Happy United Cheesecake Holiday!

Yes it’s been a while. That whole Vegan Month of Food thing had me blogging way more than was comfortable. So I became a bad blogger for the month of Dec. Oh well, you can’t expect much from a chocolatier this time of the year.

And what time of year it is? Well… it’s United Cheesecake Holiday! Yes, this is really the only holiday we need to celebrate in December. From the 20 – 27th it’s all about the cheesecake. Even non-vegan cheesecake. (That’s where the UNITED part comes in.) Gifts are frowned upon but homemade or food related are permitted. And… that’s about it. No trees, no candles, no weird dudes in weird suits, no angels… it’s just about the cheesecake. You don’t have to feel bad if you are alone on United Cheesecake Day (December 25) because just as long as you have a piece of delectable cheesecake in front of you you are NOT alone.

This cheesecake recipe is from my new book. Which is apparently out after 3 years. I started writing the thing in 2003, just after the first book was done. You wanna talk broken heart from an inanimate object? Well what happened with this book in all those years has crushed me and dulled my interest in my own creation. It’s a story that tires me out telling it, so you won’t be reading it here… although it would for sure make a teary eyed entry (I’m exaggerating a little here 😉 )

Double Decker Chocolate Mint Cheezecake

Yield: 8 or 9-inch pie

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tub vegan cream
cheese (8 ounces)
1 cup firm tofu
3/4 cup soy yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2 tablespoons
crushed candy cane
1/4 teaspoon mint
extract
chocolate cookie  crust (see below)
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Melt chocolate in a double boiler
(or a smaller pot on top of a larger pot of simmering water.)
2. Blend all ingredients except candy cane, mint extract and chocolate.
3. Take out 1/3 of this mix. Add the melted chocolate to the 2/3 still in the
blender and blend well.
4. Pour the chocolate into the pie crust. Mix the candy cane and mint
extract into the remaining 1/3 mixture and pour this on top of the chocolate. Bake for 50 min.

chocolate cookie
crust:
1 1/4 cups chocolate
cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons oil
Mix together, press into pie pan.

Hopin’ you like that lovelies…

Broken Heart Vegan Tip #22: If you are alone during these kinds of holidays it is imperative that you either find people to spend it with, or construct a plan to make the day really interesting, weird, or just pamper yourself. Holidays can break your heart, but you have an enough in your arsenal to fight against it. After all – it’s all in your head. All the pressure to have a partner or family during this time of year is mere construction of outside forces. You can be happy being alone. You are awesome!

Broken Heart Song #22