Homemade vegan ice cream sandwiches

Officially summer = officially time to make ice cream, even here in the Pacific Northwest. Last week, I finally got my ice cream maker out of its box, cleaned it up and stuck it in the freezer. It was time.

But then I realized I could take my ice cream one step further – ice cream sandwiches. I had never made my own ice cream sandwiches, but it’s really not that hard. It just takes a bit of time and effort, and once you’re done you’re rewarded with some pretty good tasting stuff.

How easy is it? Well, if you’re not up for baking cookies or making your own ice cream, just grab a box of your favorite vegan cookies (any should do) and your favorite vegan ice cream (vanilla is probably best) and start making sandwiches. But if you want to go the homemade route, then read on.

You can make ice cream sandwiches with any cookie. At first I thought I’d go with chocolate chip, and a part of me wanted to go with oatmeal raisin, but then I remembered a recipe for chocolate cookies I had come across a few years ago on FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I only modified the recipe a tad, and they are absolutely perfect for this summer vegan recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

• 1 cup unbleached white flour (or to make it gluten-free, use gluten-free baking flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup soy yogurt or vegan milk (if you use vegan milk, you may need to increase the flour by a tablespoon or two)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Sugar or Celtic sea salt, both optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Mix the flour, soda, and salt together and set aside.

Mixing flour, baking soda and salt

In another bowl, mix the cocoa with the granulated and brown sugars and set aside.

Mixing cocoa powder with granulated and brown sugars

Melt the vegan butter in a medium-sized saucepan. When it is completely melted, take it off the heat and add the sugar and cocoa mixture, then stir to combine.

Melting the butter, then adding cocoa mixture to it

Then add the soy yogurt or vegan milk, vanilla extract and balsamic vinegar and stir until mixed.

Mixing together cocoa mixture with vegan milk, balsamic vinegar and vanilla extract

Finally, add the flour mixture and stir just until it’s combined, but don’t over-mix.

The cookie batter finally comes together!

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Chocolate cookies ready to go into the oven

If you want your cookies to be uniformly round, instead grab a spoonful and roll it in your hands for a few seconds then place the cookie ball on the sheet. It will be more perfectly round that way.

Sprinkle lightly with your choice of vanilla sugar or Celtic sea salt (I opted for the latter on about half of the cookies), and place them in the oven.

Adding a sprinkling of Celtic sea salt to my chocolate cookies

After about five minutes, switch the pans around so that the one on top is on the bottom and the front sides are in the back. Check again in another five minutes. Be careful – depending on the type of pan you use, they can go from underdone to burned in seconds. They shouldn’t need more than 11 minutes and will look soft on top, but they’ll harden as they cool. Note that I baked these for a maximum of 10 minutes because I wanted to keep them a little on the chewy side.

Remove from the oven and transfer onto cooling racks.

A mix of small and large cookies, some with salt on top and some without

Next thing I did was make a basic recipe of coconut ice cream. I also doubled this recipe, but it’s really probably not necessary. I still have some ice cream in the freezer that I didn’t use.

The ice cream was still too soft once it was done, so I stuck it in the freezer overnight. I used a metal bowl and just covered it with plastic wrap.

Perfectly frozen coconut ice cream

I then used a melon baller scoop and scooped out a generous amount of ice cream and placed it on the bottom side of a cookie. Take another similarly shaped and sized cookie and place it bottom down on top of the ice cream and press down.

Finally - introducing the ice cream and the cookies so they can party together!

You can either do one of two things:

1. Eat it right away, but it will definitely be more messy because it will melt fast.
2. Stick in your freezer for a few hours, then individually wrap each in plastic wrap and store in your freezer for up to five days.

Yum - vegan ice cream sandwich

These are fantastic, but I would definitely allow a couple of days to prepare if you are making these totally from scratch for a party, picnic or event. I thought I’d be able to make them in one day, but the ice cream really needs to be pretty well frozen to make it easy to put these babies together.

One variation I wish I had tried: blending a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter with the ice cream mixture. That would have been pretty awesome. A good excuse to make them again!

Do you ever make ice cream sandwiches? What is your favorite combo?

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

This past weekend when I was trying to decide on what dessert to make (I was thinking apple tart), my husband was begging me to make a batch of chocolate clusters he remembered having as a child. They sounded pretty easy to make, and once I realized what they were, I was game. He grabbed the recipe from his mother who has had it for thirty years, and we were all set. I discovered pretty quickly that this is a super easy recipe, and the results are very satisfying – you get your sweet, salty and chocolate all wrapped into one little candy.

