Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by Amy
purr-fect@usa.netBetter Than Tofu CheesecakeIngredients (use vegan versions): 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
Directions: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!)
Serves: approx 12
Preparation time: 1 1/2 hours
When i made this cheesecake, i only used half of the tofu called for and it turned out perfect. It was so delicious. I would definately recommend it to everyone, it would even fool the dairy lovers. I also used a premade Kebler crust, the low fat one being vegan. YUMMY!
Archived comment by: alligator
OMG! I cannot believe how much this tastes like the real thing!! We only changed a couple of things: used 3/4 cup vegan sugar instead of the maple syrup and 6 Tbs. of margarine instead of the oil. Then, made a simple fresh blackberry coulis to drizzle over the top... absolute heaven! The only thing we didn't get quite right was the perfectly smooth texture; if at first you don't succeed try, try, try, try... lol This made my husbands first birthday as a vegan perfect! Enjoy!
Archived comment by: beth
Yummy, yummy! This was really good. It made a lot of batter and I was glad I had bought two pie crusts so I could make two pies (just the right amount after I smothered them with blueberries). I added about half a cup of raw vegan sugar to the batter just because I wanted it a little sweeter and it came out just to my tastes. This is really an excellent recipe.
Archived comment by: jenna79
I made this cheesecake for my friends last weekend. These are not vegetarians. Some of their comments were: This is much lighter than any cheesecake I've ever had before. I tried this before dinner and its great. When they found out it was soy, they were very surprised! It was delish! Thank You!
Archived comment by: suzyq85048
wow. this is amazing.... although it was a bit curdy... but i didn't drain the tofu enough anyway.. but next time, i might use the vegan sugar instead of syrup... to cut down on the juiciness.. i didn't have lemon juice, so i used lime juice... and couldnt find pineapple concentrate... so just used pineapple juice... soymage makes a vegan cream cheese, and actually that's what i used. it has a big vegan written across the front... the container is white/purple (and its organic) for the topping, i took a package of frozen cherries, and put them over the stove with appx 1/2-3/4 cups of cran-raspberry juice... and mixed about a tablespoon or so i guess of agar-agar flakes... and cooked til the flakes were dissolved and cherries were nicely half-squished... stuck it in the refrigerator for a bit... perfect accompaniment... i told people it was made with tofu, and they still took huge chunks of it... (im not big on deceiving people.. best to come right out with it) after all, people always ask me to make my tofu house cookies check them out... (had to get a plug in there somewhere. hehe. :-) --rave reviews i tell ya. thank you. i WILL make this again. oh yes, ...i will!
Archived comment by: carrie_lynn
i tried this w/the alternate ingredients that emily suggested and this really came out great. probably the best cheese cake (vegan or not) that ive ever had. REALLY TRY THIS ONE!!!
Archived comment by: veganxpower
This was delicious!! I modified: 8 oz. silken tofu, no coriander, no oil, 1/4 cup honey, 1 egg, everything else the same. I made a blackberry topping for it, and it was a total hit!
Archived comment by: tarahtarah
i come to vegweb all the time and get recipes from here and everything, and i don't think ive ever seen something this loved!! maybe ill try it! ooh and if any of you guys are looking for a pasta sauce recipe my sis put in a recipe for that, just type in vegan pasta sauce and get the recipe from hpbri it tastes like heaven!!
Archived comment by: bethjoy
This recipe is really great. And experimenting with the amounts and adding/subtracting ingredients usually turns out wonderfully. But I think its really important to use a blender or food processor to get all the lumps out. A hand mixer just won't do the trick. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Archived comment by: cindeshelli
I do not know what I did wrong but this came out kind of a like a custard rather than a cheesecake. I tasted great although the consistency wasn't quite right.
Archived comment by: mainesgem
Hi I'm new here i notice that a few recipies talks about pressed tofu what does that mean?
Archived comment by: empressn
Empressn--Pressed tofu simply means to make sure you've drained and pressed all of the water out of the tofu before using it in a recipe; otherwise, you'll end up with a much softer end product. I usually wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and leave it in the refrigerator overnight with some weight on top (I usually place a box of soymilk on top). I hope this helps you.
