This Samoa Cheesecake is three layers of girl scout cookie inspired goodness—a tender chocolate crumb crust, a creamy hint-of-caramel cheesecake filling, and a chocolate drizzled salty-sweet coconut caramel layer on top. No-bake, vegan, and gluten-free too!
It’s Girl Scout cookie season, so I am taking flavor inspiration from one of their cookie classics — the Samoa (a.k.a. Caramel DeLites) — and transforming it into a multi-level creamy no-bake cake with all the caramel + coconut + chocolate flavors we know play together SO well!
There are of course some minor modifications required to turn cookie into cake, most notably subtracting the shortbread cookie base and adding in a silky smooth layer of vanilla cheesecake filling. But don’t worry, I kept the cookie CRUNCH in the form of a chocolate crumb crust, so all the necessary textures are still accounted for. So if you’re a Samoa lover, I think this cake is going to hit the nostalgic cookie spot.
How To Make A No-Bake Samoa Cheesecake
Okay so there is in fact a smidge of baking involved. But it’s just 15 minutes for the crust, I promise! You’ll barely remember it ever happened. The rest is just blending and layering and freezing, it’s so simple.
The Gluten-Free Chocolate Crumb Crust
If you’ve tried any of my other pie or tart recipes recently, you’ll know I am a huge fan of using crispy rice cereal to mimic the crumb texture of a traditional cookie crumb crust without needing to find vegan/gluten-free oreos or graham crackers. So that’s the method we are using again here. It doesn’t have to be rice cereal per se, any crispy toasted cereal is fine, just stay away from the puffed varieties. In addition to that, you will need cocoa powder (unless using a chocolate cereal), a liquid sweetener, nut or seed butter (or coconut oil), and a pinch of salt. It comes together in 5 minutes in the food processor, and bakes to crispy crust goodness in just 15.
The Dairy-Free Cheesecake Filling
We are using a creamy trio for the base of this cheesecake filling—vegan cream cheese, raw cashews, and coconut milk. Personally I find cashews alone to taste to healthy/cashew-y, so I like to mix in the dairy-free cream cheese to add some of that classic tang and the coconut milk to make it all blend. The only other ingredient is something to sweeten, and for that we will be stealing a spoonful of date paste from the caramel topping. Blend once, sweeten twice! So apart from the crust, this recipe is all fruit-sweetened.
Date-Sweetened Caramel Coconut Topping
Medjool dates naturally have the perfect caramel flavor to mimic that salty-sweet Samoa topping, and requires none of the boiling or hot sticky mess of tradition caramel making. Stir in unsweetened coconut shreds, and you’ve got a delicious gooey coconut caramel top layer just waiting to be drizzled in melted chocolate.
Samoa Cheesecake Recipe FAQs
What can I substitute for the cereal in the crust?
Granola works well too! I have made many chocolate crusts with chocolate granola and I love it, like this recipe for example.
I forgot to soak the cashews, what should I do?
Soak them in boiling water for 10 minutes, as long as you have a high speed blender that will be long enough to blend to a creamy consistency.
My date caramel keeps getting stuck in the blender?
Use the tamper to help nudge it along, and/or add up to 1/4 cup extra coconut milk. You want it to be super smooth so don’t stop if it’s chunky.
Does this cheesecake need to be refrigerated or frozen?
I recommend putting it in the freezer to initially set, and then letting it thaw for 30 minutes at room temp or 1-2 hours in the fridge before slicing and serving. That will create the best creamy texture without it being too soft.
This Samoa Cheesecake is three layers of girl scout cookie inspired goodness—a tender chocolate crumb crust, a creamy hint-of-caramel cheesecake filling, and a chocolate drizzled salty-sweet coconut caramel layer on top. No-bake, vegan, and gluten-free too!
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom and grease the sides.
In a food processor, grind the cereal with the cocoa powder and salt.
Add the maple syrup and nut butter. Process to form a crumbly sand like texture.
Press firmly into the bottom of the pan and just a little bit up the sides.
Bake for 15 minutes, then cool while you prepare the filling.
For the filling and topping:
Blend the dates, heavy coconut milk, vanilla, and salt for the caramel topping on high until very smooth adding more milk (up to 1/4 cup) if/as needed.
Remove ½ cup, and blend with the filling ingredients until smooth and creamy (adding more coconut milk if needed, up to 1/4 cup).
Pour the filling on top of the crust, and freeze for one hour.
Stir the shredded coconut into the remaining caramel.
Once the filling is firm to the touch, spread the coconut caramel mixture on top to evenly cover.
Freeze overnight.
Carefully release the springform pan. Drizzle the top with melted chocolate. Allow the cheesecake to thaw for about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
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