Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake for Thanksgiving

Its the day before Thanksgiving, and no doubt, people all over the country are preparing for a day of sharing food, love, and gratitude.

Today I made an absolutely beautiful vegan cheesecake, and it came out so wonderful that I feel I just have to share it with you! (I've made this before, and I believe you wouldn't know the difference!)

Some genius once decided to make a really gross vegan "cheesecake" with mostly tofu as the base and it was so appalling that many people would try it once, gag, and assume that there is no good vegan alternative for cheesecake. Well back off, weird tofu cheesecake guy, and make way for a cheesecake that I bet you could serve and no one would even know it was vegan!

Now, let it be known that the word vegan does not always translate into "healthy." There is a bit of a myth there sometimes... I would call this cheesecake decadent for sure. Its a bit involved, and a little expensive to make (though I would guess not more than a dairy cheesecake.) But I love to go the extra mile and make it for special occasions. I can tell you that it has no cholesterol or animal fat though, and that does translate to "a little bit healthier."

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1/4 cup veg shortening (I use Earth Balance Vegetable Shortening Sticks)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 Tablespoon applesauce
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves


For the Filling: (This will fill up your food processor bowl really full!)

Four 8oz. containers Tofutti Cream Cheese (get it at a natural food store)
1 box (12 oz) Mori-Nu Tofu (the Firm Silken variety, can be found usually in the asian foods dept of natural food stores)
1 cup granulated sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice


For the Topping:

1/2 box Mori-Nu Firm Silken Tofu
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 in springform pan in oil

For the Crust:
Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses, vinegar, applesauce, to shortening and sugar mixture and beat until combined. Mix together dry ingredients, including spices, and add to shortening and sugar mixture and stir until combined. Press to bottom of prepared pan. Prick with a fork all over and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F, and set crust aside.

For the Filling:
Combine cream cheese and tofu in food processor and process until smooth scraping sides several times. Add granulated sweetener and blend until creamy. Add remaining ingredients, blend, and pour into prepared crust. Place on top rack. Place a shallow pan filled with water on bottom rack and bake for 50 minutes.

For the Topping:
While cheesecake is baking, place tofu in food processor and process, and scape sides and process several times until smooth. Add other ingredients, and process to blend. After 50 minutes, pull cheesecake out of oven and carefully spread on topping. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave cheesecake there for another hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. (this really does make a difference in consistency!!)

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving from Love's Garden Arts!

Love,
Abbey

A Wonderful Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. I would like to share some pictures with you that stand out as I think back on Christmas 2010...

Our special wrapping paper project on Christmas eve...



This year was Preston and my first Christmas in our little house. We decorated with lights and it looked just like a little ginerbread house. Lights sparkled on our tree and our special mantle. We collected cards and hung them on the fireplace. We created a new Christmas tradition together: making our own wrapping paper. In the picture above, you can see the wrapping paper we made together on Christmas eve....

Before we climbed into bed on Christmas eve, we shared the magic of this little scene (plus a fire in the fire place that was lit shortly after this picture was taken), all snuggled up in a blanket on the couch. I had a case of the sugarplums for sure...



Me, Preston, Annie, Audrey, Kevin, Mom, Scott, Dad, and Nancy spent Christmas morning around the Christmas tree at my Mom and Scott's house (our first Christmas in their new house) opening gifts (we always open each gift one by one to cherish every gift) and had a lovely Christmas dinner together that night...

Here are some pictures Preston captured of the different parts of our holiday season. There are so many others, and I could make this into a really huge post, but I've decided to give you just a little peek into our holidays...

Preston captured of my new slippers my mom got me from the Etsy shop MEandREEKIE. They're like giant baby booties!!



Little sis Audrey in her cute Christmas pjs...



My loves Annie and Kevin...



Kevin in the tie we gave him from etsy seller, Toybreaker.




We each took turns in mom's lap--Scott had mom's special rocking chair restored. (A very touching gift.) It was the rocker that she rocked us all in as babies...



I gave Annie a special painting to honor her journey...




And that was Christmas day. There were many other pictures, but I hope you got a glimpse into the first part of our special Christmas...

Then, in crazy blizzard weather, we managed to fly out of Colorado Springs to spend time with Preston's side of the family in Kansas City and Nebraska.

We went with Preston's Mom and John to Karen and Craig's on New Years and finally got to meet our new little cousin, Courtney and Tim's little one, Josey!!



Then we spent a day with Preston's Dad and Tammy and Micaela, and the rest of the Stohs clan up in Nebraska.






This year, all the grandkids wrote love letters to Grandma and Grandpa, and it was the most beautiful thing to hear them read each letter aloud. They are very loved...





We spent the rest of our time back in Kansas City with Preston's mom and John, and had a wonderful Christmas celebration together. We also got to see Michael, and we made a special trip down to the plaza to see the lights, which we miss very much... The Plaza lights are a Kansas City tradition. Every year on Thanksgiving Eve, everyone gathers in the streets on the Plaza (a shopping district) and the lights of the plaza are turned on all at once. They wrap around every detail of every building and are an amazing sight to see... They were beautiful as ever...













We of course, as always, enjoyed many games of dominoes with Mom and John, and of course, Teresa and I kicked John and Preston's butts at Wii shuffleboard. We rock. Bring it. ;) And no, we did not just win because we went first. I know you don't like the way this is shaping up, but I'm telling you, the cheese is binding...




Eventually we made it back to the Springs, and on January 10 we celebrated with Dad and Nancy for their birthdays at one of our favorite local restaurants, Poor Richards.




I am so grateful to have shared this holiday season with my dearest family. I love you all!