Dairy Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

I had all intentions of doing a Thanksgiving line up as this will be my first Thanksgiving blogging, however, since I am only one person and do not have childcare, life has taken over. It has been more difficult the older my littlest one gets ( she is now 15 months). I know i have mentioned before how mobile she is now. It only takes a couple second of me turning my head and she will be on top of our kitchen table or standing on a chair. So I'm truly sorry I don't have an entire recipe line up but I don't. I do however have a few deserts including this delicious dairy free pumpkin cheesecake made with a cashew and coconut milk base. 

Cashews when soaked make an amazing crazy concoction. You can pretty much use them to substitute any dish that normally would use cream, or cheese. Soaking the cashews also helps increase the nutrient bioavailability and eliminate some of the anti nutrients such as lectins and physic acid that are prominent in nuts and bind to other nutrients such as minerals. 

Because this has pumpkin in it I decided to make a flour based butter/flaky pie crust using cassava flour that you would normally eat with  pumpkin pie or apple pie. If you prefer a grahm cracker type crust since this is also a cheesecake you could always grind up some nuts and dates in the food processor and layer the bottom of your pie pan instead. But, I do think this simple crust does this cheesecake justice. It is  simple so not to take any of the flavor away from the actual filling. I truly hope that this pumpkin cheesecake will being back some joy and excitement to those who may have been missing cheesecake for a while due to allergies!

Servings: 1 pie

Ingredients for Pie Crust:

• 1 cup Cassava Flour ( I Use Ottos Brand)
• 6 TBSP butter or ghee softened and dived in small pieces ( You can sub in coconut oil or sustainable Palm shortening)
• 10-12 TBSP cold water
• 1/8 tsp Sea Salt

Directions: 

1. in a bowl sift flour then add your salt and pieces of butter.
2. With a fork press butter pieces into flour then begin to use your hands.
3. when butter and flour are incorporated begin to slowly add your cold water 1 TBSP at a time until you have a firm dough that you can roll out.
4. lightly flour a large surface and roll out your dough with a rolling pen larger enough to line your pie pan.
5. Grease your pie pan with some butter or ghee then take your rolled out dough and line your pan making sure the crust also comes up the sides. 
6. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degree F. And bake your pie crust for 25-30 min. 
7. set aside and cool while you prepare your filling.

Ingredients for Cheesecake Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups Cashews Soaked for 6 hours in filtered water
• 1 can Pumpkin
• 3/4 cup Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk
• 8-9 Medjool Dates pitted and soaked in warm water for 10 min (only use enough water just to submerge the dates)
• 1 TBSP Coconut Oil
• Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
• 2 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/8 tsp Allspice
• 1/8 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Drain soaked cashews and add them to a high speed blender.
2. Add your dates along with the water they are soaking  along with the remainder of the ingredients and blend on medium then high until you have a thick creamy mixture. there should not be any small pieces of dates in the mixture. 
3. Take your cooled pie crust and add your filling.
4. Cover the top with plastic wrap in place cheesecake in the freezer.
5. Before serving take the cheesecake from the freezer and let it sit in the counter to defrost for about 15-30 min or until a knife cuts through easily.