Happy weekend! I hope you are having a nice, relaxing Saturday and if you feel like baking these vegan mango cheesecake bars will definitely brighten up your weekend even more.

We are dusting ourselves off after we had our electrics updated last week after a couple of years of procrastination. It was painful to see your lovingly restored floorboards lifted, your walls tunnelled into and all the dust it left behind, but it’s done now and we are relieved, we can carry on updating the house without worrying that out of date electrics will sabotage our plans.

As I was in no position to do any recipe development last week, here are some sunny vegan mango cheesecake bars that I created a while back. They are really easy to make, creamy, zingy, sweet and beautiful to look at too. The base is a simple shortbread biscuit base with the addition almond flour, which helps to keep the shortbread even more tender. The vegan cheesecake filling is decadently creamy, flavoured with lime and ginger and topped with a sweet mango swirls. It was an instant hit in my house and I hope it will be just as popular in yours.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

VEGAN BUTTER: I used vegan butter (I used Violife) to make the shortcrust base and to give the cheesecake layer a little more creaminess. Use the type that comes in a block, rather than spreadable kind that comes in a tub. You could also use coconut oil – refined type, like this, if you dislike coconut taste or extra virgin coconut taste if you don’t.

SUGAR: I used caster sugar (which is what UK calls superfine white sugar) to sweetened both the base and the filling. You could use any sugar you like remembering that if it’s dark in colour, it may make this dessert look a little less appetising and that if it isn’t finely ground, it may not fully dissolve in the oven during baking (this is more of a concern for the shortbread, a little less so for the filling).

You could also use MAPLE SYRUP or a similar liquid sweetener. To use maple syrup for the base, place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl first, add 3 tbsp (45 ml) of maple syrup and enough softened vegan butter (about 40 g / 1.4 oz) to make the mixture clump together – be aware that you will end up with a less indulgent shortbread though as due to the fact that maple syrup adds moisture, you have to use less sweetener and less fat. To use maple syrup in the filling, use it instead of plant milk and you may have to take it out of the oven a little sooner as a result.

ALMOND FLOUR: Almond flour helps to keep the shortbread more tender.

PLAIN FLOUR: I used plain flour to make the shortbread, but a good gluten-free flour mix (containing a high proportion of starches) will work just as well if you want to keep this dessert gluten-free.

CASHEWS: I used raw cashews, soaked in water first so that they soften, to make the cheesecake filling. If you don’t want to use cashews, I am pretty sure that hulled sunflower seeds will work just as well (they also need soaking) as I’ve used them in many other dishes that call for creaminess to a great effect.

COCONUT CREAM / MILK: Coconut cream is used to blend the cashews silky smooth and keep the consistency of the filling moist enough so that once the dessert is baked, it’s creamy and not dry. I used coconut cream for extra indulgence and because its flavour pairs so nicely with lime, ginger and mango but coconut milk or even regular plant milk (like soy or oat) works just as well.

LIME ZEST AND JUICE: I used zest of a whole lime and a very generous amount of lime juice as I wanted this slice to have a delicious tang and to contrast with the sweetness of the mango topping.

FRESH GINGER: I used some freshly grated ginger to give this simple dessert a bit of spiciness, but you can skip this addition if you are not a ginger fan. Adjust the amount of ginger to your taste.

VANILLA: I used a generous amount of vanilla to inject even more flavour into the filling, but you can skip it if you prefer lemon flavour on its own. A small amount of freshly ground cardamom would also pair really nicely with lemon and blueberries.

MANGO PUREE: To make mango swirls, I used canned mango pulp from Kesar mango (by KTC brand). You can also make your own mango purée from fresh mangoes.

THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE THESE

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl, add melted and cooled vegan butter and mix well until uniform in texture.

Scatter shortbread mixture at the bottom of the lined tin and shape it into a base by pressing it down with a spoon (or your fingers). Level the base using a flat-bottomed glass and prick it using a fork.

Prebake the base, pour cheesecake mixture on top and dot with mango purée. Use a chopstick or something similar to make decorative swirls in the topping, then bake until barely set.