Mini Pumpkin Vegan Cheesecake Jack-O-Lanterns

These mini pumpkin vegan cheesecake jack-o-lanterns are so easy to make, and perfect for Halloween parties! You’ll never know they’re healthy, gluten free, paleo friendly and only 200 calories!

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Flax meal
• 3 Tbsp + 2 tsp Warm water
• 1 1/4 Cups Roasted cashews covered in water and soaked overnight (170g)
• 2/3 Cups Pumpkin puree
• 5 Tbsp Coconut sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil melted
• 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch of salt

For the crust:

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil at room temperature (it should be the consistency of softened butter)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 6 Tbsp Coconut flour sifted
• 1 Tbsp Unsweetend cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt

For The Face:

• 2 Oz Dark Chocolate dairy-free for vegan option
• 1/4 tsp Coconut oil melted
• Mint sprigs for the stems

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax meal and warm water and place into the refrigerator to gel while you make the cheesecake.
3. Place the soaked cashews into a high-powered blender (make sure you drained the water into the sink first!) along with all of the other ingredients for the cheesecake. Puree until thick, smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Set aside while you make the crust. Note: you want to be able to pour the cheesecake onto the crust as SOON as it’s out of the oven, which is why it’s best to prepare it first.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and maple syrup for the crust, until smooth. Stir in the coconut flour, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt until well mixed.
5. Divide the dough by lightly heaping teaspoons between a 12-cavity mini-cheesecake pan, pressing out evenly.
6. Bake until the the crust just appear set, about 5 minutes
7. When the crust has about 2 minutes left to bake, transfer the cashew mixture into a large bowl and pour in the flax eggs from the refrigerator. You want to leave them into the refrigerator as long as possible, so they can really gel up. Stir until the flax is evenly mixed into the cashew cream.
8. Remove the crusts from the oven. Your crust with most likely have risen in a few spots. Just use a small spoon to pack it back down flat, making sure you don’t leave any cracks.
9. Immediately fill each cavity, just over 3/4 of the way full, with the pumpkin cashew mixture.
10. Bake until the cheesecakes have slightly risen and the outside appears set and firm, but just a small circle in the center still appears slightly jiggly, about 11-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the counter. Then, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours to overnight to completely set.
11. Once set, place the chocolate and coconut oil and in small, microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave using 30 second intervals on half power, stirring between each interval, until smooth and melted.
12. Drizzle the chocolate over each cheesecake to create a Jack-O-Lantern face (I put my melted chocolate in a small squeeze tube to make it easier.)
13. Stick a mint sprig in the top of each pumpkin to create the stem.