One aspect of this recipe is marshmallows. As most of you may know, standard marshmallows are neither vegan nor vegetarian. After having a less than ideal time with a bag of Dandies vegan marshmallows this past summer – the marshmallows were all clumped together – Chicago Soydairy sent me a couple of bags where the marshmallows were intact and looked exactly as a bag of marshmallows should. My only real remaining complaint about these marshmallows is that on their own they are over-the-top sweet. I wasn’t sure how they’d be in these chocolate clusters, so I was hesitant to throw them in, but I’m so glad I did. I soon discovered that Dandies are perfect when balanced with other ingredients. They added a chewiness that I came to love as I was sinking my teeth into these clusters, and the sweetness was no longer overwhelming with the less sweet flavors of chocolate, peanut butter and Rice Krispies. I’m a fan for sure, and I can’t wait to try them in other recipes.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

• 1 cup vegan marshmallows, cut into smaller pieces
• Corn starch
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup Rice Krispies, or another favorite dry cereal
• 1 12-ounce package vegan chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter, smooth

Gather together your ingredients.

Ingredients for chocolate peanut clusters

Because Dandies marshmallows are not small enough, I chose to cut each marshmallow into about four pieces.

Making Dandies marshmallows mini

The only issue with this is that the marshmallows become very sticky and can clump together. To avoid this, I put a little bit of corn starch in my hands (you only need a tiny bit!), and rubbed each marshmallow piece in between my hands until they were no longer sticky. This goes fast and is easy, plus you’ll know exactly when you’ll need more corn starch. A little goes a long way, so there’s no need to go overboard with it. Once you have all your marshmallows, put them into a large bowl.

Making cut marshmallows not sticky

Add the peanuts and Rice Krispies to the marshmallows and stir together until they are well mixed.

Marshmallows, peanuts and Rice Krispies

Get out two saucepans, one larger than the other one. You will add water to the larger saucepan (do not allow any water to get into the smaller saucepan at any point), and heat it over medium to medium-high heat. Put the smaller saucepan into the larger one so that it is resting in the water. Add the chocolate to the smaller saucepan, and stir constantly until the chocolate has fully melted.

The key here is to allow your chocolate to melt slowly so that it does not burn, and this homemade version of a double boiler works perfectly for me every time.

Melting chocolate on the stove

Once the chocolate has melted, add the peanut butter and stir well to combine.

Mixing melted chocolate and peanut butter

Take the chocolate mixture off the heat, and pour into the bowl that contains your marshmallows, peanuts and Rice Krispies. Stir the ingredients together until well mixed.

Mixing the chocolate mixture with the dry ingredients

Place a sheet of wax paper (or greased parchment paper) on a cookie sheet. Place individual spoonfuls of the chocolate peanut clusters mixture onto the wax paper.

Dropping spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture on wax paper

Place into the refrigerator and chill for about an hour or until firm.

Ready to chill

Once they are set, I recommend that you store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I found that these clusters would easily start going a little soft if the temperature in the house was too warm.

Chewy, chocolatey clusters of goodness!

I’m already trying to figure out what variations of these clusters I want to make next. I’m thinking rum soaked raisins and almonds covered in chocolate – that just sounds completely divine to me. Maybe shredded coconut, almonds and chocolate. Or instead of Rice Krispies, use coarsely crushed pretzels. So many options!

Do you have any good recipes for chocolate clusters?

Vegan chocolate truffles

Time for some sweet confessions on when I was not vegan one afternoon nearly a year ago. It was late March and I had surprised my husband with a long weekend to Cape Cod for his birthday. If you have ever been there, you’ll know that this is not exactly the best time to go to the Cape as far as weather is concerned – it’s cold, windy and rainy, but in some ways it is the best because traffic is light and innkeepers and shopkeepers are more likely to spend extra time with each customer.

Such was the case at this little chocolate shop we randomly found as we drove around exploring the area. The Chocolate Peddler is located slightly off the beaten path in Brewster, Massachusetts. When we stepped through the door, it felt more like we were walking into a parlor or salon, with a very friendly (and large) dog greeting us. The place, although small, was bursting with rich reds and golds, and we soon met the Chef Paul himself. As we were his only customers for the better part of half an hour, we got to sample more than our fair share of his very creative truffles. As soon as we thought that we had tasted the most exotic one, he’d bring out another, then another and then another.

