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This Ube Cheesecake combines the nutty sweetness of ube with the luscious, creamy texture of a classic cheesecake. Top with vegan whipped cream, toasted coconut, and a drizzle of sweet ube sauce, then dig in!
Say hello to our newest no-bake vegan cheesecake! It’s just as delicious as your classic New York Style Cheesecake, but is infused with real ube, then drizzled with a sweet coconut ube drizzle and toasted coconut flakes for a dessert your guests will swoon over.
Whether it’s your first time making a vegan ube recipe or you’ve mastered vegan Filipino cooking, you’re guaranteed to love this Filipino-American fusion!
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Graham Cracker Crust
- Vegan graham cracker sheets: It can be tricky to find graham cracker sheets that are made without honey or other non-vegan ingredients. Nabisco Original Grahams (red box) are the most mainstream vegan graham crackers. If you’re gluten-free, the brand Kinninkinick Graham Crackers are naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- Vegan butter: Melted vegan butter acts as the binding agent, helping the crushed crackers form a cohesive crust when pressed together.
For the Cheesecake Filling
- Vegan heavy cream: An essential ingredient in a no-bake vegan cheesecake! We use Trader Joe’s Heavy Cream, but you can also find other brands like Country Crock, Silk, and Nature’s Charm in most regular grocery stores now.
- Vegan cream cheese: The base of the cheesecake filling, adds tanginess, structure, and a natural richness. We used Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese, but Kite Hill and Tofutti are other great brands to try.
- Mashed ube: Just like our Ube Pie, this ube cheesecake is made with mashed ube. We typically find it at our local Asian market in the frozen section.
- Powdered sugar: Adds the perfect sweetness without changing the color of the ube cheesecake. If your powdered sugar is hard or lumpy, sift thoroughly before folding it into the cheesecake filling.
- Lemon juice: Adds a bit of acidity that helps to brighten the rich cheesecake filling and enhances the tang in the vegan cream cheese.
- Ube extract: Intensifies the deep ube color, ensuring the cheesecake has the best color and ube flavor. I order ube extract on Amazon.
Ingredients For Serving
Vegan Whipped Cream
- Vegan heavy cream: When whipped, heavy cream traps the air, causing it to expand and create the light and airy consistency of whipped cream. Use your favorite vegan brand (we usually use Trader Joe’s Vegan Heavy Whipping Cream).
- Sugar: Regular, granulated sugar sweetens the whipped cream without overpowering the flavor or color.
Or, if you don’t have enough vegan heavy cream, you can also make our Homemade Cocoonut Whipped Cream with a can of full-fat coconut milk instead!
Ube Coconut Flakes and Drizzle
- Coconut flakes: We recommend using sweetened coconut flakes for the best sweet and toasted coconut flakes. They’ll caramelize better than unsweetened coconut flakes.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens the ube drizzle without darkening the color in the ube.
- Coconut milk: It has a naturally sweet, nutty flavor that complements the nutty flavor of the ube.
- Ube extract: Gives the drizzle the perfect, intense purple ube color.
If desired, you can also use Toasted Coconut Milk Curds and Latik Sauce (the Coconut Caramel Sauce from our Popular Suman recipe!)
Equipment Needed
- Large cup food processor
- 9” or 10” Springform pan
- Large mixing bowls (2)
- Electric handheld mixer
- Plastic wrap or foil
- Offset spatula
How to Make Vegan Ube Cheesecake
Make the Graham Cracker Crust
- Add ingredients to the food processor. Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until the sheets are broken into small crumbs. Add the melted vegan butter and a pinch of salt and pulse until combined.
- Press into a 9” springform pan. Use your hands and/or a flat-bottomed glass to press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Bake. Transfer the springform pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes before filling. Alternatively, set the crust in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before filling for a completely no-bake cheesecake.
Prepare the Filling
- Whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks. Add the heavy cream to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip the cream into stiff peaks for about 3-4 minutes. Place the bowl in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the filling.
- Cream the cream cheese. In a separate large bowl, add the vegan cream cheese. Use your hand mixer to beat until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add in the mashed ube and mix well. Then, add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, ube extract, and salt and mix until uniform.
- Fold in the whipped cream. Add the whipped cream and fold everything together using a spatula, trying carefully not to deflate the filling mixture.
