Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and place your oven rack at the middle position. Then, grease a 9-inch springform pan with vegan butter or oil.
2. If you can't find vegan graham cracker crumbs, you can make them by pulsing vegan graham crackers in a blender or food processor until they're in fine pieces.
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix your graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Then, add in your melted vegan butter and mix until everything is moistened. If needed, you can add water 1 tablespoon at a time to bring the mixture together.
4. Add your graham cracker crust mixture to your prepared springform pan. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, starting at the center and pushing excess crumbs to the edges. Then press the remaining crumbs about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Reduce your oven temperature to 325°F (165°C).
6. Add the filling ingredients (silken tofu, pumpkin puree, cashews, coconut milk, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt) to a blender jar and blend until completely smooth.* Depending on your blender, this could take several minutes.
7. Place your cooled pan and crust inside a 10-inch silicone cake mold to protect it from your water bath.* Place this inside a large roasting pan, then pour your cheesecake filling into the crust.
8. Boil enough water to fill your roasting tray with 1 inch of water. Place your tray and cheesecake on the oven's middle rack, then carefully pour hot water into the roasting tray (make sure you don't splash any water into the silicone mold). Add only enough water to reach about 2/3 of the height of the silicone mold.
9. Bake your cheesecake for 55 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center is jiggly. It may not look completely done, but you should avoid over-baking it to prevent cracks. Once it's done, crack the oven door and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour to cool.
10. Transfer your cooled cheesecake to the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or overnight.
11. Optional: To make your caramel sauce, heat 1/2 cup of vegan granulated sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar is melted and just turning golden. Carefully add 1/2 cup coconut milk and salt and mix. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce your heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until it's thickened.
12. Decorate your finished cheesecake by piping some vegan whipped cream around the edges. You can also dust some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on top of the whipped cream. After slicing the cheesecake, serve it with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

If needed, you can replace 6 tablespoons vegan butter with 5 tablespoons refined (odor-free) coconut oil.

Soak your cashews in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain them.

If you have a small blender jar (smaller than 7 cups or 1.65 L), you may need to blend your cheesecake filling in batches.

If you can't get a silicone cake mold, you can also wrap your pan in 3 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, then wrap that in a plastic roasting bag.

Nutrition data is for the cheesecake only, without vegan whipped cream or optional caramel sauce.