When I used to think about truffles, I’d think of dark rich chocolate – and not much else. But that was completely turned on its head in this little chocolate shop. Think passion fruit, black pepper, mint, coffee and truffle oil. Think truffles with the names of Toes in the Sand, Georgia-Ray and Little Red Corvette. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I knew that we had stumbled upon someone who appreciates not only putting together a good quality piece of chocolate, but unexpected art.

When I was thinking a few days ago about what I wanted to make for Valentine’s Day, I realized that I wanted to make something that I’ve not yet tried. Then I thought back to that lovely little encounter with Chef Paul and I said to myself, I’ve got to make vegan truffles. I came across a very simple recipe with a lot of rave reviews and decided to use it as a base. I can’t say my truffles turned out quite so creative as those in Cape Cod, but they are dark, rich and creamy and would be perfect to give to that special someone (even if that special someone is yourself).

Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Based upon the Vegan Truffles at Recipezaar
This makes approximately 50 truffles

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate (I used Trader Joe’s Pound Plus dark chocolate)
• cocoa powder
• 1/8 cup raisins, optional
• 2 tablespoons rum or brandy, optional
• 1 or 2 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
• 2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped, optional
• powdered sugar, optional

If you choose to use rum or brandy-soaked almonds in your truffles, mix your raisins and rum or brandy together in a small bowl and set aside.

Soaking raisins in rum

Put cashews and cold water in a blender and blend at high speed for 1-2 minutes.

Blending cashews

Scrape the sides down and blend again until the mixture is the consistency of heavy cream.

Get your double boiler ready. If you do not have one, you can use two pots, with the bottom pot holding water that you will bring to high heat. This will allow your chocolate to melt more slowly, which is what you want.

Homemade double boiler

Put your chocolate in the top pan and stir constantly until it is all melted, then take it off the heat. I used a 72% dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s. This is not a bittersweet chocolate, however it still produces a very dark and rich truffle and it is vegan.

Melting chocolate

Cool the chocolate until it’s comfortable to work with and fold in the cashew cream (making sure not to stir too fast or you’ll create bubbles).

Stirring in the cashew cream

Cool the mixture in the fridge for 2 hours (to set).

Using a small spoon or melon baller, scoop up a small ball of chocolate and then roll it into a ball with your hands.

Creating my first truffle

Roll it in the cocoa powder, then set into a dish that you will use to cover and store the truffles in the refrigerator or freezer.

Rolling the chocolate truffles in cocoa powder

If you want to add filling like the rum-soaked raisins, peanut butter or pistachios, you can roll out the chocolate into a ball then flatten with your palms.

Truffle fillings and cocoa powder

Place a small amount of filling in the middle, then fold the chocolate around it and roll into a ball again. Roll the truffle in cocoa powder. Repeat until all of the truffles have been made, then store them in the refrigerator so they will set.

Adding filling to a chocolate truffle

In the end, I think these turned out well, but I think that the fillings were sparse and the cocoa powder was bitter. My suggestion, if you try these, is to increase the filling or to mix up the filling with the chocolate. I would also suggest mixing the cocoa powder with powdered sugar or rolling the truffles in an alternative ingredient like coconut or nuts.

Pistachio, rum raisin and peanut butter truffles

Have you made truffles before? What flavors did you make?

Vegan chocolate truffles

Happy and Sweet Valentine’s Day! xoxoxo

Homemade Vegan Ice Cream

Summers in New York are typically very hot and very sticky. As you walk through the heat you can feel the heavy weightiness of the humidity, and if you do not have air conditioning, you probably experience a kind of misery that only ice can abate. This summer, though, is a whole other story. We’ve had hot and humid days, but overall the weather as been extraordinarily mild and we’ve had a preference for open windows instead of electricity-sucking air conditioners. It’s been fantastic and one of the more tolerable summers during my life on the East Coast.

Even though it has been mild, we still have had a lot of excuses to make ice cream in our new KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. We’ve tried various flavors so far, and have been very impressed. Below is the base recipe you need for a nice coconut ice cream, and the options are endless to make other flavors.

Note: You can use any ice cream maker for this, but most will require that you freeze the bowl for 12 – 16 hours. Usually what we do is either keep the ice cream bowl in the freezer when we’re not using it (which takes up vital real estate), or we just stick it in the freezer the night before we plan to make ice cream.