Archived comment by: willwolf
I made this cake three times,tweaking the recipe a lttle each time.Four modifications were:1)I used a Food Processor rather than a hand mixer to get lumpless consistency 2)When draining the tofu,I did it in small batches and squeezed it in a small strainer(not so hard as to push it through)3)I used sugar rather than maple syrup 4)I made 1 and 1/2 times the quntities called for in order to achieve a reasonably high cake resembling the real thing. I made a fresh bluberry topping.Make a glaze by heating together 1/2c water,1/4c sugar,1tb Arrowroot,1 1/2 tsp lemon juice.When its thickened and clear remove from heat.Toss clean,dry, berries.Discard excess glaze.Top completely cooled,firm cake.Return to refrigerator. I am not a vegetarian.I am a skilled baker.I served this to non-vegetarians,with unanimous approval.I shocked myself with the outstanding final result!Excellent appearance and texture.As with real cheesecake,a couple of days in the refrigerator really improves the texture.
Archived comment by: dER
I enjoyed this cheesecake, but there was too much batter. Next time I will only use one 12 oz box of tofu. I also thought it should be sweeter, though this might be due to the fact that I used pineapple juice instead of concentrate, since I didn't have any. Next time I will use sugar instead of syrup. Perhaps I will also substitute the oil for vegan butter, that might also add to the flavor. I definitely recommend using a food processor, this is a must for all cheesecake lovers. I just got one and I can't believe I struggled trying to make these recipes with a blender for so many years. A food processor is worth every penny.
Archived comment by: lunadali
What is the vegan alternative for Graham Crackers? I keep seeing all these vegan recipes with graham crackers in them. graham crackers are not vegan.
Archived comment by: sillyvegangoose
I have a recipe for vegan graham crakers, I'm going to put it in the bread section if you want it. I don't know if it looks or taste like the real thing as I'm in France and we don't have graham crakers, vegan or not, but I adapted a recipe for making your own graham craker for pie crusts. I made one and it was quite nice.
Archived comment by: plume
i hate to say it, but too much hype for this cheesecake. most of it sat in my fridge -with 4 people in the house no one wanted to finish it. i would recommend less water and more flavor to anyone wanting to give this one a try.good luck!
Archived comment by: 41096
Some graham crackers are vegan depending on what brand you buy. When I can't find vegan ones, though, I substitute with vegan arrowroot or sugar cookies which I crumble in the food processor.
Archived comment by: katica
This cheesecake is amazing!! Following some of the other comments I cut the tofu in half, used sugar instead of syrup, and because I couldnt find pineapple juice from concentrate, I used tropical juice from concentrate which had a mix of pineapple and some other fruit juices. It worked great! It does harden up quite a bit after a day or two. The glaze fruit topping suggested by DER worked great on top! Thanks!
Archived comment by: shershcovis
so what is the purpose of the coriander.....it makes me skeptical of making the recipe....i know its generally used for savories, so to see it in a sweet recipe makes me confused. help!
Archived comment by: tiffer
Coriander gives a less intense nutmeg flavour. Its good in any kind of cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, allspice-y flavour mix. Youll be pleasantly surprised!
Archived comment by: jonil
This was such a great, lite dessert! I did modify it some though...I used lite, x-tra firm tofu, egg whites = to 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar instead of maple syrup (although I did use about 3 tbsp maple syrup), no oil, no pineapple, and no corriander. I also used a blender set to whip so the mixture was very creamy. I made a mixed berry topping for it. All the skeptics loooved it!! Yummy!!
Archived comment by: earthmonkey926
i thought corriander was cilantro?
Archived comment by: okterok
Cilantro is what we Americans call the leafy part of the coriander plant. Coriander is what we call the ground seeds of the coriander plant. I'm intrigued by the flavor it would bring to a sweet dish... maybe I'll try this one.
Archived comment by: sharway
what kind of sugar (you guys that used it) did you use? rapadura, sucanat, etc? im just curious to see what you used i want this to come out really cheesecake-y! i have something to prove to some veggie haters(!) and there's nothing like cheese cake to win somebodys heart...or at least convince them you can make something just as tasty (if not tastier) than their super unhealthy desserts. and more importantly, i really want some good cheese cake, its something ive been missing.
Archived comment by: ofgoddessstature
fresh green coriander leaves and ground dried coriander seed are entirely different in flavour.
Archived comment by: adagio
