My dessert of choice to round out our vegan Thanksgiving was Pumpkin Cheesecake. The small obstacle was using the ingredients I have onboard or are available for purchase in Grenada. I’ve never seen vegan cream cheese on any of the islands so got that route was not an option. Pumpkins
are a plenty seemingly everywhere this time of year and I wanted to use what was available locally instead of going with canned but you can use canned pumpkin if you want. Also hard to find are graham crackers (for the crust) so I used ginger snap cookies and I would do it again even if I could find graham crackers- they worked and tasted great!
Some other hints to consider are: the banana-even though it’s a small amount of banana it does add to the flavor so if you’re a big fan of banana taste feel free to use a ripe banana but if not you might want to use a less ripe one (but not totally green.) Finally, if you use a fresh pumpkin your cheesecake will be much milder in color- making your cheesecake swirl will still work but it will be a more subtle look.
Here goes, it’s pretty easy really. This recipe was re-created using Isa’s recipe from “Vegan Pie in the
Sky.”
What you’ll need (for the crust):
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted non-hydrogenated margarine, or canola oil)
1 tbls. plain soy or almond milk.
What you’ll need (for the filling):
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half of 1 medium-sized banana)
1 12 to 14 oz package silken tofu (drained)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbls. coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
What you’ll need (for the topping):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbls. coconut oil (or margarine)
1 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
Dash of Salt
What’s Next (for the crust):
-Preheat oven to 350 & spray or grease a 9” spring form pan (or a pie plate if you don’t have the pan)
-In a medium bowl crush the crackers/cookies until they are in fairly fine pieces & then stir in the sugar. Drizzle w/the oil (or margarine) until moist then slowly stir in the milk to form a crumbly mixture.
-Pour the crumbs into the pan and press down firmly to form the crust w/your hands or using a fork
-Bake 8-12 minutes then remove from oven (keep oven on for the cheesecake)
What’s Next (for the topping):
-In a medium bowl use a fork to mix together the sugar, margarine/oil, and salt until crumbly.
-Add in the chopped nuts & stir to combine- set aside until ready to use
What’s Next (for the filling):
-Drain the cashews and place in a blender or food processor with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew are left.
-Set aside 1/2 cup of batter (optional- if you don’t want to make your cheesecake marble style don’t set any filling aside.) To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust.
-(If you reserved ½ the filling)Randomly spoon dollops of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a batter blob and gently swirl to create a marble pattern; repeat with the remaining dollops.
-Bake the cheesecake for a total of 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake halfway through baking and sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for
about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better if overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.
It’s magnificent stuff. If you have another recipe for me to try, please comment-We really like cheesecake!
are a plenty seemingly everywhere this time of year and I wanted to use what was available locally instead of going with canned but you can use canned pumpkin if you want. Also hard to find are graham crackers (for the crust) so I used ginger snap cookies and I would do it again even if I could find graham crackers- they worked and tasted great!
Some other hints to consider are: the banana-even though it’s a small amount of banana it does add to the flavor so if you’re a big fan of banana taste feel free to use a ripe banana but if not you might want to use a less ripe one (but not totally green.) Finally, if you use a fresh pumpkin your cheesecake will be much milder in color- making your cheesecake swirl will still work but it will be a more subtle look.
Here goes, it’s pretty easy really. This recipe was re-created using Isa’s recipe from “Vegan Pie in the
Sky.”
What you’ll need (for the crust):
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted non-hydrogenated margarine, or canola oil)
1 tbls. plain soy or almond milk.
What you’ll need (for the filling):
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half of 1 medium-sized banana)
1 12 to 14 oz package silken tofu (drained)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbls. coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
What you’ll need (for the topping):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbls. coconut oil (or margarine)
1 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
Dash of Salt
What’s Next (for the crust):
-Preheat oven to 350 & spray or grease a 9” spring form pan (or a pie plate if you don’t have the pan)
-In a medium bowl crush the crackers/cookies until they are in fairly fine pieces & then stir in the sugar. Drizzle w/the oil (or margarine) until moist then slowly stir in the milk to form a crumbly mixture.
-Pour the crumbs into the pan and press down firmly to form the crust w/your hands or using a fork
-Bake 8-12 minutes then remove from oven (keep oven on for the cheesecake)
What’s Next (for the topping):
-In a medium bowl use a fork to mix together the sugar, margarine/oil, and salt until crumbly.
-Add in the chopped nuts & stir to combine- set aside until ready to use
What’s Next (for the filling):
-Drain the cashews and place in a blender or food processor with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew are left.
-Set aside 1/2 cup of batter (optional- if you don’t want to make your cheesecake marble style don’t set any filling aside.) To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust.
-(If you reserved ½ the filling)Randomly spoon dollops of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a batter blob and gently swirl to create a marble pattern; repeat with the remaining dollops.
-Bake the cheesecake for a total of 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake halfway through baking and sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for
about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better if overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.
It’s magnificent stuff. If you have another recipe for me to try, please comment-We really like cheesecake!
RSS Feed