Coconut Ice Cream
This makes enough for two people or for four people to each have a small serving. To make more I would suggest using two cans of coconut milk.

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/3 cup sugar or agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients until well combined, then chill for at least an hour. If you are using the Kitchenaid attachment, turn on the mixer to stir, then pour in the ice cream mixture and let it stir for about 15 to 20 minutes or it is at the desired consistency.

You can serve immediately, which will make it more of a soft serve, or stick it in the freezer for a few hours so it will set a little more. We prefer to eat it fresh as we haven’t found a way for it to retain its smooth consistency after it sits in the freezer.

Creamy Vegan Ice Cream

Suggested variations

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Blend about 3 tablespoons (or more or less to taste) with your other ingredients. If you like chocolate chips, you can add this towards the end of the ice cream maker’s cycle.

Mango Ice Cream (or you can do other fruits like peaches or bananas)
Add in a cup or so of frozen or fresh mango and blend well with your other ingredients. You may want to up your vanilla to 2 teaspoons. Taste test after you blend to make sure it’s exactly the flavor you want.

POM Wonderful

Pomegranate Ice Cream
To make a creamy sorbet, add about a cup of POM Wonderful juice to your other ingredients and blend well. Again – taste test. Other fruit juices or nectars could be used.

Yummy Vegan Ice Cream

Do you make vegan ice cream? If so, what’s your favorite flavor?

As you may know, I’ve made vegan cheesecake a few times. Every time I’ve made cheesecake, however, I have never made my own crust. This month’s Daring Baker’s challenge has given me the motivation and opportunity to make my own crust, which I think turned out great.

Without further ado, let’s jump into it.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Shortbread Crust

• 1 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, cream vegan butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour and baking powder, then add and blend into your vegan butter mixture.

If you are using a springform/cheesecake pan, trace and then cut a circle of parchment paper based upon the base of the pan, then brush canola oil or vegan butter on the pan, press the parchment on top and then brush oil or vegan butter on the parchment. You may also use a regular pie pan and forgo the parchment.

Press the shortbread dough into the bottom of the springform or pie pan. You may have extra dough which you can keep for another recipe. Once it’s in the pan, take a fork and poke a few holes into the dough.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Once it’s cool enough to handle, grease the sides of the springform pan with butter so that the cheesecake won’t stick.

Filling

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
• 1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan milk
• 6 squares dark chocolate (I used the Trader Joe’s brand)
• 5 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth.

Add the sugar and milk, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except chocolate and peanut butter) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove, or in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish.

You currently have about three cups of cheesecake batter. Pour one cup into a separate bowl, and pour another cup into another separate bowl. Add the melted chocolate to the one cup of cream that remains in your blender or food processor and mix until the chocolate is well incorporated.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust. Then spread it out so it is an even layer. Place in the fridge as you prepare your peanut butter layer.

Add the peanut butter, one tablespoon at a time, and one cup of plain cheesecake batter back into your blender or food processor (clean) and blend again until completely smooth. You may want to taste test at this point to make sure that the peanut butter flavor is strong enough. If not, add one tablespoon of peanut butter, blend, then taste test again. Continue in this way until you are satisfied with the flavor.

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust on top of the chocolate mixture layer, and spread it around carefully so as to not mix the two layers together. Chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Finally pour the last layer on top, which is the plain batter. Again, spread as carefully as you can to make sure it’s even and doesn’t mix with the next layer.

If you are using a springform pan, wrap the pan in several layers of foil, then place in a pan that is a little larger. Pour boiling water in the outer pan. This is a water bath, which helps the cheesecake to bake more evenly and the foil makes it so the water does not seep into the cheesecake. Finally, place the cheesecake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better).

So finally, what you should end up with is a three layered cake:

If you want the layers to be more even, I’m thinking that chilling in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes after adding each individual layer would help. I didn’t do this, but chilling the first layer for a few minutes did seem to help a tiny bit.

I think that this cheesecake turned out nicely. It had a delicate flavor and it was a more balanced cheesecake than some of the ones I’ve made in the past. Overall I’m pretty pleased with the results and would probably make this exact version again.

Have you made vegan cheesecake? How do you think it compares to the original dairy version?

