Strawberry Tofu Cheesecake with Fig and Poppy Seed Base (Raw/ Vegan/ Gluten Free)
Please don’t be put off by the sound of tofu in a dessert, it is a truly wonderful addition. Vegans wouldn’t get very far without it!!!! Tofu has a bad rep, this cake will change it all…..Tofu is a real hero and if bought organic, is a nutritional wonder to boot with a smooth as silk texture.
It really is amazing what you can do with a blender. This is a light, refreshing take on a cheesecake, only frozen and with the added interest of being made with tofu. It takes minutes to prepare and sits happily in the freezer. This has to be one of the healthiest desserts we’ve made at the BHK with bags of strawberries and only a small amount of figs in the base.
Raw desserts are amazing, but some hide huge quantities of sugar, normally in the form of dried fruits (primarily dates). It is natural sugar, but it is still sugar. This dessert is lower in sugar than most, the strawberries go a long way to sweetening the cake. Raw desserts are not always healthier than other desserts, its worth bearing in mind.
Silken tofu is a vegan staple for dessert, baking and all sort of textural fun. Tofu is high in protein and is a wonderful vehicle for flavours, of course by itself it is bland, its like a blank canvas for a creative cook. We have used it in cakes to substitute eggs and it does an admirable job.
The base of this cake goes all seedy. We have found that going raw can cost alot more, a main contributor is nuts. You can get through alot of them, especially when making desserts. Instead of flour, you use cashews. In fact, many of our staples ie rice, cous cous, pasta etc go out of the window on raw and are replaced by fruit and veg. Certainly not a bad thing for the body, but it can hit you in the wallet/ purse/ piggy bank. Seeds are the answer and almost equally as flavourful. For a crunch base like this, they are perfect. We have also been making butters with them and they are just as tasty as their nutty compadres. Go seed!
8 REASONS TO LOVE STRAWBERRIES (EVEN MORE)
– Big C, very big C. Super packed with Vitamin C (8 strawbs =150% rda)
– High in fibre (meaning that even though they are beautifully sweet, they have a low GI index)
– Member of the rose family (how romantic!)
– Virtually fat free (for those who think that matters. Fat doesn’t make you fat, to be covered in a later post. Fat is actually very cool.)
– Full of manganese=great for bones and growth.
– They fight the big C (Cancer) with something called anthocyanin.
– Some scientists have said that strawberries are actually anti-aging.
– Super high in the vitamin B’s, which help metabolism.
Beauty Strawbssss!
CLEANING YOUR FRUIT AND VEG
We’d always recommend that you give strawberries a good wash. They can attract all sorts of wonderful creep crawlies and dusty dirt. Here are some top tips for cleaning fruit and vegetables, especially those bought in supermarkets (i.e. not particularly fresh and probably covered with chemicals and pesticides) This makes a HUGE difference:
This cake is not made with an ice cream maker, so expect a few ice crystals if eaten frozen. We find it best semi-thawed. Take it out the freezer an hour before serving and it should soften up nicely.
Makes one large tart, enough for six slices.
The Bits
Topping: 1 punnet strawberries, 1 box silken tofu (350g), 2 tablespoons of sweetener of choice (we used a cane sugar syrup), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup of soaked cashews
Base: 1 cup of dried figs (soaked), ½ cup ground flaxseeds, ½ cup sunflower seeds, ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds, 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Fresh from the freezer
Do It
Easy as pie (cake)!
Put all the filling bits in a blender and blend so that you get a thick double cream texture.
Put all the base ingredients into a blender and blend so you get a sticky clumpy mixture that can be rolled into balls. This will take a few goes, make sure you scrape down the side to incorporate the chunks.
Press the base into a 9” dish circular tart dish lined with cling film. Pour in the filling and pop in the freezer. We decided to make two small fat ones, so we could eat one who cake between the two of us. Some call this greed, we call this the good life!!!!!
Strawberry Tofu Ice Cream Cake
Serve
Take it out of the freezer before service and it will have a soft scoop ice cream feel with a nice crunchy base. You will no doubt have some strawberries or other berries lurking around your fruit bowl, this cake is great with them.
We Love It!
The closest we’ve come to a really healthy dessert that doesn’t taste healthy (you know what we mean here). This is the perfect summer cooler and has a nice richness even though dairy has not entered the building.
Foodie Fact
(Yawn) Where do you get your protein in a vegan diet? (Yawn again) The question on the tip of most carnivores tongue could be simply answered with TOFU. Tofu is an amazing plant based source of protein and is now readily available in most parts of the world. It has no cholesterol, is low in fat and contains a similar amount of protein to dairy and meat. Firm tofu is also high in calcium. As I mentioned above, just make sure it’s organic and not GMO.
beach house kitchen 