Share
Adobe Stock
Tempted by cheesecake on a vegan diet? Learn how to make this luscious fall dessert with a recipe from Hudson Valley cookbook author Nava Atlas’s Vegan Holiday Kitchen.
Here’s a cheesecake-like version of pumpkin pie that offers a subtle chocolate twist with each bite. This tasty guilt-free treat, which you can enjoy for Thanksgiving and throughout the autumn season, proves that it’s possible to make anything vegan!
Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Makes a 9-inch pie, 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup walnuts
9-inch good-quality natural pastry crust, preferably whole grain
12.3-ounce container extra-firm silken tofu
½ cup vegan cream cheese
2/3 cup natural granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or more, to taste
1½ cups well-baked, coarsely mashed fresh sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (or use organic canned pumpkin)
½ cup chocolate chips for chocolate drizzle, optional
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Combine the chocolate chips and walnuts in a food processor and pulse on and off until finely chopped.
Scatter the chocolate chip-walnut mixture evenly over the bottom of the pie crust and set aside.
Combine half of the tofu, half the cream cheese, and half of the sugar in the container of a food processor and process until smoothly pureed. Pour into the pie crust and smooth down with a cake spatula.
Combine the pumpkin or squash pulp in the food processor with the remaining tofu, cream cheese, and sugar, along with the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Process until smoothly pureed, then pour into the pie crust over the plain tofu layer. Smooth down with a cake spatula.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the mixture is set and the crust is golden. Let the pie cool to room temperature. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges to serve.
Optional chocolate drizzle:
If you’d like to garnish each slice of pie with chocolate drizzle as shown in the photo, melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl in the microwave (start with 45 seconds) or in the top of a double boiler.
Transfer the melted chips to a pastry piping bag or, less fancy but almost as effective, a sturdy freezer bag. If using the latter, snip a tiny hole in one corner. Gently squeeze the melted chocolate over the whole pie or each individual wedge in an attractive zig-zag pattern.
Recipe is from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas.