Lemon Tofu Cheesecake
On Shavuot we celebrate the giving of the Torah. Shavuot is also known as Chag HaKatzir (the Harvest Festival), since it marks the start of the wheat harvest and the end of the barley harvest. It may remind us that many more people can be sustained on vegetarian diets than on animal-based diets. The Torah stresses that farmers are to leave the corners of their fields and the gleanings of their harvests for the hungry. Yet in today’s world one third of all cereal crops, and more than 90 per cent of soya, is turned into feed for farmed animals. This plant-based cheesecake is a good way to celebrate Shavuot using fewer of our planet’s precious resources.
Ingredients
200 g vegan digestive biscuits (e.g. Hob Nobs, or a supermarket own brand variety)
75 g vegan margarine (e.g. Tomor)
50 ml soya milk
350 g silken tofu
200 g vegan cream cheese (e.g. Tofutti Original)
1-2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons arrowroot
Optional topping – 150g fresh raspberries or strawberries OR a drizzle of apricot sauce with lemon decoration
Instructions
1
Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4.
2
Put the biscuits into a polythene bag, secure lightly then crush with a rolling pin. Make sure there are no large lumps left.
3
Melt the margarine then put this along with the crushed biscuits into a bowl. Mix to combine.
4
Spread in a greased flat tin (preferably a 20 cm /8 inch flan tin with a removable base) and bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
5
Blend all of the topping ingredients thoroughly (soya milk, silken tofu tofu, vegan cream cheese, golden syrup, vanilla essence, lemon rind and arrowroot), using a hand blender or mixer, until smooth.
6
Remove the crumb mixture from the oven and pour the filling over the base.
Bake in the oven at the same temperature for 20 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.
Bake in the oven at the same temperature for 20 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.
7
Serving option 1: Top with fresh berries and chill before serving.
Serving option 2: Slice and plate up, then top each individual piece with a twist of lemon and a drizzle of apricot sauce. (For the apricot sauce place 50 g brown sugar, 100 g tinned apricots – chopped – and the juice from the apricots into a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the cheesecake slices.)
Serving option 2: Slice and plate up, then top each individual piece with a twist of lemon and a drizzle of apricot sauce. (For the apricot sauce place 50 g brown sugar, 100 g tinned apricots – chopped – and the juice from the apricots into a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the cheesecake slices.)