Ah, we’re finally beginning to get settled in our new apartment. It’s not been fun, and if you’re considering moving I’d suggest thinking about it for a bit more before you do it. Your life gets turned upside down, and you start navigating 60+ boxes (we have been anyway), and before you know it you’ve completely forgotten what box contains that vital thing you were using every day pre-move.

One of my sole consolations with this move is the kitchen. That has made these last few weeks and months mostly worth the stress and frustration. If you have ever been to New York or seen a New York City kitchen at least in pictures or on TV, you’ll know that they are tiny. Some are reminiscent of a kitchen with barely a stove, refrigerator and at least one square foot of counter top space, and unless you pay an arm and a leg you’ll not find kitchens that are much larger than this. Ours was a railroad style and for four years my husband heard me complain constantly about how much I loathed the space. Until now.

Our kitchen is still not huge, but it is definitely bigger. We’ve got more counter top space, a full-sized stove (woo hoo!), a full-sized dishwasher (yay!), and several drawers and cabinets (before we had TWO drawers).

Anyway, we are still in unpacking mode, but I’ve managed to still churn out a few meals in the last week. Today, I decided to finally foray back into the “try something new that I can post on my blog” mode. So hooray – here I am!

Soba noodles, like whole wheat pasta, have a stronger flavor than your basic white pasta. Also known as buckwheat noodles, soba noodles can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store or in Asian food markets. They come in packages that look similar to this:

Each bunch is wrapped in paper or ribbon (not sure why – maybe to allow you to control portions more easily?), so if you plan to cook the whole package (as I did today) I’d suggest unwrapping each bunch before you put them in otherwise you’ll have noodles in varying degrees of doneness.

Soba Noodles and Asparagus in Peanut Sauce
Inspired by Ginger Peanut Soba Noodles on theppk.com

• One package soba noodles
• 1/3 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped onion

Boil or steam the asparagus until tender, then drain and cool.

Prepare the soba noodles according to package directions. If the soba noodles do not have English-language directions, you can boil them in salted water until done which is about 8-10 minutes. Note that the water will get cloudy – this is okay. Once the soba noodles are done, drain them under cold water and add a little oil to make sure they don’t stick together.

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter, water, oil and garlic powder. Stir in the onion.

Add the sauce to the noodles in a large bowl and toss thoroughly to coat.

Add the cooked asparagus and toss again.

We both enjoyed this, and would love to have it again. I wouldn’t mind trying this with Chinese cabbage or broccoli instead of asparagus, and using fresh garlic next time (didn’t have fresh on hand today). I also would be interested in trying this with cashew butter and toasted cashews as a topper. The possibilities are truly endless!

BTW – If you want it a little spicy you can add hot chili paste, which we both love (although if you’re like me and you don’t want it too hot add a TINY amount first to see how much you can handle).

One year ago we embarked on the vegan cheesecake quest. It was my husband’s birthday and I made him a cheesecake from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. We didn’t love that first cheesecake, but the texture was there, as well as the creaminess. It seemed that we had a mission. My husband had that gleam in his eyes that he sometimes gets when he sees a worthy challenge set before him. This year it’s a different gleam, because now peanut butter has entered the picture and we’ve both realized that the possible flavors are endless.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake
Many thanks to Susan at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen for giving a wonderful base for vegan cheesecake.

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
• 1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan milk
• 1/4 or 1/3 lb. dark chocolate Note that after two or three chocolate cheesecakes, we would recommend reducing the amount of chocolate – our original recommendation was 1 lb. but that really makes it too rich and overwhelming.
• 5 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 prepared graham cracker crust, vegan

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the sugar and milk, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except chocolate and crust) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe container to a point that it is soft enough to blend with the other ingredients. You can also melt it on the stove in a double boiler.

Pour half of your blended cream into a seperate bowl and then fold in the chocolate until it is fully incorporated. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust.

Add the peanut butter to your remaining cream mixture and blend again until completely smooth. You may want to taste test at this point to make sure that the peanut butter flavor is strong enough. If not, add one tablespoon of peanut butter, blend, then taste test again. Continue in this way until you are satisfied with the flavor.

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust on top of the chocolate mixture layer and bake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better).

Look at this cheesecake. It doesn’t look vegan, and it certainly doesn’t taste it either. I can’t say it tastes like regular cheesecake, but let me tell you – it is so good you’ll forget you’re eating products that never came out of a cow. I’ve tried other vegan variations and they don’t even come close to the flavor and texture of this.

So happy birthday, my dear. What shall we try next time? Hmmm?