Vegan Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Icing or Lemon Glaze

       There is something very satisfying about eating carrot cake. Could be the taste, could be the fact that I feel better about eating a carrot-based cake than other less nutritious desserts. Ryan actually thinks that my carrot cake might be too healthy, but he's happy because he gets to eat cake for breakfast.

       If you know my dad, you probably know that he LOVES carrot cake. I remember when I was around ten or so, my mother was had broken her arm during March break. But it being my dad's birthday, he wouldn't settle for anything less than homemade carrot cake. So my mother, with only one good arm grated my father carrots for his carrot cake. She always reminds us of how that was the best cake she ever made (this recipe is based off of her recipe, minus the sweat and tears that went into that particular recipe), and she never lets us forget it. 

       This carrot cake has pretty much everything in it, many of the ingredients personally requested by my father (he tasted it yesterday and was quite pleased) including shredded coconut and raisins. I grew up loving a good cream cheese icing on my carrot cakes, but recently have been opting for a tangy lemon glaze. Both toppings pare excellently with this recipe, and their recipes and instructions can be found below.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely grated carrot, unpacked (approx. 2 medium-large carrots)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 cup soy milk or other varieties
• 1/2 cup light oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp apple vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or mixed flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2/3 cup raisins, soaked and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, I like unsweetened
• 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or mix

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan, bunt pan or 9x9 square pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients, and mix together.
3. Soak raisins in water while you prepare the dry ingredients.
4. In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients.
5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix until combined. Drain the raisins, then fold into wet batter with the nuts and coconut.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake 350°F for 45-60 minutes. Depending on your cooking wear the times will vary, the square pan and the bunt pan will take less time to cook than the loaf pan.
7. Before removing loaf from oven, check done-ness with a tooth pick or a cake tester.
8. Let cool completely before icing or slicing.

Vegan Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz/125g Tofutti cream cheese
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups icing sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, margarine and vanilla, and gradually add sugar until fluffy.

Vegan Lemon Glaze

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is better)

1. Whisk icing sugar with lemon juice until smooth.

Vegan Oreo Cheesecake

It was Ryan's birthday last week and we wanted to try out making something new. After I was done my exam, I ran to the grocery store, picked up some tofutti, some Oreos and all the other necessities to make one tasty Oreo cheesecake. I love using tofu in cheesecakes, mostly because it makes me feel like I am way healthier than I am. The cake is much lighter than one would expect and because it has all that heart-healthy protein, I don't feel bad about eating cheese cake for breakfast 2 days in a row.  

My oven is not the greatest. It's old and has a stupid knob to choose between using the top or bottom element.
A normal person would remember to put the oven on bake....but I forgot. So the top is bit darker than expected,
but still ridiculously delicious! 

I've used classic Oreos, but you could use any chocolate sandwich cookie. I've made this recipe so that it uses an entire bag of cookies, about 26, but if you only have 24 cookies its not the end of the world, just take away one or two from the crust or filling.
I've also used coconut oil in this recipe. It is not an ingredient that I use that often, mostly because it is easier and cheaper to use margarine, but coconut oil works great here. Because coconut oil solidifies around room temperature, you get a solid crust. Coconut oil, although it is a saturated fat, is one of the healthiest sat-fats because it is composed of short chain saturated fatty acids, which our body doesn't digest the same way as lard or butter. But, if you don't have coconut oil*, you can substitute the coconut oil with margarine and add 2 Tbsp of flour to help bind the crust. 

Ingredients

Crust
18 Oreos, crushed into crumbs or crumbled 
3 tbsp melted coconut oil (*See note above if you don't have coconut oil)

Filling

Last time I made cheesecake I broke my spingform pan, so
this time I ended up using a cake pan. To avoid scratching up
my pan, I lines it with parchment. The little pieces of paper
sticking out were just there to help us hold down the
parchment paper when we were spreading out the crust.
Looks pretty good though, doesn't it?

1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed and squeezed out
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese 
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Scant 1/2 cup white sugar
4 tbsp flour

4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Topping
4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Preparation

Crust
In a  food processor, pulse Oreos, or alternatively, seal Oreos in a freezer bag and crush finely with a rolling pin.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted coconut oil and Oreo crumbs with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan (or pie plate) and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients for the filling, other than the Oreos.
Mix together roughly, then use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to the food processor or blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.


Topping
Sprinkle the chopped or crushed Oreos evenly on the top of the filling. Lightly push the Oreo peices into the filling, just slightly so they don't fall off while serving.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Vegan Cheesecake

I've made this dessert for my mom's birthday for the past two years. She loves cheesecake and loves this vegan version too. Unlike regular cheesecakes that can weigh you down, this version in light and protein rich. You can feel good about yourself after eating it, so go ahead and have an extra piece. Really, this cake is a complete source of protein, using pecans as a crust with a tofu/tofutti cream cheese filling. You don't need to worry about missing out on your meat substitute food group if you're having this baby for dessert!
I've made this recipe a total of three times, and every time I make it, I play with the toppings. I've used apples in the fall, raspberries and strawberries and my latest was blackberries and strawberries.

How delicious does this look? Untouched and ready to be eaten.

 Ingredients

2 Cups strawberries (1/2 quart) to 1 Cup blackberries (1/2 pint)
I only cooked the berries for a few minutes (the strawberries for
 ~5 minutes and the blackberries for ~3 additional minutes on
medium low heat) to keep them fresh 

Crust
3 cups pecans (2.5 if chopped)
4 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
6 tbsp melted margarine

Filling
1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
5 tbsp whole wheat flour

Topping
2 tbsp margarine
3 cups fruit, such as mixed berries (see photos for more information)

2 Cups raspberries (1 pint) to 1 Cup strawberries
I made this this cheese cake last year and travelled on the bus
with it from Toronto to North Bay to surprise my mom for her
birthday. It was refrigerated for at least 24 hours, which is why
the topping is clearly firmer than the previous, which only had
time to chill for about 4 hours.

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water

Preparation

Crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a blender or food processor, pulse pecans, sugar and flour until crumbly (this can be challenging if using a blender, and may take some patience and frequent stirring).
Stir in melted margarine with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 
If you are using a smaller spring form pan, you may want to consider continuing the crust up the sides of the pan.
Bake crust at 400°F for 13 minutes.
Let crust cool at room temperature for 5-15 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 325°F.

McIntosh apples (3 sliced)! I didn't
have a spring form pan at the time, 
so I used a large pie plate instead.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients.
Mix together roughly, then transfer to the food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before making the topping.




Topping
Wash fruit and slice to desired thickness or leave smaller berries whole.
On medium low heat, melt margarine and toss with firmer fruit. Sauté for a few minutes, until tender, before adding any additional softer fruit. 
When the fruit are at the desired tenderness, and they have produced a good amount of liquid, stir in the brown sugar and cook on medium low until bubbly, stirring lightly when needed.
Add the corn starch-water mixture and stir constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Top cheesecake with topping and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The longer it chills, the firmer it will become.

And if ever short on time, you can always switch between the fridge and the freezer when chilling this delicious cheese cake...I've never been a very patient person when it comes to cake.

Enjoy!