Faux cheesecake with fruit topping

This was a dessert created out of necessity but turned out quite delicious in its own right. The task was to come up with something that was dairy free and gluten free. A flash of memory reminded me of the faux cheesecake a high school teacher of mine came up with when she had just moved to Taiwan many years ago and could not get any American cream cheese. So instead, she used fresh tofu. It ended up being a lighter and healthier version of the classic dessert that was so enjoyed by her family and guests, that even after she gained access to cream cheese again, she would substitute half the cream cheese with tofu.

So to achieve my goal, I paired an all-tofu version of the recipe with a nut crust and homemade blueberry jam for a very respectable fancy dessert! For even less calories, you can substitute the sugar with Splenda. The softer and silkier your tofu, the less prominent the taste of the tofu will be; I used firm tofu one of the two times and it ended up much firmer and a little more tofu-y, but still delicious.

I received very good feedback on both my trial run on my labmates/guinea pigs and our dinner party guests. This would be an excellent good-for-you and tasty dessert to balance out your New Year's party spread. Tofu for the win!

Faux cheesecake with fruit topping (loosely adapted from Mrs. Clifton's recipe)

Ingredients:

For crust (from Whole Foods)--

2 & 1/4 cups finely ground almonds (almond meal from TJ's is good for this, or grind your own using food processor)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

For filling--

1/4 cup sugar (or more, to taste)

pinch of salt

2 vacuum-sealed boxes of "firm" silken tofu, or 1 large container of fresh "soft" or "firm" tofu, drained

1 teaspoon of vanilla or contents of one vanilla bean

1/2 teaspoon of almond or lemon extract, or grated lemon zest

3 large eggs

1 & 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt (optional, only if dairy-allowed)

1 cup of jam or preserves, whatever flavor you want

Instructions: 

To make crust, combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine evenly. Compress evenly into bottom of a foil or parchment lined 8 or 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and allow to cool before adding filling.

To make filling, mix the sugar, salt, tofu, vanilla, lemon, and eggs (and sour cream/yogurt, if using) in a food processor and blend until smooth. I tasted briefly to adjust for sweetness; I think I ended up adding a few extra tablespoons of sugar so I could taste the vanilla profile better.

Pour filling into prepared crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes (or more), or until a knife inserted comes out clean and there is only a slight jiggle in the center of the filling when jolted. The edges of the filling may become caramelized; if it starts to get too dark on top, tent some foil on top to prevent further browning.

When done, cool completely and refrigerate at least a few hours before topping with fruit jam/preserves and serving.