Chai and pumpkin (almost) raw cheesecake

Easy vegan pumpkin chai cheesecake which is healthy, is gluten free and has no refined sugar.

To be honest, I've recently felt very conflicted with my cake business.

Due to the privatized nature of cake businesses, I haven't published the recipes of any of my raw cheesecakes. However, this clashes with my love for food blogging and sharing recipes with others.

I love allowing others to enjoy the same foods that I enjoy in my own kitchen. I love seeing other people get excited about being able to recreate my treats.

However, I'm breaking the rules this time. I made a cheesecake as a much-needed treat for myself and I am going to share the recipe with you!

It's quickly cooling down in Australia, so it only made sense for me to make a cake inspired by Autumn/Winter. If you love pumpkin soup and creamy chai drinks, you will love this cake!

I used a special Indian Masala Chai tea blend from a local tea company. The blend contained blend contains cinnamon, star anise, clove, cardamom seeds, fennel seeds and nutmeg (everything is organic except the star anise). According to LiveStrong, cinnamon helps reduce blood-sugar levels and has powerful anti-bacterial properties. Star anise has similar benefits and nd also acts as an antioxidant which is great for the cooling weather!

After all, no one wants a cranky person making their cakes!

I paired the chai flavor with pumpkin to give it some extra robustness and depth. Plus, it makes complete sense to pair a wintery drink with a wintery vegetable. The base is crunchy and gluten free. The cake has 2 creamy layers of spiced pumpkin cheesecake and chai cheesecake.

The decorations look like a pixie's playground (just how I like it). However, they are all mysteriously carefully spiced to complement the chai flavor of the cheesecake.

The cake is topped with whipped cinnamon coconut cream, blueberry cheesecake swirls lightly spiced with ginger, colorful bliss balls spiced like gingerbread and a chai tahini caramel. The cake is colorful and playful yet reminiscent of a warm chai tea or a warm hug in Australia's cooling weather.

If you make this cake, you definitely don't need to have all of these toppings. I'd suggest just doing a couple of them or using anything in your pantry. You don't even need decorations! Either way, just enjoy it and remember to do lots of taste testing ;).

Did I say how beautifully creamy it was?

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Chai and pumpkin (almost) raw cheesecake

Easy vegan pumpkin chai cheesecake which is healthy, is gluten free and has no refined sugar.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Servings: 6

Author: Anthea

Ingredients

Pumpkin cheesecake layer

• ▢ ½ – ¾ cup pumpkin, chopped into small cubes
• ▢ 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
• ▢ ¼ cup thick scoopable canned coconut cream
• ▢ ⅛ cup maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tablespoon coconut butter
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or to taste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground ginger, or to taste

Base

• ▢ ⅓ cup dates, soaked in water overnight
• ▢ ¾ cup mixture of any nuts, seeds or coconut
• ▢ 1 tsp chai tea leaves, + ⅛ cup water
• ▢ Pinch salt

Chai cheesecake layer

• ▢ 1 cup cashews, soaked in water overnight
• ▢ 1 tsp chai tea leaves, + ⅛ cup plant-based milk
• ▢ ⅓ cup thick scoopable canned coconut cream
• ▢ ⅛ cup maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tbsp coconut butter
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice

Optional toppings

• ▢ ¼ cup Whipped dairy free cream
• ▢ Bliss balls, caramel, chocolate, nuts, or as desired

Instructions

The night before:

• Soak the dates (for the base) and the cashews (for the pumpkin and chai layers) in enough water to cover. Steep the chai leaves in water (for the base) and in coconut milk (for the chai cheesecake later). Store in fridge.

To prepare the pumpkin puree:

• Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray and 14cm cake tin with baking paper.
• Spread the pumpkin on the lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or the pumpkin has turned golden brown and reduced in size.

To make the cheesecake base:

• Drain the dates and strain the chai leaves and water reserving the water. Add all ingredients to a food processor and whizz until combined. Press evenly into the bottom of the cake tin.

To make the chai cheesecake layer

• Drain and rinse the cashews. Strain the coconut milk and chai leaves reserving the milk. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until extremely creamy. Remove and set aside.

For the pumpkin cheesecake layer:

• Drain the cashews. When the pumpkin has cooled, add all ingredients to a food processor. Blend until extremely creamy and pour onto the cheesecake base. Smooth the top and put in the freezer to set.
• When the pumpkin layer has partially set, pour the chai cheesecake into the cake tin. Smooth the top of the cake and put in freezer to set.
• Decorate the cake as desired and serve!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serve | Calories: 550kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 42g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 601mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 829IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 5mg

Did you Make this Recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @rainbownourishments on Instagram and hashtag #rainbownourishments!

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