Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cheesecake was one of these things that I thought I would never have again being vegan. I was so wrong. It's pretty simple to construct a basic and delicious cheesecake without any dairy or eggs thanks to products like tofutti cream cheese. I have tried tofu based recipes and while they were good, they didn't compare to cheesecake I was used to. This recipe seems like a lot of work because of all the steps, but it's really not. If you choose not to roast your own pumpkin it will cut off a lot of time and work, but I recommend you do.

To roast the pumpkin and make puree:

You can skip this step if you're in a hurry and just want to buy canned pumpkin puree, there's no shame in that. You'll want a pie pumpkin or some variety of small pumpkin, not one of those gargantuan ones you carve faces into. Preheat your oven to about 325 F. Cut a circle around the top just outside from the stem. Use your (clean) hand or spoon to scoop out all the innards and seeds (which you can reserve for roasting or just toss out). Place the pumpkin, top on, on a cookie sheet covered in parchment and bake for about 45-60 mins depending on the size of your pumpkin. You want it to be very soft and for the skin to come off easily. Let it cool, if possible overnight, if not you can stick it in the fridge till its cool enough to handle. Cut off all the skin and place the meat in a food processor or blender. Process till all is smooth and pureed. You want 1 cups worth once all is done, which a smallish pumpkin should produce, if you're a little under don't sweat it.


For the crust:

You also have two options here, buy a premade crust or make your own. I generally make my own that way I can add spices or use different types of cookies or what have you. Grease an 8 or 9 in round cake pan. I cut a circle out of parchment and lay in the bottom for easy removal later. Preheat oven to 350 F. For this cheesecake I prefer a gingersnap cookie. I used the Mi-Del Swedish style gingersnaps, Cherry Brook Farms also makes a good ginger cookie that would work well. Dump the whole bag in the food processor and process till its fine crumbs. Add in half cup shortening (Earth Balance is my choice) cut into about four chunks. Process till all comes together. Dump into your prepared cake pan and using a spatula press the crumb mixture into the corners and a little up the sides. Place in oven and bake about 5 mins, just enough to get it a little crunchy.

For the filling:

2 packages Tofutti Cream Cheese (or other vegan cream cheese)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice or
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs equivalent (I used Ener-G 5 tsp whisked with 6 tbs of water)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325 F. Use your mixer (stand or hand held) to smooth out the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or in a food processor, whisk or process the Ener-G egg replacer till frothy. With the cream cheese mix in the spices, salt and sugar. While blending slowly add in the egg replacer and vanilla. Blend till all is incorporated now mix in the pumpkin. Once all is blended pour mixture into crust. Bake for 45-60 mins depending on what size pan you used, an 8 in pan will need the longer time because it's a thicker cheesecake and 9 in shorter time. You want to edges to be puffy and the center slightly jiggly. When you take it out you'll want to take a knife and slide it around the edges to loosen it from the pan. Let cool to room temp then refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight. To remove from pan lay a piece of parchment over a cake round or baking sheet flip everything upside down and tap the bottom of the cake pan a few times, remove pan and your cheesecake should be upside down on your flat surface. Place you cake stand/ plate/ cake round/ whatever you want to serve your cake on against the bottom of your cheesecake, now flip everything right side up and peel off the parchment on the top. Slice and enjoy.