layer
- 240 g cashews previously soaked for minimum 4 hours
- 100 g coconut cream the thickened coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk
- 4-5 tablespoons agave
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 50 g dark chocolate finely chopped
- vanilla powder to taste
Maqui berry and white chocolate layer
- 160 g cashews previously soaked for minimum 4 hours
- 80 g coconut cream the thickened coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 100 g vegan white chocolate
- 1-2 tablespoons agave
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons maqui berry powder
- 3-4 tablespoons almond milk
Extra
- 50 g dark chocolate for the drizzle
Instructions
Crust
- Line the base of a 16 cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
- Place roasted almonds and cashews in a food processor and process until they are finely ground. Add agave, coconut oil, and cacao powder. Process until the mixture sticks together. Adjust sweetness if needed.
- Once it’s all combined, press the crust mixture into the cake tin, making sure you press it out evenly.
- Place it in the fridge.
Stracciatella layer
- Drain cashews and place them into a high-speed blender. Add coconut cream, agave, coconut oil, and lemon juice and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Adjust sweetness.
- Gently stir in finely chopped dark chocolate and layer the filling on top of the crust.
- Tip: Before adding finely chopped dark chocolate make sure the filling is not warm or chocolate will melt (it can be a bit warm after blending. If so, place the filling in the fridge for 10-15 minutes). Also, it's best if you put chocolate pieces in the freezer for half an hour before adding them to the filling to ensure that they won't melt.
Maqui berry and white chocolate layer
- Melt white chocolate in a medium pot over low heat. Stir until smooth.
- Drain cashews well and place them in a high-speed blender. Add coconut cream, coconut oil, agave, lemon juice, melted white chocolate, and maqui berry powder.
- Process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Adjust sweetness if necessary. If the mixture is too thick, add 3-4 tablespoons almond milk.
- Pour the mixture on top of the first layer.
- Place the cake in the freezer to set for at least 4-5 hours until firm.
Serving suggestion
- Drizzle with melted chocolate and top with blueberries.
Notes
* The nutritional information provided is calculated automatically and should be used as an estimate.
30 comments
Absolutely the prettiest cheesecake I’ve ever seen
Thank you so much, Nellie! Happy holidays!
Okay this is actually the most gorgeous piece of food I have ever laid eyes on in my life. I mean yeah, I’m assuming there is some image editing to make it look even better, but damn! That’s a beautiful cake. But what does it taste like? It doesn’t have any cheese in it, so I’m assuming it doesn’t have the traditional “cheesecake” taste to it. Can you describe to me a bit what it tastes like/dominant tastes. I’m quite interested in making this cake. Or perhaps I can substitute cheese for some of the ingredients to give it that cheesecake taste.
It’s a vegan cheesecake, meaning there is no cheese in it. It’s made of cashews. It’s a great no-bake summer dessert with a nutty biscuit base and two creamy layers. 1st layer (stracciatella): vanilla-coconut layer with pieces of dark chocolate. 2nd layer: white chocolate layer with maqui berry powder (it gives it a nice purple hue). Hope this helps!
Okay actually, going through the rest here I can see you have terrific photography and editing skills- or whomever does the photography for this blog. Good job!
Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you to say. Have a great weekend!
Hey! Wanting to make this during the pandemic. Any suggestions on what to use instead of maqui berry powder? Do you think we’d be okay using cocoa powder instead of cacao powder? What about vanilla extract vs vanilla powder?
Just not sure if we have some of these harder to find ingredients at our supermarket. We’re okay if things aren’t totally vegan.
Thanks!
Hi! Maqui berry powder is added mainly for the color although it does add a bit of tartness. But feel free to add any natural food coloring you like or have in your kitchen. Check out this article for some ideas. Also, cocoa powder and vanilla extract are totally fine.
Made this today, after saving the recipe way back in January!! It was easy to do, although I didn’t get a very straight base but never mind. Unfortunately it didn’t come out that lovely vibrant purple colour but a dusky lilac but it still looks pretty. Just taken it out of the freezer so yet to taste but if it’s as good as the bit I tasted out of the blender it will be lush. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much, Melanie! I don’t know which brand of maqui berry powder you are using but mine has a really strong vibrant color. I think it depends on the brand. Mixing blue spirulina and pitaya powder will also give you a vibrant purple. I hope you enjoy the cake. Have a great day!
