Russian Chocolate Cake Cheesecake | Vegan

This Vegan Russian Cheesecake is a popular German recipe that combines chocolate cake and baked cheesecake into one delicious dessert! It’s moist, creamy, rich in chocolate flavor and perfect for birthday parties or any occasion!

Vegan Baked Russian Cheesecake

This delicious cheesecake is a very popular baked treat here in Germany which we call “Russischer Zupfkuchen”, even though, this is not a traditional Russian dessert. Anyway, it is not surprising that anyone loves it because the classic combination of chocolate and vanilla flavor tastes just amazing! I’ve always loved this simple baked cheesecake, that’s why it was even one of the first recipes I published here on the blog.

However, in the past, I made the non-vegan Russian Cheesecake version with eggs according to my Grandma’s original recipe. So it’s definitely time to finally share the vegan cheesecake recipe without eggs or any dairy products! I hope you’ll love this recipe as much as I do!

Simple Vegan Cake Recipe

The recipe itself is super simple! You just have to knead together all the ingredients for the chocolate cake shortcrust pastry with your hands or in a food processor. Then, mix the cheesecake filling in one bowl until smooth and creamy. The chocolate cake spots on top are also made from the chocolate dough so you only have to prepare these 2 components.

How to make Russian Cheesecake

I prefer to use vegan butter and soy milk for the chocolate shortcrust pastry, but plant-based margarine or other non-dairy milk will do, too. Since the dough tends to be a little bit sticky, I roll it out between 2 layers of cling foil for an easier option. Alternatively, you can chill the pastry wrapped in foil for about an hour, so that the fat solidifies which makes the dough firmer. Once it’s firm enough to work with, you can roll out the dough on a floured work surface.

Once the dough is rolled out, transfer to a lightly greased cake pan. Feel free to line the bottom with parchment paper for easier removal as I did.

Next, fill the creamy vegan cheesecake mixture onto the prepared chocolate crust and bake it for 30 minutes. In the meantime, form the remaining pastry into chocolate cake spots. Then place them on top of the pre-baked cheesecake and bake another 30 minutes. That’s it!

Chocolate Cow-Spots or Streusel (Crumbles)?

Some people prefer to form the remaining chocolate cake pastry into streusel. However, my mom and I find these chocolate cow-spots look super fancy so we prefer making it that way in our family! Anyway, it’s totally up to you if you make chocolate cake spots or streusel or crumbles for the topping. Whatever you’ll create, I’m sure it will be as delicious!

This Vegan Russian Chocolate Cake Cheesecake is:

• Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free, lactose-free)
• Can be made gluten-free
• Easy to make
• Rich in chocolate flavor
• Creamy
• Moist
• Delightful
• Luscious
• Soft but crumbly
• So delicious!
• Perfect for a birthday party
• The best vegan cake for kids and adults alike!

Which baking pan can I use?

You can either make this Russian chocolate cheesecake in a springform pan as I did or on a sheet or square pan. I used an 8-inch springform pan, but the recipe also works if using a slightly larger pan, such as 9-inch. However, please take a note that the cake will be flatter if your pan is larger.

Anyway, if you’d like to use another pan, I highly recommend you to use my baking pan calculator to convert the recipe for your desired size.

Want more vegan cheesecake recipes? Then you will like the following ones for sure:

• Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake
• Best Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake
• Vegan Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake
• Vegan New York Cheesecake
• Poppy Seed Crumble Cheesecake
• Best Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
• Vegan Cherry Crumble Cheesecake
• Baked Cheesecake with Plums 

If you‘ve tried this Vegan Russian Chocolate Cake Cheesecake recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and rating. And if you take a photo of your delicious chocolate cheesecake, please tag me on Instagram @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka so I don’t miss your post! Have fun baking!

Vegan Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

Author: Bianca Zapatka

This Vegan Russian Cheesecake is a popular German recipe that combines chocolate cake and baked cheesecake into one delicious dessert! It's moist, creamy, rich in chocolate flavor and perfect for birthday parties or any occasion!

5 von 14 Bewertungen

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Cake, Dessert, Pie

Servings 12 Pieces

You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!

Ingredients

Chocolate Dough

• 1 ⅔ cup (200 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free flour (*see notes)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• ⅓ cup (40 g) cocoa powder
• ½ cup (120 g) + 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ cup (120 g) vegan butter cold
• 2 tbsp non-dairy milk cold

Cheesecake Filling

• ⅓ cup (75 g) vegan butter or margarine
• ⅓ cup (40 g) cornstarch
• 3-4 tbsp non-dairy milk
• 17,6 oz (500 g) soy quark drained yogurt or sub tofu (*see notes)
• ½ cup (120 ml) coconut milk full-fat (or sub another non-dairy cream)
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup (120 g) + 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice optional

To Decorate (optional)

• powdered sugar
• fresh raspberries

Instructions 

• For the best results, I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams. Simply click on the word "metric" right above the ingredient list.

Chocolate Dough

• Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan* and line the bottom with parchment paper. Then, place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes while you make the dough. (It's easier to press the dough into a chilled pan).
• Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cut the cold vegan butter into small pieces, then add to the flour mixture and knead everything with your hands (or use a food processor) until a dough forms. Add the non-dairy milk as needed.
• Reserve about 1/3 of the dough for the spots on top. Roll out the remaining dough as shown in the step-by-step photos above and place it in the springform pan. (If the dough is very sticky, you can wrap it in cling foil and refrigerate for 1 hour, so the butter solidifies and the dough gets firmer).

Cheesecake Filling

• Preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C).
• Slowly melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan (but don‘t boil it).
• In a cup, stir the cornstarch into the non-dairy milk to dissolve.
• Place the soy quark (drained yogurt*), coconut milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Then mix in the melted vegan butter, lemon juice, and the cornstarch mixture.
• Spread the cheesecake filling on the chocolate crust and smooth it out evenly. Place the cake in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
• Form the reserved 1/3 chocolate dough into cow-spots (or streusel) and place them on top of the pre-baked cheesecake. Put the cake back in the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge overnight to set completely.
• Dust your Russian cheesecake with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries if desired. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Notes

• Baking pan: Feel free to use another baking pan (e.g. muffin tin, baking sheet or square pan). I recommend using my cake pan calculator to adjust the recipe fitting to your desired baking pan.
• The baking time may vary, depending on the baking pan and amount of dough you use (a flat or smaller cake is done sooner.) Muffins take only about 35 minutes.
• Flour: Instead of all-purpose flour or spelt flour, you can also use a gluten-free flour blend 1:1. If you do so I recommend adding an additional flax-seed egg for a better binding (stir 1 tbsp of ground flax-seeds into 3 tbsp of hot water and set aside for about 5 minutes).
• Soy quark: I like to use soy quark which is called "Alpro Skyr", but another non-dairy quark will do, too. You can also make it at home by draining non-dairy yogurt (check out this recipe for instructions). Alternatively, you can substitute creamy blended silken-firm tofu which has a similar consistency to quark.
• Sugar: Instead of regular sugar, you can also use Erythritol, coconut sugar or another sugar variety you like. Depending on which kind of soy quark you use, you may need to adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.
• Storage: This cheesecake keeps up to 4 days in the refrigerator and also freezes well.
• You can find more information on this recipe in my blog post above.

Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @biancazapatka or tag #biancazapatka!

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