This creamy Baked Vegan Cheesecake is a popular German plum cake recipe made with homemade shortcrust and a delicious crunchy almond topping! It’s easy to make, egg-less, dairy-free and can be topped with any fruits you like! Plus gluten-free option!
German Cheesecake with Plums
Plums are one of my favorite late summer and fall fruits besides apricots! Especially, the small variety of plums which we call “zwetschge” is very popular here in Germany. They grow from late July till early October, so plums are the main ingredient of much traditional German Cake, Pie and Tart recipes in this season!
Last weekend, my mom brought me a big box of fresh fully ripened plumes and asked to bake a fruity vegan cake with homemade pie crust. „Well, ok let’s do it!“, I said, but I thought it must be a creamy pudding cheesecake because it’s my favorite kind of cake!
Baked Vegan Cheesecake
Since I made vegan cheesecake a couple of times already, I knew what to do. Anyway, I decided to just modify our family favorite classic German cheesecake recipe making it eggless and more pudding-like. Finally, it turned out so creamy, dreamy and yummy that I wanted to share the recipe with you!
How to make Shortcrust Pastry
Start to knead the flour, pinch of salt and vegan butter with your hands until a dough forms. Then place the dough between two sheets of foil and roll it out.
Once rolled out remove one sheet of foil and lift the dough into your prepared springform pan by grabbing the foil. Remove the other sheet and press the bottom and sides of the dough firmly to form an even crust.
Easy Baked Vegan Cheesecake
For the cheesecake layer, simply mix all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Then fill it into your prepared shortcrust, smoothing out evenly. Finally, place the cake in the preheated oven and bake!
Use other fruits if plums are not in season!
Honestly, I was not sure if adding the plums into the cheesecake before baking or bake the cake plain. But since plums are not in season all year round, I chose the second option and cooked the plum sauce topping separately. So you can vary the topping and make this simple vegan german cheesecake recipe all year round!
Pumpkin spiced Plum Sauce Topping
The plum sauce topping is spiced with a pumpkin spice mix made of cinnamon, cloves and star anise. So the cake gets an autumnal flavor which is just perfect for cozy fall days! I’ve also added a little port wine for more intense flavor but you can omit it if you’re not into wine.
Crunchy Almond Topping
Since my Raspberry Almond Orange Cake was so delicious I topped this one with roasted almonds too! But I also loved the coconut topping of my Apricot Cake so I sprinkled some shredded coconut on top too. Anyway, the toppings are totally up to you so you can use your favorites!
This German Baked Vegan Plum Cheesecake is
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Easy to make
- with homemade Crumb Crust
- Can be made gluten-free
- Can be made with any fruit!
- Creamy
- Fruity
- So delicious!
- The perfect plum cake for fall!
Make-ahead Baked Cheesecake Recipe
You can bake this easy Vegan German Cheesecake up to 2 days ahead of time. Then, just a few hours before you want to serve the cheesecake, prepare the spiced plum sauce topping. But as mentioned before you can really use any fruit to make the glaze and adjust spices or sweetness to taste. Alternatively, you can serve the cheesecake how it is with a drizzle of vegan caramel sauce or fruit sauce.
Make sure to chill the glaze
I recommend you, to chill the cheesecake after adding the plum compote on top of your cheesecake to allow the glaze sets. Otherwise, the glaze won’t hold the plums together very well as you can see in my photos, haha! Being totally honest, I was a bit impatient and sliced the cake immediately after adding the plum topping. However, it was still super delicious!
Looking for more vegan cheesecake recipes to try? If so, you may also like my:
- Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake
- Best Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake
- Vegan Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake
- Vegan New York Cheesecake
- Poppy Seed Crumble Cheesecake
- Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
- Vegan Cherry Crumble Cheesecake
If you do try this vegan German Cheesecake with plums, I would love to read your feedback in the comments below. And if you take a picture of your creamy pudding plum cake and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Have fun trying and happy baking!
German Cheesecake with Plums
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 195g, or sub gluten-free flour*
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar 100g
- 1/2 cup vegan butter 115g, well chilled & cut into small cubes
Cheesecake
- 17,6 oz non-dairy quark* 500g, or sub non-dairy yogurt *see recipe notes
- 1/2 cup non-dairy cream 120ml, or sub non-dairy cream cheese *see recipe notes
- 1/2 cup vegan butter 115g, or margarine
- 1/2 cup sugar 100g, or more to taste
- 1/3 cup cornstarch 37g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 lemon juice + a bit of zest, optional
Plum Topping
- 1 lbs fresh plums or other fruits
- 1/2 cup port wine 120 ml, or sub fruit juice
- 1/2 pack vegan red cake glaze or sub 1 tbsp cornstarch*
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice mix *read recipe notes
- 1 tbsp sugar or to taste
Almond Topping (optional)
- 4-5 tbsp sliced almonds or sub coconut flakes
- 2-3 tsp brown sugar or to taste
- shredded coconut optional to garnish
Instructions
Shortcrust Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. (*Read recipe notes if using another pan).
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cold cubed vegan butter and knead with your hands until a smooth dough forms.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of foil *as pictured in the step-by-step pics above. (Alternatively, roll it out on a lightly floured working surface).
- Then transfer the dough into your prepared springform pan, pressing the bottom and sides firmly to create an even crust.
