Vegan Treats

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sugary Pecan Sauce

In exchange for subjecting herself to prodding and poking with psychological instruments, I made my participant a treat. I offered to pay her, but the thought of money didn't entice her as much as the prospect of a vegan cheesecake. Just my luck -- I get a chance to bake! I did a good job of amending a recipe from a recent issue of Bon Appetit to suit the vegan lifestyle without compromising the ultimate flirt with the palate, a trait which, in my opinion, is what defines the cheesecake.

Here's the recipe:

Crust
1 1/2 cup pecans, toasted, cooled
3 tablespoons golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons margarine
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling
3 8-oz packages of Plain Tofutti
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
Egg replacer for 4 eggs (I used the EnerG brand, which is great for baking)
1 15-oz can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt (this is debatably vegan since it has live cultures in it, you could substitute with a little bit of soy milk maybe?)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Large pinch of salt

Sauce
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup soy yogurt
6 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups pecan, toasted, cooled

For Crust:
Preheat over to 350 F. Butter 9-inch springform pan. Grind first 4 ingredients in processor until nut mixture sticks together. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake crust until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap outside of pan in triple layer of heavy-duty foil.

For Filling:
Using mixer, beat Tofutti, sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg replacer, then pumpkin, yogurt, flour, vanilla, spices, and salt. Pour into pan. Set springform pan in roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake. Place in over. Bake until outer 3 inches puff slightly and center is softly set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from water. Cut around sides of cake to loosen. Refrigerate in pan until cold, about 4 hours. Cover and chill overnight.

For Sauce:
Melt sugar and margarine in medium saucepan until sugar dissolves. Add toasted pecans, then yogurt. Stir and cool. Remove foil. Cut around springform pan sides, remove sides. Spoon sauce over the cheesecake. Serve.