Monday, October 30, 2017

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust


It's fall and pumpkin flavored everything is back again.  I'm a big pumpkin fan myself.  I've been making my pumpkin pie smoothie every morning for breakfast for the last month.



You can get the recipe here: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Today I made a vegan pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust. It will work perfectly for Thanksgiving, but add a chocolate spider web to the top and it also works as a Halloween treat.  
Grind up some of your favorite gingersnaps to make the crust.  You can do this in a food processor or put the gingersnaps in a plastic bag and bang on them with a rolling pin.  Either way works.  Mix the crumbs with some non dairy butter and a little bit of flour and pat them into the bottom of a 8" greased springform pan.


To make the filling I used Kite Hill non dairy almond cream cheese.  I think it's by far the best tasting non dairy cream cheese available.  I also used Follow Your Heart's VeganEgg substitute.


You can use an offset spatula to smooth the top of the cheesecake in order to have a nice surface to decorate.  There are lots of pictures and videos to watch if you want to top this with a chocolate spider and web as I did.  Just melt some chocolate chips to about 80 and pipe away.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Makes 8 servings - Use organic ingredients whenever possible

For the crust:
1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
4 tablespoons non dairy butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 350˚
Grease an 8" springform pan
Combine the cookie crumbs, flour and the melted butter
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan
Bake for 10 minutes and let cool

For the filling:
2 8oz tubs of non dairy cream cheese (I use Kite Hill)
1 cup unbleached sugar
2 tablespoons Follow Your Heart Egg substitute mixed with 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch 
(add another tablespoon if you want a very firm cheesecake)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can pureed pumpkin

Put the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer
(or you can use a hand mixer)
Mix on low until combined and smooth
Add the egg substitute, vanilla and vinegar
Mix on low speed until combined
Mix together the cornstarch and spices
Add the starch and spices to the cream cheese mixture
Mix on low until combined
Add the canned pumpkin and mix on low until combined
Pour the filling into the prepared pan.
Bake for 50 minutes
Turn off the oven, open the oven door several inches and leave the cooked cheesecake in the oven for an hour to cool
Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 3 hours before taking it out of the pan.

If you want to decorate the top, melt some chocolate chips to 80 degrees.  Use a plastic bottle or piping bag to decorate.

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