so, do you remember how i said a while ago that i don't like cheesecake? it turns out i may have lied to you. see, the thing i don't like about cheesecake is the cream cheese. i know, i know, that's like the whole POINT of cheesecake.
BUT, i have found something better. it's healthy(er)! it's vegan! it's rich! it's creamy! it's ever so tasty! it's TOFU!!!
honestly, i was skeptical. you can find the inspiration recipe here. sunrise soya is a canadian company, that makes the lovely dessert tofu that i recently raved about. since i love their tofu so much, and i WANT to love cheesecake so badly (but without getting sick, and preferably without all of the morally questionable practices that go into making cheese), i couldn't NOT try it.
i made the crust myself, but you can certainly buy one of those pre-made chocolate or graham cracker crusts. all the recipes i found for graham crusts used sugar, but i just skipped that, and i think it turned out great. i also have to take a moment to tell you that this was literally the FIRST ever time i have made a crumb crust, and it was SO EASY. i was scared, it looks complicated and like you need SKILLS. not so. just try it, friends.
also, like most desserts i like, matt says the cake could use to be sweeter. so i made him some super agave-y strawberry syrup for his to shut him up. i thought it was fabulous. it's like dark chocolate - it's NOT super sweet, but it's rich and filling and honestly i can't eat more than a small slice.
i know this is a really wordy intro, but i have one more important thing to say! if you are interested in such a thing, the filling (uncooked) was amazingly tasty on it's own. it was thick and creamy and like a really nice chocolate mousse, or even icing. and since it's vegan, there are no uncooked eggs or anything to potentially make you sick! if i am ever in need of a mousse or icing recipe, this is what i'm using!
ingredients:
2 c graham cracker crumbs (about 1 1/2 stacks of graham crackers)
1/2 c earth balance vegan buttery spread (or margarine)
1 1/2 454g packages of medium firm tofu
1 c cocoa powder
1/2 c white sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 c oil (i used olive)
2 T lemon juice
to make:
first the crust! skip this if you're using a pre-made one!
throw your graham crackers (1 1/2 packages, about 9 crackers, i believe) in a food processor. process on low 2-3 minutes until they are all crumbs. measure 2 cups.
melt 1/2 c buttery spread or margarine, and with the crumbs in the processor on low, drizzle it in.
scrape the sides and bottom of the processor and give it another pulse or two to ensure the "butter" is evenly mixed!
dump the crumb mixture into a pie plate, and press down as evenly as possible. don't worry too much though, as long as you can't see the plate through it, you're okay.
bake the crust at 400 for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn it down to 350.
rinse and dry the food processor and spatula.
combine the tofu, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, oil and lemon juice in the food processor.
process on low for 2-3 minutes.
scrape the sides with a spatula, and process again. do this until it is creamy and free of chunks. (this is where you'd want to stop if using it for mousse or icing!!)
pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust.
smooth it out with a spatula.
bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
cool completely (at least a couple of hours in the fridge or overnight) and serve.
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