Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake

This recipe is a mish-mash of several cheesecake recipes because there's so many ways to enjoy cheesecake, why not put everything together. The chocolate topping will be a big hit with kids.

Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake [Vegan]

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sweet tofu ricotta (recipe below)
• 2 tablespoons egg replacer powder, plus 6 tablespoon water, whisk and set aside
• 3/4 cup maple sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For the the Chocolate-Hazelnut Topping:

• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skins mostly removed and chopped
• 1 1.15-ounce packet chocolate hazelnut butter

For the the Sweet Tofu Ricotta:

• 1 14-ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1-2 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1/2 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 1/4 cup cashews, finely ground
• A pinch of salt

Preparation

To Make the Cheesecake Filling:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Place cream cheese and ricotta in a large bowl.  Beat until smooth.  Add the maple sugar, vanilla, egg replacer mixture, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.  Beat until very smooth.  Stir in the pumpkin puree.
3. Pour the batter over the top of the cooled shortbread.  Bake for 1 hour or until the center of the cheesecake barely moves when touched.  Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge. Cool on a wire rack then cover and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. Remove the cheesecake from the pan and place on a plate (if you’re really skilled, remove the bottom part of the pan, too.)  In a small saucepan melt the chocolate chips, the nut butter, and coconut oil.  Pour over the cheesecake and chill ‘cake again until the chocolate sets.

To Make the Sweet Tofu Ricotta:

1. In a large bowl, combine the agave nectar, miso, vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt and almond milk.  Crumble the tofu into the bowl and add the cashews.  Stir until everything is well-combined.  Use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/hazelnut-pumpkin-cheesecake/