This vegan Cherry Crumble Cheesecake with poppy seeds and crunchy Streusel Topping is a simple coffee cake that is easy to make and so delicious! Serve it with any fruit you like for a delightful dessert.

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Recipe
I can’t find words to describe how much I love creating new vegan cheesecake recipes! Especially when they’re made with an easy homemade shortcrust pastry and crunchy crumble topping I can never resist! Some of my favorites recipes here on the blog are
Poppyseed Cheesecake
Blueberry Crumble Cake
Red Currant Streusel Cake
& Cranberry Crumb Cake

The perfect dessert for anytime
Anyway, no matter what time of the day or occasion this Cherry Crumble Cheesecake is by far the perfect dessert! What is not to love, just check those layers: A very tender and buttery crumble cake, that is stuffed with a thick layer of creamy poppy seed cheesecake and topped with cherries plus streusel. All of these layers are different in texture and make it just irresistible! Bake it, slice it, enjoy it and you’ll know why I love this recipe so much!


German Cheesecake or New York Cheesecake?
While the classic American cheesecake is basically made of creamy and rich ingredients, such as cream cheese and heavy cream, the German cheesecake is made of a denser quark filling. If you’re wondering what is quark, that is a kind of drained yogurt such as cottage cheese. Anyways, both options are flavored with vanilla and lemon juice so they’re pretty similar in taste but different in texture. I personally love both cheesecakes so I often try to create a combination of both. Anyway, if you’re more into the familiar New York Cheesecake you can check out my vegan recipe for that cake by clicking here. Alternatively, you can also try my best Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake.

Homemade Vegan Shortcrust Pastry
Another difference between German Cheesecake and New York Cheesecake is that the American version is often made with a graham cracker crust while the German one is usually made with homemade shortcrust pastry. I really love a simple cookie crust but making your own dough is not only cheaper but also kind of “healthier” because you can choose the ingredients you want! Actually, it’s just made of flour, vegan butter, sugar and a pinch of salt – That’s it! Trust me, it’s not that hard making it but pretty easy! Just knead the ingredients with your hands until a dough forms. Then it’s ready to use or store in the fridge if you want to proceed with the crumble cheesecake recipe later.


How to make Crumble Cake
Another great thing about this vegan shortcrust pastry recipe is that you can use it for the base AND the crunchy streusel topping! Simply reserve 1/3 of the dough for the streusel and store wrapped in the fridge until ready to use. Roll out the remaining 2/3 for the base between two sheets of foil as I did or just on a lightly floured surface. Then lay it into your prepared springform pan as shown in the step-by-step pictures below, gently pressing the bottom and sides firmly.




Easy Vegan Cheesecake with poppy seeds
For the cheesecake layer, simply mix together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. And if you’re not into poppy seeds or can’t find them in a store, you can simply omit them. Actually, they’re not necessary for this recipe but I personally love poppyseed cheesecake!


How to make Cherry Crumble Cheesecake
Now all you have to do is to fill the cheesecake mixture onto the prepared pastry dough. Then spread over drained cherries or any other fruit you like. Crumble the remaining 1/3 of dough on top, sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon if you like. Then bake it!






Can I omit the poppy seeds?
As mentioned before, the poppy seeds are just an optional add-in for this cherry crumble cheesecake recipe. You can simply omit them but if you’ve never tried adding poppy seeds into your desserts, you should definitely give it a try!

This Cherry Crumble Cheesecake recipe is
- Vegan
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Easy to make
- Can be made gluten-free
- Creamy
- Crumbly
- with crunchy Streusel
- So delicious!
- The perfect coffee cake for any occasion!


Use any fruit you like!
You can really get creative with the fruit variety because any fruit is a great addition for this crumble cheesecake! No matter if using cherries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, mango or whatever you have on hand because anything will do! However, when using frozen fruit, please make sure it’s well-drained or your cheesecake may get soggy. For that case, I recommend making a juicy fruit filling by cooking it with cornstarch to thicken. Alternatively, you could also omit the fruit layer completely. Anyway, here are some easy and healthier fruit filling recipes:
Blackberry jam
Blueberry filling
Strawberry jam
Cherry filling

If you do try this vegan Cherry Crumble Cheesecake with poppy seeds or another of my Vegan Cake Recipes, I would love to read your feedback in the comments below. And if you take a picture of your dessert and share it on Instagram, please don’t forget to tag me @biancazapatka to make sure I won’t miss your post. Have fun trying and happy baking!

