New cookbook lets you have dessert both ways

These days, we're aware of the benefits of plant-based eating. Having a flexible cooking repertoire also makes it easier when it comes to entertaining a group with different dietary restrictions.

When it comes to desserts, you definitely want to impress your guests. "Great British Bake Off" finalist Ruby Bhogal won't let you down with her new cookbook, "With One Bake, Two Ways: Fifty bakes with an all-plant option every time."

After her showstopper cake famously collapsed on the first-ever Vegan Week on the "Great British Bake Off," Bhogal has since proven her skills publicly, sharing new bakes and videos online, including many adaptable recipes with or without eggs, dairy, or a full plant-based twist.

Her new book offers home bakers double the options, with each of the 50 recipes presented twice: first in a traditional form and then with a plant-based alternative. Cakes, breads, pies and cookies are included with options such as chocolate fudge cake with milk chocolate fudge frosting, malt choco-nut babka with streusel top, sweet samosas with medjool date and orange, PB and J millefeuille cake with peanut butter crème patissière and white chocolate whipped cream, chai custard creams and pi?a colada meringue roulade with roasted pineapple.

For local readers, this Basque cheesecake might be of great interest. The plant-based version, which is also gluten- and egg-free, employs silken tofu and coconut cream to replace the dairy products of the traditional recipe.

"One Bake, Two Ways" ($35) is available now through Interlink Publishing and wherever books are sold.

Salted caramel Basque cheesecake with raspberries and pistachios

3 cups (700 g) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature

1? cups (285 g) sugar, preferably superfine

5 medium eggs

1? tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 cup (115 g) sour cream, room temperature

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream, room temperature

3 tbsp salted caramel sauce (recipe below), plus extra for drizzling

1/3 cup (40 g) cornstarch, sifted

Handful of fresh raspberries

Handful of pistachios, roughly chopped

Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) springform cake pan and line it with two layers of parchment paper, pressed into the pan and coming up around the sides. (It will look rustic!)

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Do not use the fan setting here; we want a slow, steady bake.

Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to beat until smooth. Once smooth, add the sugar and mix again until fully incorporated.

Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well between each addition, then add the vanilla bean paste, sour cream, heavy cream and salted caramel. Mix well.

Sift in one-third of the cornstarch, mix until combined, then repeat with the remaining two-thirds. Going slow and steady just helps to ensure the cornstarch doesn’t become lumpy.

Pour the cream mix into the prepared pan, scraping down the sides and making sure there are no clumps of cornstarch or cream cheese. If there are, pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove.

Place the pan onto a baking sheet (this will just help you remove it from the oven when the pan is hot) and put it on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes and then turn down the temperature to 350°F (180°C) for another 5 minutes until the top is darkened. It may look burned, slightly cracked around the sides, and still wobbly in the middle, but fear not, this is exactly what we are after.

Leave to cool completely at room temperature before putting into the fridge overnight to set perfectly.

Before serving, add a few spoons of salted caramel sauce to the top, and use the back of a spoon to coat and swirl it around. Pile on fresh raspberries and a generous scattering of chopped pistachios to finish.

Use a hot knife (run under hot water or hold over a steaming kettle and wipe) for that perfect velvety, caramel-drowning slice.

Plant-based salted caramel Basque cheesecake with raspberries and pistachios

1 pound and 5 ounces (600 g) silken tofu

1? cups (400 ml) coconut cream

1/2 cup (65 g) cornstarch, sifted

Generous 1 cup (225 g) sugar, preferably superfine

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Salted caramel sauce (recipe below)

Handful of fresh raspberries

Handful of pistachios, roughly chopped

Grease an 8-inch (20 cm) springform cake pan with coconut oil and line with two layers of parchment paper, pressed into the pan and coming up around the sides.

Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C). Do not use the fan setting here, we want a slow, steady bake.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the silken tofu and mix well. Go in with all the remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed to incorporate — you want this velvety smooth without overmixing.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, scraping down the sides and making sure there are no clumps of tofu. If there are, pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove.

Place the pan onto a baking sheet (this will just help you remove it from the oven when the pan is hot) and pop it onto the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes and then turn down the temperature to 400 F (200°C) for another 10 minutes until the top is golden. It may look slightly cracked around the sides and still wobbly in the middle, but fear not, this is exactly what we are after.

Leave to cool completely at room temperature, before putting into the fridge overnight to set perfectly.

Before serving, add a few generous spoons of salted caramel sauce to the top, and use the back of a spoon to swirl it on. Pile on fresh raspberries and a generous scattering of chopped pistachios to finish.

Use a hot knife (run under hot water or hold over a steaming kettle and wipe) for that perfect slice.

Salted caramel sauce

1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar

6? tablespoons (90 g) unsalted butter, cubed, or plant-based unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup (115 ml) heavy cream or plant-based heavy cream/coconut cream

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon sea salt

Grab yourself a pan that has a base with a large surface area and pour in the sugar. We are going with a dry caramel base, so you want this over medium heat. Allow it to melt down into a lovely, golden-brown liquid.

Add the unsalted butter and give it all a really good mix to emulsify.

Once the butter has been mixed in well, slowly go in with the cream, while continuing to mix. Once all the cream has been added, give it all a good mix and let it continue to cook out over medium heat for a few minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and salt, and give it one last mix before transferring to sterilized jars. Cover and put in the fridge to set, if you are not using straight away.

Note: This will cool to a firm texture. To loosen, pop in the microwave and heat in short, sharp bursts to the desired consistency.