Pumpkin Pecan Ginger Cheese Cake

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup dates
1 cup filtered water
¼ tsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup melted coconut oil
1 ½ cups soaked and dehydrated pecans

Directions:
Take the pecans and place them into a Cuisinart. Pulse them into small pieces. Pour the pecans into a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Soak the dates in the filtered water for 20 minutes. Place the dates with the water into a Vitamix with salt and vanilla. Blend until creamy smooth. Slowly add the coconut oil and blend into the mix with the Vitamix on low. Remove the mixture from the Vitamix with a spatula and place it in the mixing bowl with the pecans. Mix it together with a spatula. Put into refrigerator until ready to use.

Filling Ingredients:
2 cups soaked cashews (2 to 4 hours)
¾ cups Thai coconut milk
1 15oz. can organic pumpkin puree
¼ cup organic maple syrup
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp Himalayan sea salt
½ tsp. lemon juice
cup melted organic coconut oil
2 tbsp. lecithin

Directions:
Soak the cashews in filtered water for 2 to 4 hours. Rinse and drain. Make sure the water runs clear before using them. Place them into a Vitamix with coconut milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and lemon juice. Blend until creamy smooth. Blend in evenly making sure the texture is creamy smooth. Do not over blend. Test the mixture with your fingers to make sure it is silky smooth and not gritty. Add the coconut oil to the Vitamix, blending in on a slow setting. Blend until evenly distributed. Grind the lecithin to powder in a coffee grinder. Add the lecithin powder slowly to the Vitamix. Do not over blend.

Assembly:
Take a 7” X 3” round pan with a removable bottom. Take a 5” X 3” round pan with a removable bottom. Coat them with coconut oil. Place 3 cups of batter into the larger pan. Place the remaining batter into the smaller pan. Take a round food press and push the batter down evenly into the pan. Make sure there are no gaps around the sides. Take the filling and pour ¾ of it into the larger pan and the remaining filling into the smaller pan. Cover the pans with tin foil. Place the pans into the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Candied Pecans:
3 cups raw soaked and dehydrated pecans
½ cup maple syrup
1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
¼ tsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Place the syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt into a measuring cup. Whisk it all together. Place the pecans into a large mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over the pecans and mix together with a spoon. Take two dehydrator trays with teflex sheets. Spread the pecans evenly over the sheets. Make sure they are lying flat with plenty of room to breathe. Place into the dehydrator at 115 degrees for 8 hours.

Pumpkin Ginger Caramel Sauce:
Note: Make this sauce the day that you are going to serve this. The consistency and texture is much easier to obtain the same day.

Pumpkin Ginger Caramel Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup packed medium sized dates
1 cup filtered water
¼ tsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ginger powder
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Place the dates and water into a measuring cup and soak for 20 minutes. Place all of the ingredients into a Vitamix and blend until creamy smooth. Pour the mix into a culinary squirt bottle. Set aside.

Cheese Cake Assembly:
Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator. Partially open the side of the pan and gently place a thin knife straight down between the side of the cake and the side of the pan to break the cake free from the pan. Open the pans all the way. If there is any sticking, stop immediately and place the knife carefully between the side of the pan and the edge of the cake until it’s free. Remove the sides of the pans all the way. Gently run the knife under the crust bottom to free the crust from the bottom of the pan. Do this for both. Remove the bottoms by sliding a cake spatula between the bottom of the crust and the pan bottom. Slide the cheesecake onto a decorative plate. Take a small angled spatula and smooth out any imperfections before proceeding. Take an Ateco 898 tip. Place grooves all the way around the cakes on the sides. Gently press the tip along the side of the cake from top to bottom to do this. Don’t press too hard. Go all the way around the sides of each cake to form stripes on the sides. Refer to the photo if needed. Take the caramel sauce in the squirt bottle and begin on the top outside edge of the cake. Squirt the sauce onto the top edge and let it cascade down on its own. Go all the way around. Next, swirl the sauce around the top edge about ½” away from the edge. Form a circle. Take the candied pecans and place a row around the top edge of the cake. Make sure the pecans are all running in the same direction. Place another row of them inside the first row. In order to create the center flower, begin by placing some pecans inside the second row vertically. Push the ends into to cheesecake to hold them down. Repeat the procedure until the top of the cake is filled. Refer to the photo if necessary.

Will last 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator and 1 month in the freezer.