Vegan mango and ginger cheesecake

Vegan mango and ginger cheesecake

vegan mango ginger cheesecake cut slice

I’ve been reminiscing about how obscenely sweet and juicy the mangoes were when I spent a month with Duncan travelling around Australia. I was reconciled with the fact that my mango recipe ideas will have to wait until we move (not that fast, Ania!), okay, visit Australia or perhaps South-East Asia again.

I mean, Greece has such an abundance of beautiful summer fruit that I wasn’t even that bummed, but I do happen to love mangoes so I was missing their flavour a fair bit.

That was until I walked into our green grocers one day and saw a two trays of mangoes. One contained large, still very green specimens clearly imported from Brasil, which I was not that excited about as I found them to be lacking in the flavour department. The other mangoes couldn’t look more different – they were very small, oddly shaped yet they appeared beautifully ripe and fragrant. The owner must have seen the cogs in my brain turning so he hastened to inform me that the smaller ones are grown on Paros. WHAT? OMG! ‘Are you sure?’ I said to him.

Contrary to what you may think, Greek islands are not great for growing stuff in summer as there is no rain for months. Of course, he was sure! We decided to buy a few to jazz up our morning Bircher muesli. Despite their small stature, these little guys punched SO MUCH flavour that I immediately felt so much more awake (I’m not a morning person) as soon as I had my first spoonful. From that point onward, I started fantasising about turning them into a summery vegan mango and ginger cheesecake… So here it is!

vegan mango and ginger cheesecake mangoes

vegan mango ginger cheesecake top down

vegan mango ginger cheesecake decorated

makes
16 cm / 6"
PREP
30 min
COOKING
10 min
makes
16 cm / 6"
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
10 min
INGREDIENTS

CHEESECAKE BASE

  • ¾ cup / 125 g dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water
  • about ¾ cup / 100 g almonds
  • about ½ cup / 50 g desiccated coconut
  • a few pinches of salt (optional)

CHEESECAKE LAYER

  • 1¼ cup / 185 g raw cashews (soaked overnight)
  • ½ cup coconut cream
  • 4½ level tsp agar agar flakes*
  • 5 tbsp lime or lemon juice
  • 5 tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 tsp finely grated ginger
  • ½ cup aquafaba** OR water

MANGO LAYER

METHOD
  1. Line the bottom of your spring form tin (mine was 16 cm / 6 ” across and 6.5 cm / 2.5 ” tall) with a circle of baking paper and cut out a long rectangle to line the sides with.

CHEESECAKE BASE

  1. Grind your almonds in a food processor until you get a coarse crumb. Take them out of the food processor and set aside.
  2. Drain your dates, squeeze excess water out and chop them roughly. Place them into the food processor (no need to wash it after you process the almonds) and process into a smooth paste.
  3. In a bowl, mix date paste with enough ground almonds and desiccated coconut to obtain a dough that isn’t too sticky yet still holds together well. I prefer doing it by hand but you could also just dump your ground almonds and desiccated coconut back into the food processor and incorporate all of them together. Season with a bit of salt to taste.
  4. Line the sides of the spring form tin and then mould the base mixture to the bottom of your tin. Press the mixture down well with your fingers so that there are no gaps / air-bubbles. Put a bit of baking paper on top of the base and weigh it down with something heavy (I used a round container of similar size, filled with sugar). Put into the fridge while you make your cheesecake mixture.

CHEESECAKE LAYER

  1. Just before you are ready to start blending the cheesecake layer, put agar flakes and ½ cup of aquafaba (or water if you don’t want to use aquafaba) into a small pot. Let the mixture come to the boil and simmer on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until flakes almost dissolve and the mixture thickens (about 10 mins). From that point onward, you’ll need to work fast as agar sets as soon as it cools down.
  2. Chuck rinsed cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, grated ginger, lime juice, warm agar mixture and an extra ¼ cup / 60 ml of water into a blender. Blend, scraping the sides of the blender from time to time as the set agar likes to stay on those. You’ll need to work fast as agar sets as soon as it cools down.
  3. As soon as the cheesecake mixture is super smooth, take the spring form tin out of the fridge and pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the set base. Make sure you do it very quickly to get a smooth finish as, like I mentioned before, agar sets very quickly. Gently hit the filled spring form tin against your work surface a few times to get rid of air pockets / bubbles. Allow this layer to set completely (about 10 mins) before pouring on the next layer.

