Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake

by Natalie

In celebration of Orange Creamsicle Day, the lovely ladies at Rising Hearts Bakery were kind enough to come up with this delicious, bright treat. It’s dairy-free but you’d never know because it’s just so dang good!

Ingredients

2 cup Graham Crackers, ground
3-6 tbsp Non-dairy margarine, melted
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
5-8 oz tub Vegan Cream Cheese
1 cup Vegan Sour Cream
1 cup + 2 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp (+ extra 1 1/2 tsp) Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/4 cup (+ extra 1/4 c) Cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 tbsp fresh orange juice
few drops of orange food coloring

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grind graham crackers to get a sandy consistency. Mix in melted margarine until when pressed together doesn’t crumble apart and then mix in the brown sugar. Press mixture into the bottom and around the sides of a lightly oiled 9-inch spring form pan.

Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, lemon juice and 1/4 c cornstarch in a mixer until blended. Add sour cream and mix just until well combined making sure not to over-mix. Set aside 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture into a separate bowl.

In original mixer bowl, mix in the remainder 1 1/2 tsp vanilla into the batter and pour into crust. With the reserved batter, mix in the remaining 1/4 c cornstarch, orange zest, orange juice and a few drops of food coloring to reach your desired orange preference. Distribute gently onto the top of the plain mixture.

Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes. Cheesecake should be slightly browned and a little wobbly in the center. Cool overnight or minimum 8 hours.