Black Forest Tofu Cheesecake

Before I adopted a dairy free diet, I'd never given even the slightest thought to vegan desserts, why would I? So when I said no to milk, I got curious about the illusive tofu cheesecake. After tasting a few VERY bland examples, I have come up with a recipe that is delicious, SO easy to make, and produced a product that has been licked from the plate by unsuspecting tasters, always shocked when I tell them it's tofu. Now I am not saying this is healthy, but without the presence of cream, cream cheese etc, it is a healthier alternative and exceptionally indulgent.

One thing I would point out, is that you need to beat the tofu really well to get a smooth consistency and get rid of any white flecks.

It's best made the the day before you want to serve it.

Ingredients:

For the base

200g dairy free ginger nuts, broken

2 Tbs dairy free margarine, melted

For the cheesecake

1 400g pkt of silken tofu (hard variety)

1/4 c soft brown sugar

1/4 c caster sugar

1/4 cup cocoa, sifted

1 tsp vanilla essence

100g dark, dairy free chocolate. Set aside about 20g to serve, then grate half of the remaining chocolate and finely chop the other half

200g fresh cherries, halved and stoned. Finely chop half, and reserve half for serving

Icing sugar to dust

To make:

1) Lightly grease a lose based 20cm cake tin, line the bottom with some baking parchment and turn the oven to 180°c or gas mark 4.

2) Put the biscuits in a food processor and whizz until they are fine crumbs. Add the softened margarine and pulse again so the crumbs bond together when pressed. Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of the tin and cook for 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.

3) Discard any excess liquid from the tofu and put it into a large bowl. Beat well with an electric whisk.

4) Add in both sugars and cocoa and blend until smooth with the whisk. Add the vanilla essence and mix.

5) With a wooden spoon, stir in the grated and chopped chocolate and the chopped cherries. Mix together well, pour over the cold base and use a spatula to smooth the surface.

6) Bake for 25 -30 minutes, take out of the oven and cool in the tin. The top will crack a little and should be coming away from the edges. Refrigerate (still in the tin) for at least 2 hours until thoroughly set.

7) Remove from the tin and serve topped with the remaining cherry halves and the rest of the chocolate, grated, then dust with icing sugar.

It tastes best if you take it out of the fridge and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Delicious with plain soy (or dairy) yogurt.