MANGO LAYER

  1. Put cubed mango pieces into a clean blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Put ¼ cup / 60 ml of water into a small pot and add agar agar flakes. Let the mixture come to the boil and simmer on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until flakes almost dissolve and the mixture thickens (about 10 mins).
  3. Add agar mixture to the mango puree and blend until smooth. Pour over the cheesecake layer and allow it to set before decorating.

NOTES
*I have never used agar powder, but if that’s the only agar you have, most Internet sources say that 3 tsp agar flakes equal 1 tsp agar powder, so for this recipe I would use 1 and ½ tsp of agar powder for the cheesecake layer and a bit over a ½ tsp for the mango layer, however I have not been able to test this so please follow the instructions of the particular brand you have. Finally, make you sure you activate agar powder as per the instructions on the packet, adding dry powder to the cheesecake mixture will have no setting effect.

**Aquafaba – water from a can of low-sodium chickpeas or from cooking dry chickpeas at home. I did not reduce aquafaba for this application.

SHARE
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
201
10%
sugars
16 g
18%
fats
12 g
17%
saturates
4 g
21%
proteins
4 g
8%
carbs
23 g
9%
*per serving
How would you rate this recipe?
This is a test string

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

5.0
12 reviews, 56 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Sarah:
Hi! I am making this today and wondering how to store/set it once everything is prepared? Once the mango layer is poured, should it be left in the fridge or does it need to go in the freezer to set? Thanks so much! I’ll report back with results 🙂
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Sarah,
    No, there is no need although it does speed things up a little - agar agar sets at the temperature below 40º C (104º F). Please do make sure you activate it first as per the instructions on the packet as powder and flakes need different activation method/time. Hope that helps! Ania
Judy:
Yes i activated it, I followed the activation procedure. It just wasnt enough agar agar powder. But never mind! We ate it as a frozen cheesecake, which works well for a hot Australian summer! I will definitely be making it again. The ginger in the cashew mix is a really refreshing twist. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Ania.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Phew, I am glad it did not go to waste and please do let me know how much agar agar powder you think is needed if you dare to attempt it again sometime. Ania
Judy:
This is a great cake, but do your own tests and research on the amount of agar agar if using powder. My pack had no instructions so i followed the ones here, and it didn't set.
    Ania
    Ania:
    I am sorry to hear that, Judy, but I did specify the amount of agar powder in the notes. You do need to activate it the same you do with flakes - could that be the reason it hasn't set for you? Ania
Karen:
Hello,
I just made this wonderful recipe,I wanted to know if I could freeze it after it sets in the fridge?
Many thanks,
Karen
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Karen! I'm really happy to liked it. I haven't tried freezing it, but I am sure it will be fine. Ania
Juanita:
For the base I have tried a similar technique, but only using a mix of Almond, Walnut and ground linseed (as a neat way to increase Omega 3 in the diet) with rave results.
I adapted the raw nut butter method. Using the nut mill that came with my stick blender I grind together the nuts and pre-ground linseed. However I stop just before it turns into a nut butter when it starts to come together but it's not smooth. At this stage is some of the nuts have become butter but some of them are still very fine crumbs. This mixture holds together very well by itself without any additions, and is yummy and healthy. You can just press it into the bottom of your cake tin and use as normal.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for sharing!
Kanchan:
This was easy to make, I used the mango pulp but I think I might have needed more agar agar . I tagged you on my instagram post at @kanchanseasycooking. Thank you so much for the recipe! I skipped the ginger part.
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure and I saw your photos on Insta - you did a beautiful job! x Ania
Melanie:
