Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
A delicious gluten-free vegan pumpkin cheesecake, with a creamy rich texture filled with the some of the best flavors of autumn.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6" cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Crust ingredients:
Note: See notes at the end of the recipe below for baked crust alternative*
- 1 ¼ cups raw almonds {or another nut}
- 6 soft medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
White Layer Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, presoaked and strained {soak overnight for best results, or soak in boiling water for 20 minutes if in a rush}, at room temp
- 3 tbsp lemon juice, at room temp
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk, at room temp
- 6 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice), room temp
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- dash of salt
Pumpkin Layer Ingredients:
- White layer mixture, minus ¾ cup of it, which should be set aside (see step 4)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, liquified
- 1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree, room temp
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Place all crust ingredients into a food processor and process into a sticky crumble. Transfer into a 6"springform pan and shape into a crust {either by flattening it entirely to the bottom, or pushing it up the sides a little for a taller crust effect}. Set aside.
- Place all white layer ingredients into a high-speed blender {I used my Vitamix for this recipe} and process until mixture is smooth. Scoop out about ¾ cup of this mixture into a bowl and set aside.
- Add pumpkin layer ingredients to the blender to the remaining mixture and blend until mixture is smooth and uniform.
- Pour pumpkin cheesecake mixture into the crust in the springform pan. Smooth out the mixture a little using a spatula. Pour white layer ingredients (that were set aside earlier) on top of the pumpkin layer, being careful not to mix the two layers in the process {you can freeze the pumpkin layer for about 20 minutes first if you like to help it firm up, which makes adding the white layer without having the two layers mix up a lot easier}. Gently smooth out the surface.
- Freeze the cheesecake for 4-5 hours {or overnight} to set, and then transfer and store in the fridge until ready to serve. You can also have it straight out of the freezer as a pumpkin ice-cream cake, but when you have it out of the fridge it has the consistency, texture, and flavor of a real cheesecake {and that’s just how I like mine :) }. Enjoy!
Notes
* Baked crust alternative: Ingredients: 3 tbsp coconut oil (melted), 3 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract, 7 tbsp pumpkin puree, dash of salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup coconut flour, 3 tbsp tapioca flour. Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350F. Oil a 6″ springform pan and set aside. Place coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin puree, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a smooth consistency (note: if you don’t have an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients in a regular blender and then pour into a mixing bowl). Add coconut and tapioca flours and mix well using a wooden spoon until everything is thoroughly combined. Scoop out the mixture into the springform pan. Use your hands to press the mixture down along the bottom and up around the walls of the pan forming a tall crust (should be about 1/16 – 1/4″ thick everywhere). Use a fork to pierce some holes along the base of the crust to prevent bubbling during baking. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the crust to cool in the pan on a wire rack. Go to step 4 of the recipe to add the filling to the cheesecake and follow directions from there.
