The Veggie Gal

There are so many pumpkin cheesecakes out there on the Internet but I really wanted a more subtle pumpkin taste to the cheesecake so I made a Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake.  This one took some time for me to come up with because I went through about 20 different vegan and non vegan plain & pumpkin cheesecake recipes to figure out how I was going to make my own version of all of those.  I had written down all the ingredients I wanted in mine and then I just flew from there tasting as I went to see how the end result would turn out, hoping of course for an amazing dish.  Well, I’m proud to say DAMN this is good!

It is pretty darn easy to make and except for having to wait the 3-4 hours for it to set up and chill in the fridge it is pretty quick too, well for a three step dish.

I will include my own sweet cranberry recipe but really it is not too much different than most out there, how much variation can there be!  I am not making it a different post but if you are here looking for just that well, you might get tempted by the cheesecake and get a two for one.  My daughter does not like the cranberry on it but the rest of us do.  It does give it a tart to go along with the sweet/richness so omit it if you don’t like that combo.

**FYI, I figured I would start to mention the brands I buy just in case you are new to vegan eating and are not sure what to get.  I am by no means endorsing any of the brands (unless I say so) since I live in a small town now I basically get what I can get unless I order online.  If I love something I will add it to my substitution page and say so.   I bought New Morning Organic Cinnamon Grahams and they are pretty darn good and I used Toffuti’s non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese (in the yellow tub).  I also used Silk’s non flavored creamer and I usually buy the organic Florida Crystals vegan sugar although I am not ever going to say that I don’t eat other things that read vegan by accident that have sugar in them, my life is already too stressful to worry about the tiny details, I do the best I can!

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry Sauce
Serves 6-8

Crust:
1 1/2 c ground graham crackers (**see above for brand)
5 Tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread
(If your graham crackers are not very sweet you could add 1/4 cup of sugar)

Cheesecake part 1 cream cheese:
2 tubs of cream cheese, softened (** see above for brand)
1 cup sugar (** see above for brand)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 eggs worth Ener-G egg replacer
1 pinch cardamom

Cheesecake part 2 pumpkin: this makes enough for 2 cheesecakes so I freeze the second half for the next time I make one or you can use it for your favorite pumpkin recipe.  
1 can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring (or vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons vegan creamer (**see above for brand) (or full fat soy or almond milk)  If you can’t find anything just omit it
2 eggs worth Ener-G egg replacer

Cranberry Sauce:
6 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 cup of sugar
1 cup orange juice (I used orange pineapple blend since that is what I had)
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon lemon extract or zest of 2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan then mix in the graham crackers and sugar if using.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a pie tin or spring-form pan then set aside.

For the cheesecake part 1 mix up the egg replacer equaling two eggs per the box instructions but making sure to really whip it up well.  One trick I have found it pouring in the water, stirring then let it sit for a minute then whip well.  Then in a medium bowl mix softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, cardamom & egg replacer liquid with a hand-mixer or a tabletop mixer to whip it well then set aside the bowl.

For the cheesecake part 2, prepare the egg replacer per box instructions then in a medium bowl mix the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, maple flavoring, cardamom, salt, sugar, creamer and egg replacer liquid with a hand-mixer or a tabletop mixer to whip it well then set aside the bowl.

Pour half of the cheesecake part one onto your prepared crust.  Pour half of the pumpkin mix into a storage bowl and freeze for the next time you make this cheesecake.  Then talk half of what is left and place it in dollops across the top usually a tablespoon amount at a time separated by about a half inch.  With a butter knife swirl the two together making sure to make it pretty .  Repeat this process with the rest of each part.  I do it in two parts because you would have too much pumpkin to make a nice swirl doing it all at once.  If you want it a to be a little thicker and taste more cheesecake-ish then just split the pumpkin filling into thirds, then you have enough for 3 of them!