I have a tin of mango pulp in the cupboard just dying to be used up. Would this work, since you pulped the mango anyway? If so, how much would you recommend I use? Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Melanie,
    Yes, it should work, but it is likely to contain some acid (as a preservative) so you may need to increase the amount of agar agar a little as, like gelatine, it is weakened by acid. Hope that helps! Ania
Hi Ania,
This looks delicious. I was wondering if there is a substitute for agar agar or if there is anything else I could use instead?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Alex,
    No, there isn't anything I'm aware of, I'm afraid. You could skip agar and use fat (coconut oil) to set it, but I don't know how much exactly you would need. At least 1/4 cup, I imagine! Ania
OMG the cheesecake looks so gorgeous :) You're a vegan kitchen goddess, Ania! I'm drooling looking at the screen!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much, you are very kind! Ania
Anca:
I just made the cake and it was a total succes....its sooooo good...love it....❤❤❤
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm so happy to hear that, Anca! Thank you for taking the time to leave such lovely feedback, much appreciated! :) Ania
Helen:
Hi there I am planning to make this for a dinner with friends tomorrow. Sorry if it’s a silly question but when you say coconut cream do you mean the solid bit at the top of a tin of coconut milk or I have bought ‘coconut creamed’ which is essentially a block of coconut. It says you can make coconut milk by disolving 50 g in 100ml of water. Should be fine on te Agar front as managed to get flakes 🤞🏽 Thank you! Xx
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Helen,
    Yes, I mean the fatty part that rises to the top of a full fat coconut milk can or you can also buy just coconut cream on its own in a can, but creamed coconut is a different thing, as far as I know. Hope that helps! Ania
Cathy:
Hi Ania! This recipe looks amazing. I am looking forward to try it. just wondering can I make it 24hr before serving and just leave in the fridge?
Thanks! x
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Cathy,
    I have not tried that myself, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Good luck! Ania
Tony:
I love your beautiful cake alot.....
i have a question.......how it goes with the sides of the cake? i mean how it is puckered?
tnx in advance
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Tony,
    Thanks! I wrapped a piece of baking paper inside the tin to make sure there is no discolouration and when I took it off, it left that pattern. Hope that helps. Ania
CindyMac:
Okayyyyy, I realized after I hit submit that the ratio for the agar powder is actually 2T : 16 oz (1 pint). SO...with that in mind, this baby is all mixed up and sitting in the fridge. The leftover bits on the spatula tasted amazing. Fingers crossed it sets up properly. I have a feeling it will since HOLY MACKERAL no body mentioned that this stuff turns into SILICONE GASKET TYPE MATERIAL once its cooled!!! Warning to other neophytes DO NOT LET THIS STUFF DOWN YOUR DISPOSAL OR SINK. I was cracking up as I scraped any residue/remnants into the trash thinking Wow what a science experiment this was today!! ;-)
    Ania
    Ania:
    ha ha, yes, it's pretty potent :) . Fingers crossed it sets beautifully! Ania
CindyMac:
Giving this recipe a try today. I have never used Agar either and all I could get locally was powder. With that said, the label does say to use 2 T : 8 oz of liquid so I am going to go with that ratio and see how it goes! Will keep ya apprised....
Have a lovely weekend.
Cindy
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Cindy,
    I don't wanna confuse you, but 2 tbsp (I assume that's what you mean by 2T?) of agar powder sounds like an awful lot as it is much stronger than agar flakes. Bear in mind that the cheesecake mixture is not a thin liquid, it contains a fair amount of fat which means that you'll need less setting agent to set it than if your were making a jelly, for example. I would use 2 tsp max - maybe that's what you mean, but I just don't want you to have a rock hard cheesecake so thought I would let you know ;) . Have a lovely weekend too and hope the cheesecake comes out just right! Ania
Katherine:
Hi Ania,
I absolutely love this vegan mango and ginger cheesecake recipe here.
I would also love to feature it in our website Greenthickies. Would it be all right if I used one image for it? I will not be posting the actual recipe but only one image, title, a small quote and then link directly back here.
Would that be okay?