Vegan Cheesecake
- In a pot, slowly melt the vegan butter and allow to cool slightly.
- Add all ingredients for the cheesecake filling along with the melted butter into a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth. (Taste and adjust sugar as needed).
- Fill the cheesecake mixture into the prepared shortcrust. Bake for 60 minutes. (If the top of the cake gets too dark during baking, cover it with a piece of baking paper).
- Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for another 10-15 minutes with the oven door cracked. Then remove the cake and let come to room temperature. Cover it loosely with a kitchen towel and refrigerate overnight to set.
Plum Topping
- Cut the plums in quarters (or smaller pieces) and remove the stone.
- In a pot, add wine or fruit juice. Stir in the glaze powder, pumpkin spice and sugar and bring to a boil. Fold in the plums, turn off the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes to unfold flavors. (Taste and adjust sugar or spices as needed).
- In the meantime, heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and toast for another minute until the sugar starts to caramelize.
To serve
- Add the plum topping on top of the cooled cheesecake. Serve immediately (then your cake looks like mine) or chill in the fridge until the glaze has set (if you prefer a firmer topping).
- Sprinkle with crunchy almonds and shredded coconut or other toppings you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pumpkin Spice Mix Recipe: 1 tsp ground cinnamon + 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg + 1/4 tsp ground ginger + 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- Please take note that the baking time varies, depending on your oven and which baking pan you use (a smaller and flatter cake is done faster than a large cake with much filling). Muffins will take about 35 minutes.
- To make this cake gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free flour blend 1:1 instead of all-purpose flour or spelt flour. I recommend adding an additional flax-egg or the gluten-free dough may be too crumbly (Mix 1 tbsp ground flax seeds into 3 tbsp hot water and set aside for about 5 minutes).
- I used this non-dairy soy quark (drained yogurt) but if you can't find in the supermarket, you can either make it yourself (Check out this recipe for instructions) or sub silken firm tofu. Alternatively, you could also sub plain vegan yogurt instead of quark + thick coconut cream or vegan cream cheese instead of non-dairy cream.
- I used this vegan red cake glaze. Alternatively, you can sub 1 tbsp of cornstarch.
- The cheesecake itself (without the plum topping) can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Please read my blogpost for additional information about this recipe.
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I’ve made this twice now and both times it got rave reviews.
This weekend I’m going to make it with pumpkin for Thanksgiving.
So glad you love this recipe! 🙂
Thank you so much. <3
Hello Bianka
There is any way to substitute the margarine/vegan butter? I mean, to make this recipe oil free? At least for the cheesecake filling?
Thank you!!
Fanny
You can try it but I can’t guarantee if that works… furthermore it won’t be as delicious 😀
This cheesecake looks very tasty with the crunchy almonds on top! Also, I love that you used plums because it’s my favorite fruit which is in season right now. I am sure this creamy cake would also taste amazing with apricots, cherries or blueberries. 🙂
So glad that you love this plum cheesecake too! Will definitely try it with other fruits in the future! 😀 Thank you so much!
Hi Bianca,
Your cheesecakes are so breathtakingly beauuutiful and looks sooo yumm! I’ve never seen anything quite like yours in the world, ever!
Thank you very much indeed for sharing so many of your vegan cheesecakes recipes (the fruits of your hard work) with the world. How very generous and kind of you. You really are my inspiration in every ways! I’m a HUGE fan of yours!
You’re very passionate about cheesecakes and you’ve made soooo many variations than I ever thought possible!
In every cheesecake recipe of yours, I notice there are variations on the proportions of the ingredients (the quark/cream cheese/non-dairy cream). Some are done with water bath, and some without.
I wonder if you have a favourite? Which cheesecake has the absolute best texture and taste, according to you? Or which cheesecake is the most “Bianca Zapatka” for you?
Can’t wait to make your cheesecakes! Will make it my life mission to make all the cheesecakes you share! First, I will start with your favourite. That would be the good luck charm 🙂
Thank you sooooo much again, and God bless your generous & super kind heart, Bianca!
Hi Ara, awwww you’re soooooo sweet! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 You made my day! I prefer baking American New York Cheesecake in a water bath because they’re mainly made with vegan cream cheese and cookie crust so it’s better to bake them this way. However, for a German Cheesecake with shortcrust, I prefer traditional baking because the crust gets crispier. When you bake a cake (no matter which one) the springform pan gets always very hot at the sides, what’s perfect for a shortcrust but bad for just the cheesecake (like new york cheesecake). When baking the cheesecake in water bath it ensures an evenly baking. Hope you can understand what I mean 😀 I totally love the combination of crumble cake and cheesecake so the blueberry crumble cheesecake is one of my favorites! But I also love the addition of poppy seeds so my second favorite is the cherry crumble cheesecake. Anyway, I totally love them all and can never get enough of cheesecake, haha! Let me know if you tried a recipe 🙂 Lots of love to you! 🙂 <3
I love your website and beautiful photo’s! I have got a lot of ripe plumes at the moment, so this recipe is perfect! Can I use a liquid sweetener such as agave or datesyrup, instead of the sugar? And is coconut oil instead of the butter suitable?
Hi Laetitia, I’ve mentioned some suitable suggestions in the recipe notes. I would not recommend using a liquid sweetener or coconut oil but feel free to give it a try if you like 😛