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Vegan Pumpkin Chai Cheesecake - This dairy-free, gluten free pumpkin cheesecake is infused with spicy chai tea! It's an easy, healthy and paleo friendly show-stopping fall dessert! | Foodfaithfitness.com | @FoodFaithFit
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Chai Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

NOTES: Please read recipe carefully, as this does need to be cooled overnight!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12 People
Calories 409kcal
Author FoodFaithFitness

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

  • 3/4 Cup Unsweetened vanilla almond milk, divided
  • 1 1/2 tsp Harney & Sons Chai Tea
  • 3 Tbsp Flax meal
  • 2 1/2 Cups Roasted salted cashews, soaked in water overnight (315g) *
  • 1 Cup Canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp Coconut sugar
  • 5 Tbsp Honey (or agave for vegan)
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp Coconut oil, melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp Ground cardamom
  • Pinch of sea salt

For the topping:

  • 1 Cup Raw pecans (117g)
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Harney & Sons Chai Tea

For the crust:

  • 1/3 Cup Coconut oil, at room temperature (it should be the consistency of softened butter)
  • 3 Tbsp Honey (or agave)
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut flour, sifted (66g) **
  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • Heat the almond milk in a small pot and put the tea (for the cheesecake) into a mug. Once the almond milk is hot, pour over the tea, stir, and let steep for 15-30 minutes.
  • Once the tea has steeped, place the flax meal into a small bowl and pour 7 1/2 Tbsp of the warm almond milk/tea mixture ***(leaving the tea leaves at the bottom of the mug) over top. Whisk until well combined and then place into the refrigerator to gel up while you make the other layers.
  • Drain the water from the cashews and add them into a high-powered blender. Add all the remaining "cheesecake" ingredients, along with the rest of the almond milk and tea leaves (don't remove the tea leaves from the mug!).  Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as necessary. Set aside. ****
  • Add all the "topping" ingredients into a small food processor (mine is 3 cups) and pulse until the nuts are broken down, but still a little chunky for texture. Set aside. 
  • In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and honey for the crust, until smooth. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Your dough will be quite wet.
  • Press the dough evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch Spring form pan. Since the dough is quite wet it might take a little bit of time, so just be patient.
  • Bake until the edges of the crust are lightly golden brown, about 7-8 minutes.
  • When the crust has about 2 minutes left to bake, transfer the cashew mixture into a large bowl and pour in the flax eggs from the refrigerator. You want to leave them into the refrigerator as long as possible, so they can really gel up. Stir until the flax is evenly mixed into the cashew cream.
  • Remove the crust from the oven. Your crust with most likely have risen in a few spots. Just use a small spoon to quickly pack it back down flat. Immediately pour the cheesecake mixture over top and smooth out evenly.  Finally, sprinkle the pecan mixture over top, and lightly press it into the cheesecake to adhere it. 
  • Bake until the cheesecake has risen slightly and it feels set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the counter. Then, cover and refrigerate overnight to completely set.
  • Once refrigerated, slice and DEVOUR!  *****

Notes

*I buy my cashews pre-roasted. If you're aren't, stick them in a 400 degree oven for just a few minutes, until lightly golden brown.
**I've made this crust with different brands of coconut flour and, to get 66g, some brands need less than 3/4 cup. So, I STRONGLY urge you to weigh your flour to make sure you get perfect results.
***It needs to still be warm. So, if the tea is cold zap it in the microwave for a few seconds.
**** You need to pour the cheesecake over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven, so it's best to make it first.
*****It can be a little difficult to get the first piece of cheesecake out. Just make sure your getting your knife under the crust, not between the crust and cheesecake. An offset spatula really does the trick for serving here!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.6g | Protein: 6.4g | Fat: 29.4g | Saturated Fat: 11.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11.9g | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 254.8mg | Fiber: 6.4g | Sugar: 25.9g | Vitamin A: 3215IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2.2mg