Thanks a Lot:)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Katherine,
    I'm chuffed to hear that you like my recipe so much. And no problem, what you describe above is fine by us. Cheers, Ania
      Katherine:
      Hi Ania, thanks a lot :D
Boyan Minchev:
I was looking for vegan cheesecake and this recipe rocks, thank you for sharing this amazing dessert with us.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, that's lovely to hear! Ania
Boyan Minchev:
This vegan cheesecake looks amazing really good dessert. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe with us.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks and my pleasure! Ania
Sandra:
Just made this can't wait to try it!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Sandra :) Hope you'll like it! x
Lluvia:
This looks super yummy. I just cut some mango but saw this recipe so I'll use it for this instead. Especially with the heat! Anywho, would it be fine to opt out of cashews? Maybe a nut butter? Any thoughts?
Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lluvia,
    I'm not sure as I haven't tried making this without cashews so you'll need to experiment a bit first. The advantage of using cashews over other nuts / nut butters is that they have a very subtle taste, which allows other flavour (ginger in this case) to come through. Not sure which nut butter you are thinking of but you'll need to use a lot of it to compensate for that amount of cashews. It may work though, worth trying on a small sample! Good luck! Ania
Elise:
Hi!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I've made this cheesecake today and it was amazing!
My mom and I love it .
Love from Holland!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Elise,
    That's so lovely to hear that both you and your mum loved it :) Yay! Ania
Cheri:
So excited to make this for a dinner I'm attending this weekend! Can the recipe be doubled, or will that cause issues with the cheesecake setting properly? (I don't have a 6" springform and not sure where to get one.) Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Cheri,
    I'm happy you are planning to make my cheesecake and no, I don't see any issues with doubling the quantities. Hope your friends will like it! Ania
      Cheri:
      Thank you! I hope they will, too. One more question: Does it matter whether the desiccated coconut is sweetened or unsweetened?
        Ania
        Ania:
        No worries, Cheri!:) Well, I guess sweetened desiccated coconut (which I had no idea existed, to be honest) will make the base sweeter. Given that it already contains sweet dates, I would opt for unsweetened. Hope that helps! Ania
Lina:
Hi Ania,
This looks amazing! I just found it and want to do it immediately tonight! What would you recommend if I want to make it immediately and do not have raw cashews (soaked overnight)?
Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lina,
    You could soak cashews in boiling water for about 1-2 hrs instead - they should be sufficiently soft after that time. I haven't tried making this cheesecake with anything else so I cannot recommend a replacement that I am sure will work, I'm afraid. Hope that helps!
    Ania
Lisa:
Can I use raw almonds or should they be roasted, for the base?
I'm making this today for Christmas :)
Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lisa,
    Raw almonds will do the trick just fine! Good luck!
Sharna:
Thank you for this gorgeous and challenging recipe.
I have not prepared food with Agar Agar before. It gave me a challenge. I only have a 20cm pan, so the base mix just covered the bottom luckily. I put it in the freezer in between layers for quicker cooling and setting.
The centre was delicious and set well. The top didn't really set, but was amazingly delicious anyway.
It took me quite a while to prepare this recipe (about an hour) as I hadn't used Agar Agar before and found it a bit fiddly. Other than that I found it was fairly straight forward.
Thank you . I tagged you in my Instagram pic.
I'm sharnaskindkitchen.
:)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Sharna,
    My pleasure, I'm glad you liked it and it worked out well in the end :) I find that when using any ingredient for the first time there is always a bit of a learning curve. When you say that your mango layer didn't set - how much mango puree did you use, what type of agar (flakes or powder) and how much agar? (I'm assuming to activated agar prior to use.) Ania
    PS: didn't have any notification from Insta from you :( can you try again please? x
