Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

One of our dirty, little secrets is that we have always had a weakness for cheesecake. There’s something about it that helps us celebrate or cope with stressful situations. Despite our love, it does not love us back; congestion and an overall feeling of lethargy are common side-effects. This Thanksgiving, we decided to give this staple a shot with Kite Hill Cream Cheese. This stuff is awesome and it allowed us to celebrate with a great dessert to finish up a great meal.

This is definitely a special occasion treat, but it was too good not to share. With more holiday celebrations to come this month, we hope you’ll give this a try.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Heather didn’t add a lot of sweetener to the batter of this cheesecake. The cheesecake was perfectly savory with a hint of sweetness. If you prefer a slightly sweeter dessert, you could easily serve it with a sweet whipped cream of coconut milk (or real heavy cream, if you can tolerate it) or a light drizzle of maple syrup.

Ingredients
for the crust
3/4 C coconut flour
1/2 C almond four
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 C + 1 Tbsp ghee, melted
1 Tbsp maple syrup

for the filling
2 8-oz containers of Kite Hill Cream Cheese
1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 C coconut cream
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 C maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350º F. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the crust and mix with a fork (or whisk) to eliminate any clumps.

Add the 1/4 C melted ghee and maple syrup and stir together to form a crumbly mixture.  If mixture is too dry to crumble (different flours vary) add an additional 1 Tbsp ghee. The mixture should hold together when pressed.

Press crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Blend coconut cream and vinegar in small bowl. Gently whisk eggs and egg yolk in another small bowl.

Whisk cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin puree, coconut cream and vinegar mixture, eggs, syrup, and spices. Whisk everything together until well blended. (Feel free to use a stand mixer or hand-held mixture if you have one.)

Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool for at least 1 hour.

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