Vegan Mango Cheesecake (No Bake!)

The mango season is winding to an end, and I realized I haven’t posted even a single mango-based recipe this year! So, I decided to post something special before we bid adieu to mangoes this year. We are still getting fragrant and luscious Dasheri mangoes in my part of the country and hope you’re getting it too. For the most part, I don’t like adding sugar to fruit-based desserts, but this one is an exception. As much as I love fruity cheesecakes, I make them only occasionally as I haven’t yet figured out how to make healthy fruit-based cheesecakes that are NOT frozen, easy to make, economical, pretty to look at and taste great too. This one ticks all the other boxes except for “healthy” haha! But it’s OK to indulge sometimes, right 🙂 ?!

This vegan mango cheesecake looks impressive and no one will ever guess how simple it is to prepare. The crust comes together in a couple of minutes, and it takes hardly 15 minutes to whip up the filling. Use ripe and flavorful Dasheri mangoes for the best result. One important ingredient here is the agar-agar powder–it’s indispensable. Agar-agar is what helps the cheesecake set. I use this one from Urban Platter; you can use any brand of your choice.

 Vegan Mango Cheesecake (No Bake!)

Time Taken: 30 minutes active time + setting time

Yields: 6 medium slices

1 Indian teacup = 150 ml

 Ingredients:

Crust:

• 8 Oreo cookies, preferably chocolate (or any other vegan sandwich cookies like Parle bourbon)
• 2-3 teaspoon coconut oil

Filling:

• 1 cup cashews (soaked in water for 4-5 hours, drained & rinsed)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup roughly chopped mango pieces (1 big mango)
• 1/2 cup sugar (increase if the mango is not sweet enough)
• 1 slightly heaped teaspoon agar-agar powder (I use Urban Platter brand)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• A big pinch elaichi (green cardamom) powder
• 2-3 drops vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt

Method:

Crust: Crush the cookies in a mixer. Add 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil and stir–the amount of oil required depends on the kind of cookies used.

Line the base of a 6-inch loose bottom cake tin with baking/parchment paper. Press the cookie mixture evenly on the base to form the crust. Refrigerate.

Filling:

1. Mix the chopped mango, sugar, salt, and cardamom powder and leave to macerate for 30-40 minutes.
2. Add the agar-agar powder to the water and mix well. Keep aside for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat & simmer for a minute.
3. Add the mango mixture to the agar-agar water and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until the mango pieces are mushy. Reserve some of the cooked fruit.
4. Blend the soaked cashews with the mango-agar-agar syrup while it is still warm. Add vanilla extract + lemon juice. Blend again till smooth and creamy. Mix in the reserved cooked fruit. Pour into the cake tin over the set crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes before serving. Dip a knife in hot water, wipe, and slice the cheesecake.

 Decoration ideas: You can decorate the cheesecake with chopped fruits of different colors like kiwis, strawberries, cherries, pomegranate arils, orange segments, etc. Or drizzle over vegan chocolate syrup or ganache and sprinkle with roasted pistachios and pumpkin seeds!