November 3, 2015 | 0 Comments

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (Gluten-Free, No-Bake)

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)

Perhaps this isn’t exactly a most-welcome treat for the fat-phobic, as it is loaded with fats–fatty goodness, that is–the benign, good-for-your heart MUFA and PUFA (mono and poly-unsaturated) fats. With all the cashews, almonds, pecans, and avocado oil, you can almost literally go nuts with this not-so-skinny deal! But we love well-behaved fats, and we are thrilled about what they do to our HDL levels. This pie, however, is not only brimming with essential fatty acids, but it is naturally sweetened, too (with dates), a titillating addition that complements the fragrance of the pumpkin spices. So while you reap the health benefits of the good fats and pumpkin, you are also free from the negative effects of added refined sugar.

And while it does some good for your heart, your heart will love it back…

Why?

There’s so much flavor accompanying the velvety richness, only to be enhanced by the natural sweetness of pumpkin and dates and highlighted by the cinnamon aroma. More like an innocent decadence than a guilty pleasure, this pie is the perfect blend between the sweet, the gently spicy, and the frozen. To put it more clearly, it’s more of a cross between pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and ice-cream. As it may be little off-beat version of the much loved pumpkin cheesecake, I still find it an admirable nod to autumn tradition!

It’s a perfect, healthy dessert for autumn evenings, afternoon tea, or Thanksgiving for the food-conscious, so you may want to keep the extras in the freezer. It’ll come in handy when it’s time for your daily nuts serving, or simply during a sweet craving. And while the main ingredients are the cashew nuts, there’s no “crunchiness” about the filling whatsoever–instead, this pie’s creamy texture is down to the softness of pre-soaked, well-blended cashews–making it more like an ice-cream cake (when it’s newly out of the freezer) or cheesecake (when it’s been out for around half an hour or more).

This little goody also provides tons of nutrients–so as you can see, the calories are not empty! You get good value for what you pay for (in calories, of course). Nutrition-wise, it’s uber rich in manganese (providing 70% of RD value), Copper (38%), Magnesium (29%), Vitamin E (21%), and Phosphorus (20%). It is also a very good source of potassium, iron, zinc, and calcium.

Here’s the nutritional assessment for each piece:

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup almond flour
10-12 dates
Pinch sea salt
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup cocoa powder (optional–ditch for the “blonde” version of the crust)

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups cashews (soaked overnight)
1/4 cup almond milk
3 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
1/2 cup date syrup (made from date concentrate)
1/3 cup mashed pumpkin
Pinch sea salt
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (take from a mix of: 1/4 cup ground cinnamon, 4 tsp ground nutmeg, 4 tsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp ground allspice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

To make the crust, first blend the pitted dates until they form a thick paste.
Add the rest of the crust ingredients, one by one, as the food processor is blending. Pulse for around one minute.
Press the crust onto a push pop pan (preferably one lined with parchment paper)
To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together in a blender and blend well, for around 5 minutes.
Pour the filling into the pan, above the crust.
Freeze the ‘cheesecake’ for at least 6 hours or overnight.
When you want to serve the cheesecake, leave for around 15 minutes before slicing it.

Enjoy it! And please don’t forget to leave your feedback and comments! 🙂

-Roula