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the sides begin to pull away and it starts to crack a bit, it will be a little lose in the middle but that is ok.  Allow to cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for 3-4 hours to set up well.  I usually make it the night before so it is ready for dinner the next day or you could do the morning for dinner too.

Prepare the cranberry sauce an hour before you want to eat your cheesecake.  Place all the ingredients into a pan and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes stirring well so you don’t burn it.  Then mash half or more of the cranberries with a fork and remove from the burner to cool until you eat.

When you are ready to eat it use a wet butter knife to loosen the sides of the cheesecake, re-wetting when needed.  Do the same for when you slice it making sure to wet the knife between each piece so that it does not break apart or pull up half of the slice.  Top with cranberry sauce if desired and ENJOY!  YUM.

Back to Top

Tags: Dessert, Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan pumpkin cheesecake, vegan pumpkin pie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Lately I have been learning more about the RAW food diet and decided for my son’s 3rd birthday I would make a RAW-Vegan Cheesecake. I also made a non raw vegan chocolate cake since chocolate is his FAVORITE thing. He had a piece of both cakes along with some vegan chocolate ice cream. He was spinning around with quite a sugar high after that.

I have to say this is not my own recipe it is the standard one that is all over the Internet and who knows who the originator of it was. I did make my own little adjustments to it so I will just post it exactly as I made it since it turned out AMAZING!

I had a couple of pieces left over so my daughter took them over to her friends house and they all loved it so much they made it for their daughter’s birthday the next week!

As anyone who was researched raw foods knows that raw food recipes can be full of fat because of the nuts and the use of oils. I am usual one to keep the oils to a minimum in my recipes but I did not follow that rule here at all.

This cheesecake is fresh, amazingly tasty and full of fat but some would say it is the “good” fat, you decide that for yourself or just forget about it and enjoy an amazing piece of RAW-Vegan Cheesecake!

I am going to post some of his birthday party pictures below and some of them are blurry but I HAD to share anyway. My camera died after the cheesecake pics so I had to use grandma’s and it would not work well for me (I’m sure user error-duh!).

The official birthday cake was a chocolate cake (the recipe is not posted here-was one I found on vegweb) so everyone had two choices. I hand made the frosting and used a all natural food coloring and it did not turn out the color I wanted. I was supposed to be a red and blue but ended up pink and purple but he did not even notice.

RAW-Vegan Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Makes 1 pie tin

Crust:
2 cups raw nuts of your choice (I used a combo of pecans, macadamia and cashews)
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup shredded, dried coconut

Filling:
3 cups raw cashews (I only had 2 1/2 cups so I used 1/2 cup macadamia and yummy), soaked overnight or a couple hours minimum if you don’t have a vita-mix
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 water
1/4 cup lemon juice (could use lime too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (set in a warm bowl-do not heat if keeping it really RAW)
Shake or two of sea salt

Raspberry Sauce:
1/2 bag frozen raspberries
4-6 dates to taste
1/4 cup agave or more to taste and thickness desired (supposed to be runny enough to drip over cheesecake)

Start with making the crust first by blending the nuts and dates in a food processor or vita-mix until well broken down and you can squeeze it together between your fingers.  Add the shredded, dried coconut and blend for a second or two more.   Press into a 9 inch pie tin, making sure to press up the sides to the top.  Set aside.

Drain the nuts from the soaking water then blend them along with the agave, water, lemon juice, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and salt until very smooth.  You can adjust the flavor as needed here.

Pour filling into prepared crust, tap on the counter to remove bubbles and smooth the top.

Place into the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours or until very firm or even slightly frozen.  This cheesecake is best taken from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving so it is still cold and firm.  If it is left out too long it has a key lime pie consistency, which some like but I don’t so you decide.

Next make the raspberry sauce by blending the raspberries, dates, and agave together until very smooth.  Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat the cheesecake.

When ready to serve you can cut it easily with a knife because it is frozen.  Place each piece onto a plate and top with desired amount of raspberry sauce.  ENJOY!

