RECIPE :: Lemon and strawberry cheesecake

Ingredients
Base
100g of ground hazelnuts,
175g of flour,
60ml of sunflower oil and
60ml of maple syrup.

Cheesecake bit
340g/12oz of soft silken tofu,
100g of unrefined sugar,
150ml of milk,
3tbsp of arrowroot powder,
2 large lemons,
1tbsp of vanilla extract and
½ tsp of salt.

Strawberry topping
400g of fresh strawberries,
125ml and 2tbsp of milk,
50g of sugar,
1½ tbsp of agar flakes,
2tsp of arrowroot,
1tbsp of vanilla extract and
1tsp of lemon zest.

Method
1) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190C / 375F.
2) To make the base; combine the hazelnuts and flour, then mix in the oil and maple syrup.
3) Push the nutty base into the bottom of a 9" spring-form cake tin and give it a 2cm high side to hold the cheesecake mix together.
4) To make the cheesecake bit; add the juice of the lemons and other ingredients to a blender and whiz away until smooth. Mix in the zest of one of the lemons into the cheesecake mix. Pour over the base and bake for 45 minutes.
5) Once the cake has been cooked and cooled you can make the strawberry topping. Start off by pushing the strawberries through a metal sieve to extract about 250ml of pulp.
6) Place 125ml of milk, strawberry pulp, sugar and agar flakes into the saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Make sure that the agar flakes have been fully dissolved.
7) Mix the arrowroot with the rest of the soya milk. Add to the hot liquid and stir continuously for two minutes.
8) Switch off the heat and mix the vanilla extract into the strawberry topping.
9) I often find that this topping can curdle. If this happens, place the topping into a blender and whiz until smooth.
10) Pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle the lemon zest over the cake. Put in the fridge for 1 hour to set.