Vegan Cheesecake with Chocolate Bottom and Strawberry Coulis

This makes a lovely and tasty treat. We enjoyed this over the weekend, and are looking forward to having it again as our in the garden strawberries are beginning to ripen.

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients:

for the crust:

• 20 vegan Oreos or other chocolate vegan cookies
• 3 tablespoons vegan margarine or coconut oil

for the filling:

• 1 cup soaked cashews
• 4 ounces firm tofu
• 4 ounces vegan cream cheese
• 4 ounces vegan soy yogurt
• 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

for the coulis:

• 1 pint fresh strawberries,
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar
• splash lemon juice

Directions:

Begin by soaking the cashew nuts 2 hours to over-night, whichever is more convenient. Cover the cashews with water and allow to soften.

For the crust:

1. Place the vegan Oreos in a food processor and pulse to form crumbs.
2. Add the vegan margarine and pulse again to mix.
3. Press the cookie dough into the bottom and sides of a pie pan or spring form.

to make the cheesecake:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F / 163 C.
2. Drain the water from the cashew nuts.
3. Using the food processor or a blender, puree the tofu, soy yogurt and agave or maple syrup.
4. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and the cashews and again pulse to make a smooth consistency.
5. Sample the mixture and adjust to individual taste.
6. Pour the mixture over the crust and place in the oven to bake.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center is almost set.
8. Cool completely.

to make the strawberry sauce:

1. Clean the strawberries and reserve some of the prettiest ones as garnish when serving.
2. Remove the hulls and chop the rest into a bowl.
3. Add the sugar and a splash of lemon juice and stir to mix well.
4. Allow the strawberries to macerate- the juices from the strawberries will be drawn out by the sugar.
5. Puree the strawberries in a blender or with an immersion blender.
6. Serve slices of the cheesecake garnished with a sliced strawberry and some of the strawberry sauce.

Notes:
We used maple syrup as the sweetener, which made the darker color of the cheesecake. Next time I will use agave so that it is a light creamy color.