sunday in the kitchen

It's Valentine's Day on Tuesday. Just a friendly reminder to all you lovers out there! And in the spirit, the boys and I made a themed birthday cake for gramma. I intended to make a chocolately cheesecake topped with a little lovey dovey flair. I charged those boys of mine with the task of making chocolate hearts that were to decorate the top of the cake. A lovely, festive topper. Or they would have been lovely...had they made it to the cake. Those boys of mine worked with such care and precision on their little decorations. They set them aside to harden and went about their day - a little snow time, a little play time...and a little sneaky chocolatey nibble? Oh yes, before I knew it the hearts had all disappeared. Nothing left but a chocolatey outline on the corners of Finn's mouth. "I didn't do it!" he argued, fully prepared to throw his brother under the bus before I showed him the evidence all over his face. Busted - both of them! With no chocolate left to make more, my cake was heartless! But still filled with lots of love!

In case you would like to add a little heart to your cakes, they are really easy to make - just melt some chocolate, put it in a piping bag (I make my piping bags out of parchment paper) and squeeze out the chocolate into the shape of hearts. 

The cheesecake that was to hold those tiny hearts?

A vegan chocolate cheesecake marbled with a lovely red surprise - beets! That's right, I used beets to turn that cheesecake a rich, Valentine's Day colour. Beets are one of my favourites - roasted, raw, pickled, juiced, and yes, often added to my baking when I want a natural, red velvety colour. 
Vegan Chocolate Red Velvet Marbled Cheesecake
1 12oz. package of silken tofu
1 8 oz. container of soy cream cheese
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C milk
1 tbsp potato starch
Place ingredients in a food processor and mix until combined. Remove 1/2 mixture into a bowl and add 1 C chocolate chips that have been melted. To the rest of the mixture in the processor, add two well-cooked beets and 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with three tbsp hot water. Process until beet is completely mixed in. Pour into crust pressed into a springform pan (the crust I used is the crust recipe used in this pie - I substituted the nuts for pumpkin seeds). Pour chocolate batter on top and gently swirl through the beet mixture using a fork. Bake at 350F for about 30-40 minutes - or until it is set.