Matcha Tofu Cheesecake 豆腐チーズケーキ

This was yet another cake I made for another friend's birthday last year. My BFF's birthday actually.

 Matcha Tofu Cheesecake 豆腐チーズケーキ

My BFF and I go waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. We have been friends since the first day of primary school (even though we were not in the same class) as we took the same school bus. I stuff her with all my baked goodies (whenever possible), and for her birthday, it was no exception.

I know for sure she loves matcha, and she also likes cheesecakes. So I decided to try making a matcha cheesecake for her. I had tried a tofu cheesecake at a local bakery before, and thought it was pretty good as the texture of tofu cheesecake is lighter and not as cloying as regular cheesecake. So tadah - matcha tofu cheesecake.

I suck at cake decorating. Like seriously. So I wanted to keep things simple with a dusting of some powder atop the cake. But I didn't want to just dust the powder atop the the cake. I wanted it to look pretty. I mean, it's a birthday cake! I'm not sure how I got the idea in my head to layer chopsticks in a criss-cross pattern atop the cake before shaking the matcha powder liberally over it. I was actually pleased with the final results (after carefully removing each chopstick slowly to ensure that the design was not mussed up).

Matcha latte

I actually thought the cake was pretty good, the creamy and sweet tofu cheese filling coupled well with the salty crunchy biscuit base. I really liked that it was not too rich and a slice of it went well with a mug of matcha latte. The cheesecake was a breeze to whip up, as it didn't take too much time to prepare everything (minus chilling time).

I was slightly irked at the less than perfect texture, cos there was still teeny tiny bits of tofu scattered in the filling. I reckon that was because I had drained the tofu before mixing it all up, so the tofu was not very silken smooth, but slightly clumpy, so it probably affected the mixing process. Not sure if I was supposed to drain the tofu, but if I were to make a tofu cheesecake again, I will not do so and see if there's any difference.

Matcha Tofu Cheesecake 豆腐チーズケーキ (adapted from Jessica's recipe here)
(makes a 8" round cake)

Biscuit base
200g digestive biscuits
80g butter, melted and cooled
pinch of salt

Crush the digestive biscuits into fine crumbs - you can use the food processor to do so (I stuffed the biscuits into a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to roll over a couple times). Transfer to bowl, add salt. Pour melted butter and mix well.
Press the mixture in an even layer onto a greased 8" cake tin with a removable bottom.

Cheesecake filling
300g silken tofu
250g cream cheese
200g icing sugar
200g vanilla yoghurt
50g milk
1-2 tbsp matcha powder
15g gelatin powder
50ml warm water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Place the warm water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin powder over. Stir and set aside.
Place the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, beat with electric mixer until well combined, for about a minute or so.
Add the gelatin mixture at the end, mixing in thoroughly.
Remove the cake tin from the freezer. Pour the tofu cheesecake filling onto the biscuits layer.
Chill in the fridge for a few hours, or until firm to the touch.
Unmold from the cake tin, decorate as you like, slice and serve.