Red Berries Tofu Cake

Today’s Jan‘s birthday. Happy Birthday!!! And since I’m a poor student and can’t buy him the gadgets I’m sure he’d love to get as pressies, I made him a cake. I also got him a movie, but it was on offer ;-)

It’s very moist here, and so it makes the 25ºC or so feel like a lot more. And really, who wants to bake for hours when the weather is so sticky. So we settled for no-bake (nearly) cheese cake, but made with tofu, because it’s a bit healthier ahem.

Ingredients:

• For the cookie base:
  • 120 grams cookies (Graham crackers, McVities, Maria… whatever rocks your world)
  • 40 grams butter (this is about 3 tablespoons)
• For the tofu layer:
  • 300 ml pineapple juice
  • 2 tablespoons agar-agar
  • 90 ml lemon juice
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons runny honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon oil / essence
  • 450 grams tofu
• For the gelled topping:
  • 100 ml red berries syrup (the kind used for cocktails)
  • 300 ml water
  • 2 tablespoons agar agar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • bunch of red currants and raspberries

Make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC / 350 F (this is the only time you’re gonna use the oven, I promise). Whizz up the cookies in a food procesor until sandy, then add butter and whizz some more until it looks like wet sand. Line the bottom of a springform pan with baking paper, press the cookie slash wet sand into the base of the form. Bake for ten minutes until nicely golden, turn off the oven and breathe deeply.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the pineapple juice until steamy, add the agar agar, and cook, stirring, until completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool for about five minutes.
3. Using the blender of your choice, blend the tofu, the pineapple juice with the agar agar, the lemon juice, lemon essence, and honey, until smooth. Pour over baked cookie base, put in the fridge, and have an iced tea, or two. Let the tofu layer chill for at least two hours, four is even better. A few more won’t hurt.
4. In a small saucepan (clean, please :p), heat the red berries syrup with the water and lemon juice until steamy, add the agar agar, and cook, stirring, until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool as much as possible without setting. Pour over chilled tofu layer. Decorate with berries. Chill in the fridge until completely set, about 3 to 4 hours, or even better, overnight.
5. Cut using a long sharp knife, serve yourself a generous portion, sit back, dip the spoon into the cake, and let it melt on your tongue. Or in short: Enjoy!

Yield: One 26 cm cake, 8 to 10 portions.

Wanna see the full cake before it was cut?