Guinness Cheesecake (Vegan)
Ingredients
Crust:
160 g (5.65 oz) bourbon cookies, or alternative vegan cookies
¼ teaspoon (¼ tsp) sea salt
50 g (3 ½ tbsp) vegan block butter, or coconut oil (solid)
Filling:
500 ml (17.64 oz) Guinness draught, or Guinness extra stout
300 g (10.58 oz) vegan dark chocolate, I used 70%, use vegan milk chocolate for a sweeter cake.
350 g (12.35 oz) silken tofu, drained
150 g (5.29 oz) vegan cream cheese
25 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon (1 tsp) lemon juice
pure maple syrup, to taste, optional
grated vegan chocolate, optional, for garnish
Directions
Add the Guinness to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Keep a close eye on the pan as it may bubble over the sides of the pan once heated initially. Continue to simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the mixture has reduced to 200ml. Once reduced, transfer the liquid to a heat-resistant jar and place it in a cold water bath to bring the Guinness reduction to room temperature.
Add the cookies and sea salt to your food processor and blitz for about 30 seconds until evenly finely ground. Add in the vegan butter and blend again until evenly combined and the mixture sticks together between your fingers.
Line the bottom and sides of a 7″ or 8″ cake tin (with removable base) with some parchment paper. Press the cookie mixture into the base of the cake tin, and smooth it out with a ¼ cup measure or flat bottomed glass, making sure it is compact. Set aside in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
For the filling, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add the Guinness reduction, melted chocolate, silken tofu, vegan cream cheese, cacao powder, and lemon juice to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Transfer the filling into the cake tin using a spatula to smooth it out. To get the swirl effect on top, place the cake tin on top of a turntable, and use your spatula to make a swirl print on the surface of the cake whilst spinning the turntable. Place in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours (or overnight if preferred).
Once set, remove the cake from the tin. You can use a blow torch to gently heat the sides of the pan to make it easier for the cake to slide out of the tin.
Garnish with some grated chocolate before serving.