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake with poppy seeds
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Crumble Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 300g, or sub gluten-free flour*
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5/8 cup sugar 125g
- 2/3 cup vegan butter 150g, well chilled & cut into small cubes
Cheesecake
- 26,5 oz dairy-free quark 750g, or sub tofu *read recipe notes
- 1/2 cup non-dairy cream 120ml, or sub full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream
- 1/4 cup vegan butter 55g, 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)
Further Ingredients (optional)
- 1/2 cup ground poppy seeds* 60g
- 12,3 oz cherries 350g, drained
Instructions
Crumble Cake
- Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan (or 9-/10-inch *read recipe notes) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Reserve 1/3 of dough for the streusel topping (wrap in foil and place in the fridge until ready to use). Roll out remaining 2/3 of dough on a lightly floured working surface (or between two sheets of foil *as pictured in the step-by-step pics above).
- Then transfer the dough into your prepared springform pan, pressing the bottom and sides firmly to create an even crust.
- Prick the bottom a few times with a fork.
Cheesecake
- Add all ingredients for the cheesecake filling in a mixing bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer on low speed just until creamy and smooth. Then stir in the poppy seeds until combined. (Taste and adjust sugar if needed).
- Fill the cheesecake mixture into the prepared springform pan with the dough inside.
- Spread the drained cherries on top (or other fruit you like *read the text above for suggestions). Then crumble the remaining 1/3 of the dough as streusel over the cherries. (Optionally, sprinkle with a little additional sugar and cinnamon).
- Bake for about 50-55 minutes. (If the cake gets too dark during baking, simply cover it with a piece of baking paper or aluminum foil). Then, turn off the oven and let the cake inside for another 10 minutes.
- Now open the oven door slowly to avoid the cheesecake collapses, and remove after 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours (or better overnight) before serving and slicing.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also bake this cake in muffin tins, on a baking sheet or in another baking pan you like. Just take note that the baking time varies, depending on how much dough and cheesecake filling you'll add (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 until jelly).
- To make this cake sugar-free you can use a sugar substitute instead of regular sugar. Also, brown sugar or coconut sugar will do!
- If you do not find any non-dairy soy quark in the supermarket, you can either make it yourself (Check out this recipe for instructions) or sub tofu.
- If using any sweetened or flavored soy quark or yogurt, you may need less or more additional sugar. So taste and adjust to your liking.
- If ground poppy seeds are not available where you live, you can also push the poppy seeds through a food grinder or food processor.
- The cake can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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Hi! I wonder what type of tofu can I use for this recipe? Thank you!
Silken tofu! 🙂
I just Love this recipe 😍 very tasty and very easy to make! I will try more recipes for sure!
Yay, that’s awesome! So glad you loved it! Many thanks! 🙂
Einfach nur super lecker! Wir haben den Kuchen für unser kleines veganes/vegetarisches Café/Bistro gemacht, weil die Nachfrage nach veganen Käsekuchen groß war. Und alle waren begeistert.
Zudem schnell mit einfach zu kaufenden Zutaten gemacht. Das sind eigentlich mehr als 5 Sterne!
Er ist ein bisschen weicher als herkömmlicher Käsekuchen, aber das nur zur Info.
Danke für das tolle Rezept!
Super! Das freut mich sehr! Vielen Dank für dein Feedback. ❤️
This recipe is so lovely! A great alternative to heavy, decadent cheesecakes. I used tofu and fine sugar + sifted dry ingredients for an extra smooth filling. Poppyseed and cherry are wonderful together! So goooood!😋
That’s great. Glad you liked it! 🙂
Tolles Rezept. Einfach zu machen und man kann es auch gut durch andere Zutaten ersetzen. Ich hab meine Topfen Masse mit Tofu gemacht und es war prima. Meine Freunde können es dann nie glauben das zb kein Ei oder Tofu drin ist. Danke für deine Arbeit.
Das klingt super! Es freut mich, dass es geklappt und geschmeckt hat!
Liebe Grüße,
Bianca 😊
This cake is so yummy! I subbed the cornstarch for equal grams of vanilla pudding powder (from the Polish/Euro grocery store), as I find the taste of cornstarch often comes through in recipes- it worked wonderfully and set to a delicate but firm consistency. The poppyseed and cherry combo are delish! Will be making again. Thank you for sharing another ace creation! 🙂
So glad you love this cake! 😊
Thank you for your amazing feedback!
Hi Bianca, can I make the cheese filling in advance and put it in the container and put iy ij the fridge one day before bake the cake?
You can try it but it’ll get firmer when it’s in the fridge. It’s better to mix the filling at room temperature and then immediately fill it onto the dough.
Made the cake and wasn’t dissapointed at all … as I expected! Was super delicious. I made my own quark as I didn’t find any in the store, used the soy yogurt from alpro, which usually is not very thick, so from 1 kg I got only 500 grams of quark, just have that in mind, maybe 1,5kg will work better. But I just added some cream cheese that time, to make it 750 grams and the filling was THE BOMB, the addition of the poppy seeds and the cherries was a great idea! Really love your recipes, Bianca, all of them are amazing! 😍😍😍
Hi Kristina, so glad you enjoyed this vegan baked cheesecake recipe and I totally love that you made your own dairy-free quark at home! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your version and for your amazing feedback! Lots of love, Bianca <3
Was just wondering how would I sub the quark for tofu??? how many blocks would I have to use or do I need to blend it up or anything?
You can use the same amount of tofu instead of quark. And yes, you should definitely blend the filling until creamy.
Should I use a firm or silken tofu? I a
m not sure what I can find in the stores here, but this cake looks amazing and I have to try it.
Be sure to use silken tofu! 🙂
Crumble cheesecake was always my favorite too! Love the addition of cherries. I bet other fruits such as berries would be yummy as well. 🙂
So glad that you like it too! Actually, I love adding any fruit. It’s such a versatile recipe 🙂
Another amazing cake recipe Bianca! The flavour looks perfect!
Thank you so much, Jess! Hope you’ll try the recipe one day 🙂