Vegan raspberry swirl cheesecake

I made this vegan raspberry swirl cheesecake for Mother’s day at the weeked. I’m not exactly known for my expert cake icing skills and I often feel a bit disappointed when I finish decorating a cake, as the icing never seems to want to sit where I put it, leaving my cakes looking a bit lopsided and ‘rustic’..  So when I saw this recipe for a baked vegan cheesecake in the Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook, I decided to cross my fingers and give it a go. I wanted to make a cake that not only tastes good but looks really impressive too and the fact that this cake gets a beautiful marbled effect as it bakes without the need for piping bag skills really appealed to me!

Making my own cashew cream cheese was simple and it tasted really creamy without the plasticy aftertaste you often get with the bought stuff. I also like how you can control the tartness by how long you leave it to culture; I found 48 hours gave it a lovely depth of flavour. I adapted the recipe for the base, using digestives, pure spread and a bit of cocoa rather than the (healthier sounding) nut and oat base suggested.

The raspberry mixture that you swirl into the top to give it a lovely pattern and colour was so delicious it took all of my willpower to stop myself eating the whole lot. Luckily I restrained myself (after a second spoonful) and got the cake into the oven intact!