Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake

Recipe from "Vegan Pie in the Sky"

Adapted by Tara Parker-Pope

Updated October 23, 2019

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
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Total Time
2 hours, plus chiling overnight
Rating
5(671)
Comments
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This vegan “cheesecake,” which is adapted from “Vegan Pie in the Sky” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, may not fool everyone at the table, but it will definitely satisfy them. Silken tofu, cashews and banana make it extra creamy, while lemon juice and orange zest provide the tang you’d normally get from cream cheese. (Be sure to soak the cashews long enough; you want them to completely disappear into the batter upon blending.) This dessert can be made in a pie dish or a springform pan, but if you make it in a pie dish, keep an eye on the crust as it bakes; tent the cheesecake with foil if the edges are getting too brown. —Tara Parker-Pope

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

  • 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs (made from 10 ounces of whole graham crackers)

  • 3 tablespoons sugar

  • 4 tablespoons melted nonhydrogenated margarine, melted coconut oil or canola oil

  • 1 tablespoon plain soy milk or almond milk

FILLING

  • ½ cup whole unroasted cashews, soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours, or until very soft

  • ¼ cup mashed banana (about 1 medium-size banana)

  • 1 (12- to 14-ounce) package silken tofu, drained

  • ½ cup sugar

  • ⅓ cup dark brown sugar

  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature

  • 6 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • ¼ teaspoon orange extract or 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin purée

  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

TOPPING

  • ⅓ cup brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon nonhydrogenated margarine

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1 cup pecan pieces, roughly chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. FOR THE CRUST

    1. Step 1

      Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate or springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

    2. Step 2

      In a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker 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.

    3. Step 3

      Pour the crumbs into the pie plate or springform pan. Using your fingers or a flat-bottom cup, press crumbs into the the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until firm. Let the crust cool before filling.

  2. FOR THE PIE

    1. Step 4

      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 with the mixture. Set aside until ready to use.

    2. Step 5

      Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Drain the cashews and blend with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla and orange extracts, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew remain. Add the pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it onto the crust.

    3. Step 6

      Bake the cheesecake for 45 to 50 minutes, removing the cheesecake halfway through the baking period to 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 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or, even better, overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
671 user ratings
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Comments

SarahJ

1st time: Made this with fresh lemon juice (instead of bottled), orange zest instead of orange extract, and forgot to put in the banana. The cooking time was a lot longer than suggested. It sat for 2 nights in fridge before eating and it was DELICIOUS. People couldn’t tell that it was vegan. 2nd time: added the banana, used lemon juice from a bottle and orange extract, and ate it about 1 hr after baking. Result was not as good. I’d skip the banana again and definitely make a day ahead of time!

Barbara

I could not find vegan graham crackers, but I did find vegan gingersnaps and that is what I use for this recipe.

Mitch

Why does the recipe call for making the crust in a 9" pie plate then in the filling portion have the crust in a springform pan? From the picture it appears the springform pan was used.

Madeleine

This is delicious. Graham cracker crust ratio is off though. I'll probably do a ratio more similar to the Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie recipe next time and reduce the graham crackers to 7.5 oz.

MichaelJ

Made this and it was fantastic. Used butter in the crust and the topping instead of margarine so not strictly vegan. Cooked it for 1 hr, 15 minutes, which set the "cheesecake" part nicely. If I made it again, my one suggestion would be to cut back on the sugar. The dessert was right on the border of being too sweet. So no added sugar to the graham crackers (not needed) and half the sugar in the filling and half in the topping.

EM

This recipe was delicious!! All the non-vegans and even the kiddos devoured it. But a couple of the measurements are off: 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs is about 7 oz. And it only takes a little over 1/2 a medium banana to get a 1/4 cup of mashed.

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Credits

From "Vegan Pie in the Sky"

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