Why is my cheesecake mix grainy

I was making a cheesecake which uses sunflower seeds as a replacement for cashews, maple syrup, vanilla coconut yoghurt, salt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. i first used a hand mixer then moved onto a blender which may have been the problem. Also, im nervous that it wont set in time, so should i include gelatine?

jeremyW
  • Posted by: jeremyW
  • September 3, 2020
  • 2859 views
  • 2 Comments

2 Comments

Lori T. September 3, 2020
I imagine the culprit behind the graininess would be the sunflower seeds- although I'm not sure cashews would be any easier. There is only so much a blender can do to reduce nuts to a fine meal that would pass a smoothness taste test. All those teensy bits are still going to be detected by your mouth. So far as setting, I don't think adding in gelatin to hurry matters along is something you want to do unless you want a rubbery and grainy end product. Gelatine in a cheesecake always seems to give you that odd "jello-y" texture, which is one reason I'm not so big on no-bake cheesecakes myself.
 
Nancy September 4, 2020
Lori - Many good comments.
Agree with you about the sunflower seeds as cause of graininess (and see no way to eliminate it; they will not break down completely).
Also not a big fan of gelatin in cheesecakes, or no bake ones (except maybe some ricotta-based, which are never intended to come together as much as cream-cheese ones).
I'm not so worried about the cashews...any nut which can become a nut butter could be used, or even start the cake with a smooth nut butter so you don't have to use your mixer or processor for that step.
 
Recommended by Food52