18 Dec 2012

cheesecake, round three

First cheesecake, disaster. Second cheesecake, can't say no to Bill Granger's. Third cheesecake, nailed it! 

Including a portion of tofu in the mixture made it light and smooth compared to the first no bake cheesecake I made. As a tofu lover I would say tofu is quite neutral in terms of flavour, so even if you do hate it, fear not, as the taste will be dominated by the other ingredients.

I can't say it's one hundred percent perfect yet, as the flavour resembled more like the Greek yoghurt I had mixed in, but nevertheless it was a refreshing dessert for the heat wave we had last week. As requested by my cousin, I'll be making this again when he flies back to at the end of the month. Let's see how I can take this base recipe up a notch.

***

Lemon Tofu Cheesecake adapted from cookingwithdog youtube video
makes 1 x 17cm x 4.5cm round; serves 12

100g crushed biscuit crumbs
50g unsalted butter, melted
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
250g silken tofu
170g Greek yogurt*
50g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
50ml lemon juice*
10g gold strength gelatin sheets, bloomed**
100ml thickened cream, warmed just below below boiling point

Place an (adjustable) cake ring on top of a plate. Mix biscuit crumbs and unsalted butter thoroughly. Press crumbs evenly, forming a base on the plate and refrigerate until required.

In a food processor, blend cream cheese, tofu, yogurt, sugar, zest and juice until smooth. Meanwhile, squeeze the excess water out of each gelatin leaf and stir to dissolve in the heated cream. Add to cream cheese mixture and blend until well combined.

Pour mixture into the cake ring, smooth the top and refrigerate until set (around 3 hours or so).

Moisten a silicon spatula and gently push down on the sides to release the cheesecake from the cake ring. Lift ring and cut cheesecake into individual portions using a warm, moist knife, cleaning with each cut.

*For a less tart taste, use plain / vanilla yogurt and reduce lemon juice by half.
**To bloom gelatin sheet, submerge in a small bowl of water and let it soften completely.