Lucia Flores:
Hi Ania!!
Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!!! I made this yesterday and the taste is delicious!! BUT, although it is the first time I use agar agar, I don't think the flakes / powder amount is correct. I'm not sure though... I'm an agar agar beginner!! I used the powder, exactly as you said, but the cake didn't become solid enough in the fridge, so I had to put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, but it became more of an ice-cake... still delicious though, but I was really hoping to get the "yelly" cheesecake result. Perhaps I did something wrong? Next time I'll use the flakes!!
Much love from the Netherlands,
Lucia Flores
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lucia,
    Thanks for your message. I'm so pleased to hear that you liked the taste, such a shame it didn't set. I am confident about the amount of agar flakes being correct as that's what I used multiple times and the cheesecakes set at room temperature within minutes. As for the powder, like I said in the notes, the conversion is what I found on the Internet and I haven't been able to test it myself as I cannot get agar powder where I live. In fact, I took a more conservation conversation into account (3 tsp agar flakes = 1 tsp agar powder) as some sources say that 3 tsp agar flakes equals 1/2 tsp agar powder. It may also depend on the brand of agar powder used so I guess it is best to test with the particular brand you can buy. I use flakes by this brand in case you are able to get them. Good luck with the next attempt and I hope it will set beautifully for you!
    x
    Ania
      Lucia Flores:
      Thanks for the quick reply, Ania!!! :) I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm gonne go with the flakes next time, since you use them frequently. I used the brand Lima, my mom has a lot of expierence with it. I heard her saying: "Lucia, that is not enough!!". But I told her this is what you recommended, so that's what I'm gonne use hihi. Anyway, I need to practice. Unfortunately I can't find the brand you use, but next time I will try the flakes from Terrasana, do you have expierence with this brand? I will try the strawberry cheesecake next, I'll let you know how it went! :)
      Have a great weekend!
      XOXO,
      Lucia
        Ania
        Ania:
        Mums are (almost) always right, aren't they :) ! I really hope the next one turns out well! No, I haven't heard of either Lima or Terrasana brand, I'm afraid. As I live on a small island, I don't usually have much choice when it comes to speciality ingredients and so I can only get this one brand I mentioned. I would have hoped that they are all equal strength but sounds like maybe not. Perhaps try making 1/4 of the recipe and set it in a muffin tin first to be sure you've used enough agar for the big version. That's how I develop my recipes as I hate wasting ingredients. Good luck and please let me know how it turned out! And say 'hello' to Mum! :) x
        Matty:
        I Used a Little more since i Read your Comment and still had to freeze IT. Its in the freezer Now And i am impatiently waiting to try IT. Will get the flakes But if using powder i Would use The Same amount As the flakes. I Used 3 Passionfruit ( only The juice) with the Mangos!! Passionfruit Addict ❤️ Thanks for the Recipe. Will Send You Foto on Instagram 🙏🏾
          Ania
          Ania:
          Thanks, Matty! I'm looking forward to that photo. That's so strange as all the Internet sources agree that powder is much more powerful than flakes (1:3). I'm curious, have you simmered the powder in water for 5 minutes before adding it to the cheesecake mixture?
          Viv:
          Yes I had the same problem. So I put the cheesecake in the freezer. :)
Maikki | Maikin mokomin:
Yum! How pretty and tasty looking cake :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Maikki :) so nice to hear!
Letty | Letty's Kitchen:
Your food is absolutely gorgeous-- I want to make everything you post!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much, Letty! Kind words like yours give me so much motivation! Thanks so much :)
Chris:
Sounds delicious and love your photos
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Chris! :)
Rhian Williams:
These look so beautiful!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Rhian! So pleased to hear that! :)
DON'T MISS A SINGLE RECIPE
Join our mailing list and we we will let you know when we publish a new recipe. You'll receive our DELIGHTFUL DESSERTS E-BOOK as a thank you for supporting us.