Week 10 Dish 2: Vegan baked pumpkin cheesecake

I'm continuing with the pumpkin theme with a baked pumpkin cheesecake (my huge pumpkin yielded 15 or more cups of pumpkin pure)! This is my first baked vegan cheesecake, made with tofu. Sounds a bit weird right, tofu in cheesecake? That can't be nice...can it? Wrong wrong! It's pretty amazing how yummy it is! If you really think about it, tofu hasn't really got much taste, so it's perfect to make the cake nice and firm, and easily flavoured. So don't knock it till you've tried it...I'm taking it to my friend's for dinner so I hope everyone loves it, fingers crossed (I'm not really worried :p).

Ingredients
For the crust
1 1/4 cups finely ground digestive biscuits (I used Asda's own brand, which seem to be vegan from the ingredient list)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp metled coconut oil
1 tbsp soya milk
For the filling
1/2 cup whole cashews soaked in water for ~4-5 hours (overnight would be good too but if you've forgotten, roughly chop them and then soak for 2-3 hours to make it easier)
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half a banana)
340-400g pack firm silken tofu, drained
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup pecans. roughly chopped
Method
The crust

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9 inch springform cake tin with vegan margarine.
2. In a bowl mix together the ground biscuits and sugar, then add the coconut oil. Combine with a spoon then add the soya milk and continue to stir until completely mix (should be crumbly but sticky).
3. Pour crumbs into the tin and press firmly into the bottom to form an even base. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and allow to cool. Keep oven at same temperature for the cheesecake.

The Filling

1. Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the banana, tofu, sugar, coconut oil, cornflour, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup of batter. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the remaining batter and blend again until smooth. Poor into the cake tin on top of the crust. 
3. Spoon dollops of the reserved batter randomly onto the cheesecake, then poke the end of a chopstick into the dollops and gently swirl to create a marble pattern.
4. Bake the cheesecake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven halfway and sprinkle on the topping (instructions below) before returning to the oven to continue baking. It is done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, removing the sides of the tin as soon as you can. Transfer to the fridge to complete cooling for at least 3 hours (overnight is better). Slice with a thin sharp knife dipped in cold water to serve! Doesn't it look amazing?? Tastes even better...

The topping

1. In a bowl mix together the margarine and sugar until well combined, then add the chopped nuts and stir to coat with the mixture. This is now ready to use.

Original recipe: Pumpkin cheesecake with pecan crunch topping

I have to say, all the pumpkin recipes (including the bread) are from Post Punk Kitchen - all their recipes just look so amazing! Definitely check out their site if you get the chance!

Vegan, gluten free cashew cheesecake (no-bake!)

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a while. I absolutely love cheesecake and it's always my dessert of choice when I'm out for a meal. So I was a bit apprehensive about how this would turn out, and boy was I shocked at how good it tastes!! Simply delicious! And my whole family loved it too! I am definitely going to experiment with flavours in the future, so watch this space. In the meantime, I urge you to try this recipe, it's really worth it. Just bear in mind it does need at least 4 hours of cashew nut soaking beforehand and about 2 hours after for it to set.

Ingredients
For the crust
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecan, or almond, or other nut of preference) - no soaking required
1/2 cup soft pitted dated, soaked for 5 minutes
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
pinch of salt
For the filling
2 1/4 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drained)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (this is what helps hold it together so don't substitute it for anything else)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Prepare the crust first. In a food processor, chop the dates, nuts, desiccated coconut and salt. Process until it holds together when you press it between 2 of your fingers. I didn't soak the dates beforehand so I needed to add a little bit of water. Set aside.
2. Add the cashews, agave nectar/ honey, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla into a blender and blend well. Make sure it's completely smooth - blend more to be on the safe side.
3. Press the crust into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form cake tin. Pour the filling on top and freeze for at least 2 hours. To serve, let it thaw for about 30 minutes and cut into slices - I did 12 because it is quite heavy and filling, but do 8 if you prefer bigger ones :)

Original recipe: Raw cashew cheesecake
Store any leftovers in the fridge if it's not eaten straight away.