Better Than Tofu Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/4c graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoon vegan sugar or other sweetener
1/4c margarine or oil
Filling:
2 lbs. soft silken tofu (well drained but not pressed)
8 oz. vegan cream cheese
1/4c pineapple juice frozen concentrate thawed
1/2c oil
1Tbs. lemon juice
1Tbs. vanilla extract
1/2c pure maple syurp
1Tbs. coriander
1Tbs. corn starch disolved in 2Tbs. water
For crust: Melt margarine and blend well with graham cracker cumbs and sweetener. Press well into bottom of spring-form pan or round cake pan. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Let cool.
Filling: Mash tofu with vegan cream cheese. Add all other ingredients to tofu mixture and whip with hand mixer until well blended and very creamy. Try to get all tofu lumps out. Pour into crust and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Turn OFF oven and leave in for 15 minutes more to help set center. When done edges should be golden and starting to pull away from sides of pan, center should be soft set (it will wiggle if you shake pan lightly). Cool about an hour then refigerate another 3 hours to set center. Keep refrigerated.
Helpfull hints: Be sure to check cake during baking I live in the mountains (at about 5800 ft.)so you may need to adjust the baking time down if you live at a lower altitude. Draining the tofu well is important. Too much liquid and the center won't set well. After slicing the cake place a paper towel in the cut out section before returning it to the frige. This will absorb any fluid that will condense on the plate or in the pan and keep the bottom of the cake from getting too soggy.
After being dairy free for over a year my cheesecake craving returned. I tried some of the other Tofu Cheesecake recipies out there but found they tasted more like baked custard than cheesecake. After some experimentation I came up with this recipie which my family thinks tastes much like the real thing. My husbands comment after trying this Well you finally got me to eat tofu (he loved it and I think at least half of the one I made this weekend ended up in his stomach!)
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I really thought this cheesecake was delicious. My husband thought that it was very good, but felt that it didn't qualify as cheesecake. We were impatient and ate a slice after only 3 hours of refrigeration, so maybe the consistency will become thicker by tomorrow. I used a food processor to blend the batter, and it turned out very smooth. As suggested by other reviewers, I also used sugar instead of maple syrup and margarine instead of oil. I also used a store-bought graham cracker pie crust, just to speed things up. All in all, I give this recipe a thumbs up!
This "cheese"cake didn't really have the right consistancy. It was much too smooth and around the edges kind of rubbery. And it tasted to much like beans before I cooked it so I put in some more lemon to mask the taste. It was ok for what it is, but I wouldn't call it a "cheese"cake. more like a flan if it didn't have the graham cracker crust.
I made the "cheese"cake yesterday, I made some modifications to the recipe b/c I was missing afew ingredients :-[ I used black currant concentrate instead of the pineapple, and I also used 2 tbsp lemon juice instead of 1 tbsp lemon juice, and replaced 1 tbsp of vanilla. After sneaking a couple of bites......ok a couple of slices after it was cooled from baking, I thought it wasn't bad. Then I refridged it over night. Now after having another slice .... and oh my, it's the best I've ever had for "cheese"cake. So now I can curb my sweet cravings.
I was skeptical since I've rarely had a good vegan cheesecake. I usually think they are too sweet or soft or oily but this one worked really well. I used one container of firm silken tofu and one and three quarters of tofutti cream cheese. I used sugar in the same amount as the recipe called for syrup and a pre-made graham cracker crust. Topped with strawberries in red wine syrup. My non-vegan dinner guests seemed to really like it!