How soon would you get it out of the freezer before serving?
Hi, Mark! Leave it in the freezer for about 4-5 hours (until firm).
What do you suggest doing if the cake is sticking to the springform pan? More freezer time
Hi, Alyssa! Once the cake is firm enough, take it out from the freezer and leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes.
To unmold the cake from a springform pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge to loosen it from the sides of the pan. Open the clamp and expand the sides of the pan and release the bottom.
Hope that helps!
This cake is so stunning! I would love to make it but I’m allergic to nuts. Do you have any alternatives?
Thanks so much, Ruth! The cashews are one of the main ingredients in this recipe because they’re rich and have a smooth and creamy texture when blended. Not sure if you can substitute them and get the same results.
A list of ingredients would be so useful. I am sure to miss something going through the recipe x
Hi, Diana! You have a list of ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Can’t get my hands on any white chocolate from down under. Would dark chocolate work?
Hi, Karina! It would work for sure only the top layer won’t be purple but brown. If you don’t mind that, then go for it. I’m sure it will be delicious. You don’t even need to add maqui powder then, just adjust the sweetness. Hope that helps.
Hi Nensi, this cake looks amazing! I’m going to attempt to double the ingredients as I only have a larger cake tin. What I wanted to ask is how you applied the chocolate drizzle around the edge so neatly. Did you use some sort of piping bag/tool?
Hi, Frankie! I added How to drizzle chocolate here. Hope this will help you!
I decided to make this today for a friend’s birthday. My only experience with a vegan cream cheese was Tofrutti and only because it was the only option at the store I was at and it was less than good, so I was a little nervous about making another vegan cheesecake. This recipe is amazing. There are some bits that just take time, so I would say to check the recipe at least a day before you need it because things like soaking the nuts, freezing the cake until it sets, and refrigerating the coconut milk to get the cream all take time. I didn’t have almonds on hand so for the crust I just used all cashews to roast and it came out just lovely. I also couldn’t find a 16cm springform pan on Amazon (I’m in America), the closest I found was 8in, so I had a little leftover filling and made 2 mini cakes in individual pot pie ramekins. Everything about this recipe was super easy and it was worth the wait, it was very delicious and looked just as pretty as the picture here. I forgot to add the vanilla powder because it wasn’t listed in the actual instructions but it was fine, I’ll just have to remember for next time! Thank you for taking the time to develop this recipe, I’m sure I’ll have people asking me to make it in the future!
Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback, Jessica! I am so glad it turned out OK. Happy holidays and all the best for 2021!
I’m not a baker at all. In fact, my husband bakes, and I cook. I wanted to try something way out of my comfort zone and somehow came across this recipe. I used the wrong size spring form pan and didn’t realize it until I put the cream filling in and couldn’t figure out why it was thin like a frispy. I ended up doubling the recipe to make it look nice. I used pecans for the crust because I didn’t have cashews and my pantry was loaded with pecans and almonds. Overall it was very tasty. Wasn’t rich like a regular cheesecake. I wish I can send you a picture of what it looks like. Even though I messed up on the spring form, I think I did a decent job. Btw, my husband said “for a nobake, it’s good”. He’s a critic when it comes to cheesecakes (basically meaning he prefers baked over nobakes).
Hi, Stacy! Thank you so much for your feedback. I am glad the cake turned out OK and I’m super happy to hear it was husband approved! 😃 If you want to send a picture, feel free to tag us (@alltheworldisgreen) on Instagram. Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh dear, what an excellent cake!
I made it for a little gathering we had, and it was a total hit! Everyone loved it, even my super picky boyfriend, and were very surprised that it’s gluten free and vegan as well. It is also the perfect size, enough for 9 people, so we were not stuck with leftovers, as we usually are with bigger cakes.
I’m currently eyeing the blue spirulina one, so I’ll definitely try that one too!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Janka. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Hope you’ll love blue spirulina one as well. Wishing you a wonderful day!
Looks fabulous, thank you for the recipe. I would like to know what brand of maqui berry powder you have used for this recipe, thank you so much
Thank you, Genevieve! I used to buy from Myprotein but I’m not sure if they still have it. I also had Navitas Organics maqui berry powder.