Serves 8 to 10
This Pumpkin Cheesecake was among our favorites in Vegan Pie In The Sky! All those autumnal spices with lots of pumpkin flavor and an irresistible pecan crunch topping. It’s so delicious, it makes you feel a little funny. And don’t worry about serving this to even the biggest tofuphobe, they will not complain one bit.
While there are perfectly adequate vegan cream cheeses available in supermarkets, we wanted to come up with a cheesecake formula made with pantry-friendly ingredients, for a few reasons.
One is consistency: different brands will produce different results.
For another, some vegan cream cheeses contain hydrogenated oils. We want to bake with accessible real foods.
Also: the cost. For one recipe, if you’re talking 3 tubs of cream cheese, when all is said and done you’ve just spent a good 25 bucks on a single cheesecake. Ouch! This way, even if you do spend 25 bucks, you have ingredients that will last you awhile and make lots and lots of cheesecakes.
And lastly, well, we just think it tastes better! We worked for months and months to develop the smoothest, creamiest and richest vegan cheesecake base possible. The ingredients we landed on were soaked cashews, coconut oil, banana and silken tofu. The end result is firm but creamy, easy to work with and a dessert that’s a little difficult to not steal bites of. That’s only a bad thing if you care that by the time the guests arrive there’s already a sliver missing.
A few recipe notes before embarking on your vegan cheesecake adventure!
~For the crust, vegan graham crackers can be hard to find. If you can’t find them, you can either make your own, or use gingersnaps. We baked a few of these with gingersnaps and they were amazing!
~Soak the cashews overnight to make quick work of the recipe. You can cover them with plastic wrap if you’re afraid that your kitty will get to them.
~Although this recipe is for a fancy marbled cheesecake, you can skip that step if you’re pressed for time or would just rather not do it. Just mix everything in the filling together instead of dividing the batter and swirling.
~You can use either water packed silken tofu or the vacuum packed kind (like Mori-Nu.) If using Mori-Nu, extra firm silken works best.
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted non-hydrogenated margarine, melted coconut oil, or canola oil
1 tablespoon plain soy or almond milk.
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 tablespoons coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon nonhydrogenated margarine *or* coconut oil
Pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the oil or melted margarine.
Use a spoon to blend the mixture thoroughly to moisten the crumbs, then drizzle in the soy milk and stir again to form a crumbly dough.
Pour the crumbs into the pan. Press firmly into the bottom. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until firm. Let the crust cool a bit before filling. Keep oven on 350 to bake the cheesecake.
Make the topping:
In a mixing bowl use a fork to mash together brown sugar, margarine, and salt until crumbly, then fold in the chopped nuts and stir to coat the mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
Make the filling:
Drain the cashews and place in a blender 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 remain, a food processor or strong blender should be able to get the job done.
Set aside 1/2 cup of batter. To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust. 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 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.
This looks wonderful! Thank you.
You posted this not a full minute after I was saying to my boyfriend “I have no idea what to bring to your friends’ Thanksgiving party!” Guess that settles it!
I bow down to the cheesecake goddess. This. looks. amazing.
I nearly peed my pants when I saw this in your pie in the sky book!! I cannot wait to make this X)
I bought this cookbook just for that recipe! My first attempt at it is cooling in the fridge this very moment.
I bought the book a couple of weeks ago and can’t wait to try at least 2 or 3 of them for my first vegan Thanksgiving!
If I could, I would rake your yard and clean leaves out of your rain gutters. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
They do need cleaning…
Thank you for finding a way to make these without having to buy all those expensive tubs of vegan cream cheese! I hoard Mori-Nu so this is wonderful =)
We have this in the oven RIGHT NOW! I kid you not! We have many recipes marked in the book and this is our first one to make.
So excited to eat it. Will we be able to let it cool overnight?!?! Doubtful!
We made PPK Chana Masala too. It’s bubbling away on the stove top…
Ooh that sounds like a perfect menu. I mean, of course I would think that since they’re my recipes, but still…
Isa, I promise I just told my boyfriend (after taking your pumpkin muffins out of the oven) that I want to make a pumpkin cheesecake, but vegan cream cheese is expensive. Thank you so much!
Oh man, this might have to be my vegan contribution to T-giving dinner this year. (If I can sneak vegan food in past my family, I certainly will have something to be thankful for.)
I made this on Friday (using the book, obvs)–the flavor is amazing! My hubby has been happily gorging on it ever since. I worry that I undercooked it though. What should I look for to assess doneness in the middle (mine was pretty jiggly, for lack of a better term)?
Ok, just tried the first slices after 4 hours of chilling. Amazing! Thanks Isa, you’re brilliant!
Does it matter if the coconut oil is refined or unrefined?
YES. thanksgiving dessert? check.
I can’t wait to make this for my family & show them how much vegan desserts rock 🙂
Yum.
