Raw Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars with Salted Caramel Drizzle and Whipped Coconut Cream
Creamy, spiced pumpkin cheesecake on a chewy pecan-date crust, topped with clouds of whipped coconut cream, a drizzle of salted date caramel, and toasted pecans. All the flavor of pumpkin pie in an easy no-bake bar.
Yield: One 8x8 pan, 16 bars · Active: 40 min · Total: 5 hours, mostly setting (or overnight) · Best in North America in fall, when pumpkins and pecans are harvested · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Pecan-date crust
1 cup pecans
½ cup almonds
1 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 10)
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Pumpkin cheesecake filling
1½ cups cashews, soaked at least 4 hours (or 1 hour in hot water), then drained
1 cup roasted pumpkin purée (sugar pie pumpkin or kabocha)
⅓ cup maple syrup
¼ cup full-fat coconut cream (with no guar gum)
⅓ cup melted cacao butter (or coconut oil)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (for that cheesecake tang)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Salted date caramel drizzle
6 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked in warm water 10 minutes (save the water)
¼ cup full-fat coconut cream
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Warm date-soaking water, to thin
Whipped coconut cream frosting
1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut cream (with no guar gum), refrigerated overnight
1–2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
To finish: toasted chopped pecans, a dusting of pumpkin pie spice, and flaky sea salt
Method
Make the crust. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. Process the pecans and almonds to a fine crumb, then add the dates, cinnamon, and salt and process until it sticks together when pressed. Press it firmly into the pan and freeze 15 minutes.
Make the filling. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Blend everything except the cacao butter in a high-speed blender until completely silky. With the blender running on low, stream in the melted cacao butter. Spread it over the crust and freeze 3–4 hours, until firm.
Make the caramel. Blend the dates, coconut cream, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt until smooth, adding warm soaking water a tablespoon at a time until it's thin enough to drizzle.
Whip the frosting. Scoop the thick, solid cream off the top of the chilled can (save the watery part for smoothies), and whip it with the maple syrup and vanilla until fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Chilling the bowl and beaters for 10 minutes helps it whip up thick. Coconut cream without guar gum whips up a little softer, so frost the bars just before serving.
Slice and finish. Lift the frozen slab out by the parchment and cut it into 16 bars with a hot, dry knife. Pipe or spoon whipped coconut cream onto each bar, drizzle with salted caramel, and finish with toasted pecans, a dusting of spice, and flaky salt. Let them sit 10–15 minutes before serving.
Storage: Unfrosted bars keep up to 1 month frozen, or 5 days refrigerated. Frost and drizzle them the day you serve; the caramel keeps up to 1 week refrigerated (rewarm briefly to drizzle).
A note on "raw": Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, and the pumpkin is roasted, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Nourishment Notes
Pumpkin — beta-carotene (made more absorbable by the bars' healthy fats), potassium, and fiber.
Cashews — magnesium, copper, and zinc.
Pecans and almonds — vitamin E, manganese, and zinc.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber, with natural caramel sweetness.
Coconut cream — lauric acid, a medium-chain fat.
Cacao butter — stearic acid, a saturated fat that research shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol, and it helps the bars set.
Pumpkin pie spices — cinnamon's polyphenols help moderate blood sugar, and ginger, nutmeg, and cloves are traditionally used to support digestion.
As a circadian treat, these bars land best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Pumpkin — organic sugar pie pumpkin or kabocha, roasted and puréed, or organic pumpkin purée in a BPA-free can
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even "raw" ones)
Pecans and almonds — organic, kept in the fridge; unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Coconut cream and coconut oil — organic, full-fat coconut cream made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans); organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil
Cacao butter — organic and raw
Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark
Spices — organic and non-irradiated Ceylon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
Lemons — organic
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall