Tofu Lemon "Cheesecake"????

We transitioned to veganism about 4 years ago. Since then, I have been experimenting a few different versions of cheesecake using blended cashew nuts, tofu, almonds or a combination of these items as the "cheese" base.

Each one has its own unique taste, and I love making raw cheesecake (no baking involved) and tofu cheesecake (baking involved). There are so many different versions of vegan cheesecake that can be made at home from whole foods. Most of the required ingredients are available in our pantry.

The first time I made this tofu lemon cheesecake, John thought it would be gross. Tofu seems like an odd replacement for cream cheese! He finished the tofu lemon cheesecake in 3 days. I guess he loved it! This is such an easy recipe, and to make it better, it is gluten free! No flour is required.

See below recipe, and enjoy!

Recipe:

Crust:

4 cups of walnuts (grind it nicely to tiny bits for the crunchy texture)

1/4 cup maple syrup

Filling:

2 packs of 350g net weight silken tofu

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons almond butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons lemon zest (grated, about 3 lemons)

2 tablespoons cornstarch (mix with 5 tablespoons of lemon juice)

Remarks: if the lemon flavor is not strong, add more lemon juice. I added the juice of 3 whole lemons, and also 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.

- Preheat oven at 350' Fahrenheit or 180' celsius.

- oil the 9inch pan well. Make sure it is greased on the side and bottom.

- Grind the walnuts well, and mix well with maple syrup. Press the mixture to the pan. Leave it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes while making the cheesecake filling.

- Put all the filling ingredients into a blender and blend all until smooth.

- take out the pan from the fridge, and pour the filling content into the pan.

- put the pan into the preheated oven, and bake for about 50 minutes.

- the cheesecake will rise as it bake, but will deflated once it is taken out from the oven. It will also be a bit jiggly.

- Cool at the counter for at least an hour, then put into the fridge overnight if possible to let it set; otherwise, minimum 6 hours in the fridge.

- Make some sauce or fruits to go with it!