Can I use fresh pumpkin rather than canned one?
Same amount?
I tried it in your pumpkin cocoa loaf ans it work perfectly.
Another reason for not using bought cream cheese is for those of us who live in countries where you can’t get it (I am in South Africa)! I just unwrapped my copy of VPITS (purchased from a local online book seller) and gingerly checked the cheesecake recipes (before I read your post) to see if I was going to be disappointed and yay!! Home made cheesecake again. Thanks soooooooooooooooo much!!
Oooooh I’m cooking for an American friend on Saturday night and this may be just the thing for our dessert, a taste home with the pumpkin and pecans! Am very much looking forward to trying it out (and she’s bringing me an American measuring cup, so it’s easier for me to cook from Veganomicon!).
Oh – and canned pumpkin purée isn’t really something we can get in the UK – if I use fresh do I need to squeeze the moisture from it or do anything else?
Yep, just roast the pumpkin, squeeze through cheesecloth and puree!
This looks amazing. I don’t know if I can wait until Thanksgiving though; I think I definitely need to make a practice one this week.
One question: the silken tofu. I’d assume you mean the vacuum-packed Mori-Nu kind, but I know you’ve used the water-packed kind in recipes before. Should it be one or the other here?
Damnit, nevermind. I was obviously so excited that I missed your note about that. Sorry! That’s good to hear though, because Mori-Nu is hard to come by.
I didn’t think it was possible to love you and Terry more, but…I do. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this Tofutti-free cheesecake! I can’t wait to try it!!
Has anyone experimented with traveling with this desert? I need to make something and take it cross-country in a cooler. It would be made on Tuesday, carried on Wednesday, and consumed on Thursday. Any thoughts?
I can’t wait to try this! You guys are my heroes 🙂
My room temperature coconut oil is solid. Is that normal? My house is super cold! Should I melt/soften it a bit for the filling?
Yes it gets solid when it’s cold. No big deal, you are blending it and baking it so it will be fine.
The last pumpkin cheesecake I made (with silken tofu) tasted only like any standard pumpkin pie, no cheesecake flavor at all (the pumpkin simply was a lot stronger) – is that different here? ‘Cause if it is then it’d be worth another try 🙂
So excited about this! I’ve yet to make vegan cheesecake as I’ve always been put of by expensive recipes using 3 tubs of cream cheese or 3 cups of nuts…This looks like a real winner 🙂
heya, just wondering…is 1/4c mashed banana a typo? seems like one whole banana would be alot more mashed banana (more like 1/2c) but maybe i’m wrong? anyway i love all ur books and can’t way to try it 🙂
You’re right, it’ more like 1/2 a banana. I will fix it, thanks!
Wowza
This was the first thing I made from the book! It’s sooo good!
I just came across your site today and WOAH. Your food looks amazing! I love adding vegan meals to my repertoire and look forward to trying some of yours 🙂
i made this when i first got your book in the mail. theres a pretty pic of it on my blog kzcakes.com 🙂 i made the apple cream raisin one this weekend and it was killer. yeah buddy.
This looks amazing! Great flavors – perfect for Thanksgiving! 🙂
This looks fantastic! I was wondering if you think it would work to add extra pumpkin in place of the banana?
Yep that would be fine.
I’m THRILLED to find a cheesecake recipe without Tofutti cream cheese, which tastes like fat and chemicals to me – Thank You! Also… I’ve overcommitted and overextended myself for the Thanksgiving feast for the in-laws (again), but it sounds like I can make the crust and topping a day or two before, then bake the cake the night before, thus relieving myself of some last-minute stress. Perfect!
oh my!!!!
This looks so good! I am definitely going to try this! Thanks!
Nice, i am also allergic to pecans, which nut would i use instead which could work ? or fruit?
You can use walnuts or hazelnuts.
I tasted this at your demo at DC VegFest…..yummmm!!! Will be on the menu for Thanksgiving. Thanks for posting!!!
This looks soooooo good! I can’t wait to try it out.
Finally! As vegan cream cheese its rarely available and very expensive because imported here in Germany I was looking for a recipe without it for ages. Thank you so much!
This pie rocks my world!
This is going on my activism list, aka things to make and bring for Thanksgiving!!
Any suggestions for something I could use in place of the banana? More pumpkin?
WHOA! SUPERB! Hands down best un-cheesecake! I had not made an uncheesecake before because I hate using expensive packaged stuff as an ingredient, like branded uncream cheeses. Served it to a girls night tonight, and it was a huuuuuge hit! amongst all. I made it with gluten free graham crackers, which was an easy though pricey sub, for a delectable vegan gluten free pie. My anti-gluten/dairy friend was so happy.
Canned pumpkin puree can be purchased at Waitrose in the UK for all y’all UK peeps out there 🙂