Here are the promised (some blurry) birthday pictures of Jaden’s 3rd birthday.  Again, as mentioned above the chocolate cake is not a recipe I have posted on my blog, it was a quick one I grabbed off vegweb then I made my own homemade icing.  Those pink and purple colors were supposed to be red and blue but the natural food coloring was not working as I hoped and I’m too cheap to use as much as it would have taken to make it the right color.  He did not even notice the wrong color but was excited to eat it and the cheesecake too.  I had some left over vegan chocolate bunnies from Easter so I shredded it onto the cake for it to look even more yummy.

We spent the day at grandma’s house and she has a great backyard pushed up against a golf course so the kids played in the yard.  When they came in they were covered in mosquito bites so it is time to whip up some homemade mosquito repellent ( I will share it) grrr bugs!  Can vegan’s kill bugs with good conscious, hmmm??? I won’t tell

Happy Birthday

Time to blow out the mesmerizing candles (or should I touch them?)

Yuuumm CHOCOLATE!

Kairi has lost her 4 front teeth, plus Jaden running after his cousin

Headed in to sit on the brick wall and talk

Kairi made it but they kids are gone too fast, cute pic of her hanging out

Adorable picture, I wonder what they were talking about?

Back to Top

Tags: Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Raw cheesecake, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I thought vegan cheesecake might taste weird or gross without having regular cream cheese and sour cream, especially since I don’t love the vegan versions of those two things.  WOW I was wrong!  It is so creamy, rich and delicious!  Be careful though it is NOT low fat and something to have on the rare occasion.

Many of the recipes for vegan cheesecake call for you to buy the store bought graham cracker or Oreo crust.  The problem with most of the store bought ones is they have added oils and they are in the hydrogenated form.  Plus they all seem to have high fructose corn syrup which I really stay away from.  I’m sure you can find a natural one if you look but I am too lazy so I made my own.  In included the recipe but if you don’t care about the above things go right ahead and buy the store bought one.

Everyone likes their cheese cake topped with something different so adjust the berry recipe to your liking or eat the cheesecake plain.  I again don’t like to buy the store bought topping because it usually has high fructose corn syrup or heavy corn syrup which are just horrible for you.  I trim corners where I can so if I do cheat with something like this it is not a total guilt fest   For ideas on the substitutions/vegan versions check out my substitution page.

Berry Topped Cheezecake
Serves; 8-10 depending on the slice size

Homemade Crust;

2 cups of vegan cookies of your choice (I use Amy’s chocolate graham bunnies-no hydrogenated oils)
12-14 pitted dates- enough to make it stick together
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until completely broken down and it is starting to stick together.  Grab a handful and squeeze it together, if it stays stuck together well then you have enough dates if not then add 2 more and continue until it sticks together well.

Pour mixture into a round cake pan and press down and to the sides.  Pour the cheezecake mixture into it and follow baking instructions (see below).

Cheezecake Filling;
2 8 oz vegan cream cheese
2 cups vegan sour cream
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg re-placers (I use Ener G Replacer)

With a hand mixer blend together the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar until smooth and creamy.   Add the vanilla, flour and egg replacer and blend until completely mixed together.  Pour into your store bought or homemade pie crust (see above for recipe).

Bake 50-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.  The sides will start to pull away and crack slightly.  Pan size and thickness of the pan will adjust how long it has to cook so check after 45 minutes.

Cool completely and then put in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours to chill more.

Slice and serve with the Berry Topping (recipe below) ENJOY!

Berry Topping;

1 cup mixed berries or berries of your choice (fresh or frozen)
1 Tablespoon sweetener of your choice
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon arrowroot (or cornstarch mixed in a little water) to thicken slightly

Cook all ingredients on medium heat in a small pan for 5-10 minutes until cooked through, the berries are somewhat broken down and it starts to slightly thicken. Cool completely then chill in a covered container until ready to top the cheezecake. Enjoy!

Back to the Top

Back to Top

Tags: Easy Vegan, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan recipe, Vegetarian