Assemble the pie
- Add the filling to the crust. Pour the prepared ube filling into the cooled graham cracker crust and smooth out using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Chill for at least 8 hours. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge to set for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Serve. Once chilled, top with whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes, and ube coconut drizzle. Slice and enjoy!
How to Prepare Toppings for Serving
- Ube coconut drizzle: In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, ube extract, and enough coconut milk for your desired consistency for drizzling.
- Toast the coconut flakes: Preheat your oven to 350ºF and evenly spread the coconut flakes onto a lined baking sheet. Bake coconut for about 3 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden brown. Stir and bake for an additional 2-3 more minutes or until golden brown. Store coconut in the fridge for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.
- Vegan whipped cream: Before serving, prepare the whipped cream by adding the vegan heavy cream and sugar to a large bowl and whip to soft peaks.
Storage Instructions
To keep leftover cheesecake fresh, store it in an airtight container or tightly cover it with a layer of plastic wrap for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
More Vegan Ube Desserts YOu May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
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Vegan Ube Cheesecake Recipe
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Ube Cheesecake combines the nutty sweetness of ube with the luscious, creamy texture of a classic cheesecake. Top with vegan whipped cream, toasted coconut, and a drizzle of sweet ube sauce, then dig in!
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 15 sheets (237g or about 1¾ cup) vegan graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 1 1/4 cup vegan heavy cream
- 16 oz vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups mashed ube
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ube extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Ube Coconut Drizzle
- ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1–2 tablespoons coconut milk, as needed to thin
- ½ teaspoon ube extract
Toasted Coconut Flakes
- ½ cup coconut flakes
Whipped Cream
- ½ cup vegan heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
Equipment
- Large cup food processor
- 9” or 10” Springform pan
- Large mixing bowls (2)
- Electric handheld mixers
- Plastic wrap or foil
- Offset spatula
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- If baking, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add ingredients to the food processor. Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until the sheets are broken into small crumbs. Add the melted vegan butter and a pinch of salt and pulse until combined. The mixture should resemble wet sand.
- Press into a 9” springform pan. Use your hands and/or a flat-bottomed glass to press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Bake or chill. If baking, transfer the springform pan to the oven for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes before filling. Alternatively, set the crust in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before filling for a completely no-bake cheesecake.
Prepare the Filling
- Whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks. Add the cold, vegan heavy whipping cream to a large bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the cream to stiff peaks for about 3-4 minutes. Refrigerate the bowl while you prepare the rest of the filling.
- Cream the cream cheese. In a separate large bowl, add the vegan cream cheese. Use your hand mixer to beat until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add in the mashed ube and mix well. Then, add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, ube extract, and salt and mix until uniform.
- Fold in the whipped cream. Add the whipped cream and fold everything together using a spatula until uniform, trying carefully not to deflate the filling mixture.
Assemble the Pie
- Add the filling to the crust. Pour the prepared ube filling into the graham cracker crust and smooth it out using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Chill for at least 8 hours. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge to set for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Prepare Toppings and Serve
- Ube coconut drizzle. In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, ube extract, and enough coconut milk to reach the desired consistency for drizzling.
- Toast the coconut flakes. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and evenly spread the coconut flakes onto a lined baking sheet. Bake coconut for about 3 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden brown. Stir and bake for an additional 2-3 more minutes or until golden brown. Store coconut in the fridge for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.
- Vegan whipped cream. Before serving, prepare the whipped cream by adding the vegan heavy cream and sugar to a large bowl and whip to soft peaks.
- Serve. Once the cheesecake has chilled, top with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes. Serve each slice with the ube coconut drizzle and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: To keep leftover cheesecake fresh, store it in an airtight container or tightly cover it with plastic wrap for up to one week in the refrigerator.
- Ube Coconut Drizzle: We prefer to drizzle the slices individually when serving. When you drizzle the whole pie, the drizzle settles and spreads into the whipped cream, which is fine but not as aesthetically pleasing.
- Coconut flakes: We recommend using sweetened coconut flakes for the best sweet and toasted ones. They’ll caramelize better than unsweetened coconut flakes.
- Prep Time: 8 hours 22 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake Option
- Cuisine: Filipino
