Recipe for cooking creamy tofu cheesecake

Quick Meals- Salads and Vegetarian Dishes :: Vegetarian Desserts

Creamy Tofu Cheesecake

Crust
1 C. graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C. finely ground almonds
1/4 C. unrefined sugar crystals or sugar
2 eggs
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter or butter replacement,
    melted, or Spectrum Spread

Filling
16 oz. silken tofu
16 oz. tofu cream cheese
3/4 C. sugar
4 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or flavoring
2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, in a bowl, Mix together the graham cracker crumbs with the ground almonds and sweetener. With a fork, blend the butter, spread or margarine into the mixture until it clings together when you press a tsp. of it between your fingers. Turn the mixture into a 8-in. springform pan. With your fingers or the back of a soup spoon, spread and pat the crust until it covers the bottom of the pan. Keep working the crust up the sides of the pan to a height of about 1 in., leaving it thicker around the bottom edge, where the sides and bottom of the pan meet. Make sure the crust is thinner around the top edge. Bake the crust 8 min. Set aside to cool slightly.

For the filling, pure the tofu in a food processor. Add the cream cheese and process to blend. Add the sugar and eggs and process to incorporate them completely. Blend in the lemon juice and vanilla extract or flavoring. Finally, blend in the arrowroot.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust, filling it to within 1/2 in. of the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 60 min. The cake will be golden on top, sbrowned lightly around the edges, and still puffed and jiggling in the center. Turn off the heat BUT LEAVE THE CAKE sitting in the oven for 60 min. (It is okay to peek quickly once or twice.) The warm cake will still be just soft to the touch in the center. Set the cake on a rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover the cake lightly with foil and refrigerate 24 hr. before servings.

NOTES: The cake will taste delicious once it is chilled through, but only reaches full creaminess after being refrigerated 8 hr., or overnight.

Spectrum Spread is a non-hydrogenated canola oil product made by Spectrum Naturals, Inc.