Vegan Black Forest Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 cup vegan butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate or carob powder
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

• 1 cup fresh or frozen seedless cherries
• 350g soft tofu
• 1 cup of cashew nuts without salt
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 heaped tablespoon of coconut oil.
• 1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of dark chocolate or carob chips

For the Cherry topping:

• 2 cups frozen seedless cherries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch diluted in 2 tablespoons of water

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. To make the dough, mix the dry ingredients and set aside. With a mixer, beat the vegan butter with the sugar until creamy. Add the dry ingredients and form a dough.
3. In a cheesecake pan, place the dough pressing to cover the entire surface in with a consistency in thickness all throughout. 
4. Bake the dough for 12-15 minutes until it is dry. Let cool.
5. For the filling, blend the cashew nuts with the water until you have a very creamy mixture. If necessary, add more water until you have a mayonnaise-like consistency.
6. The cherries should be cooked in a little water for 10 minutes, and place this mixture in a sieve to obtain only the pulp of the fruit and not the liquid.
7. Place the drained cherries in the blender along with the cashew cream. Add the tofu, honey or sugar, coconut oil and vanilla, and blend well.
8. Melt the chocolate or carob chips by putting them in a double boiler or in a microwave oven for just a few seconds just until they are soft, away from the heat, mix until melted. Pour the melted chocolate or carob chips into the blender with the other mixture and  blend well until it is very creamy.
9. When the dough is very cold, line the sides of the pan with parrchment paper, and pour in  the filling mixture in the middle on top of the baked dough. 
10. Refrigerate overnight.
11. Decorate with cherry compote and whipped vegetable cream on top.