Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait with Cardamom Cream

This is what happens when my oven breaks.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait with Cardamom Cream

The cold evenings we've been having here in San Francisco have brought out the pumpkin cravings.  A recent visit to Target where I was bombarded with spicy scented candles and Halloween decor didn't help.  I even bought some Celestial Seasonings chai tea (and was grossly disappointed).  I do not recommend.  

I've also spent the last few evenings watching The Wire (in preparation for a return visit to Baltimore next month), wrapped in an over-sized scarf, a knee length sweater over a thermal henley, sweat pants, and stripy socks on my feet.  I am such a wimp.  Clearly, San Francisco took the girl out of the country AND the country out of the girl.  To be honest, I think my brain likes to play this trick on my body so I can think it's fall.  We don't really get much of a fall here; so, I don't usually even know it's time to get nostalgic until Starbucks brings out their pumpkin spice lattes.  It's not fall until Starbucks says it's fall.  Sadly, in my world, this is true.

Anyway, I was dressed up in my new fall clothes (like new school clothes, remember those?  Ah, they were the BEST) with the windows open, so I could be more dramatic about the chill in the air.  I also had spiced candles burning and water for tea boiling when the urgency to bake struck.  I needed to make something with pumpkin, like, yesterday.  My mind immediately went to the pumpkin poppets I made last year at about this time.  Mmmm...fluffy pumpkin pillows with cream cheese filling:

Pumpkin Poppet

I got out some cans of pumpkin and the cream cheese.  That's when I remembered.  Our oven is broken.  As you can probably imagine, this is not ideal.

With my desperate craving for pumpkin refusing to be ignored, I decided to invent a no-bake pumpkin dessert, instead.  And, I have been eating it ever since.  I can't stop myself.  It's too good to be true.  I didn't even save any for Ralph to try.  This has something to do with the fact that he doesn't truly appreciate pumpkin.  Pumpkin could replace my sun & moon; and, he makes the "meh face" when he eats it.   I can't even be in the same room as someone who is eating pumpkin cheesecake and saying, "It's okay…could use some chocolate, though."  This is a purely fictitious statement; but, in my head Ralph is saying it.  And, I'm having a hard time forgiving him for it.  

This recipe only takes about 5ish minutes to throw together.  What?  Yes, 5ish minutes.  Ok, before you all get really mad at me for making dessert so easy to indulge in, I'm going to give you some tips on how you can make this dessert relatively healthy.  Typically I would have used homemade ginger cookies for this recipe; but, since the oven is broken I cheated with Newman's brand.  BTW, gluten free, grain free, and refined-sugar-free friends:  This ridiculously easy recipe is also for YOU!  

Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait with Cardamom Cream

Original recipe by Emily Haydel of Picnic Bakery

Serves 4 conservatively, 2 generously, or 1 greedily

Ingredients:

8 Newman's ginger sandwich cookies, graham crackers, or 1 cup chopped pecans

For the pumpkin cheescake filling:

1 cup pumpkin puree

8 oz container of  Tofutti or brand of choice "cream cheese"

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 Tbs maple syrup or agave nectar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

For the whipped cardamom cream:

1 can full fat coconut milk- refrigerated at least 4 hours until separated

seeds from about 4 cardamom pods ground to a fine powder in a mortar & pestle

2 Tbs maple syrup or agave nectar

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Directions:

Follow in order, and you won't have to wash your food processor between steps:

1.  Put Newman's ginger cookies into the bowl of food processor and pulse until they are crumbs.  If not using ginger cookies, skip this step.  Feel free to use any cookie, graham crackers, or nuts of your choice.  Use pecans if you are gluten-intolerant or if you are trying to keep this recipe on the healthy side.  Empty contents out into a bowl.

2.   Add all of the pumpkin cheesecake ingredients to the empty bowl of your food processor.  Blend until well incorporated, remembering to scrape down the sides.  Empty puree into a bowl.

3.  Scoop coconut milk solids into a medium bowl and add agave or maple syrup.  Whip until incorporated. Add cardamom powder and xanthan gum and whip until thickened.  

4.  Assemble the pumpkin cheesecake, crushed cookie (or chopped nuts), and whipped cardamom in layers in glass serving dishes.  Top with whipped cardamom cream, a sprinkle of crushed cookie, and garnish with pecans.

Tip:  If you would like to make this into a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, just add some melted earth balance to the cookie crumbs, press into a pie or tart pan, fill with the filling, and refrigerate until set.  Serve topped with the whipped cardamom cream and a sprinkle of extra crumbs or chopped pecans. 

*For a gluten free version of the no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, pulse pecans into a course flour, stir in melted earth balance and proceed as listed above.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait with Cardamom Cream

Pistachio Rosewater Coconut Ice Cream

Pistachio Rosewater Coconut Ice Cream

This is the first time I ever made ice cream.  And it is definitely not the last.

Oh how I love making ice cream!  I just can't get over how easy it is.  Move over blocks of frozen spinach, there's a new habit moving in.

I have been wanting to make something pistachio rosewater flavored for quite awhile and saw this experiment as a perfect opportunity.  The pistachio and rosewater are subtle flavors that blend well with the slightest hint of coconut.  Ralph said he couldn't even taste the coconut, which is good because you don't always want that flavor in your ice cream and if these light notes were able to mask the main ingredient, anything can.

I decided to sweeten this recipe using agave nectar which gives the ice cream a delicate honey flavor without making it overly sweet.  My understanding is that agave is a little bit easier for diabetics to process than regular sugar.  It still has sugar in it; so, be careful if making this for someone who is diabetic.  Always check to see if agave is safe for them, first.

I know I've talked about xanthan gum a few times, but I just want to sing its praises one more time.  Xanthan gum works really well at giving liquids a thicker, sometimes custard-like, sometimes jelly-like texture.  I use it in nearly everything.  This doesn't have to be confined to vegan baking, my friends.  You can use this anytime you need to make things custard-like; and, it makes a great lower fat alternative to eggs in those types of recipes.  Not only does it thicken liquids, it also helps to keep milks from getting icy in the freezer.  Even regular dairy ice cream usually has xanthan gum listed as an ingredient for this very reason.

Pistachio Rosewater Coconut Ice Cream
Recipe by Emily Haydel of Picnic Bakery

2 cans full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup (+ more to taste) agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted pistachios (shells removed)
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 tablespoons rosewater

1.  Whisk together coconut milk, salt, and agave.  Sweeten to taste.
2.  Add xanthan gum and whisk well.
3.  Break up pistachios with a mortar & pestle, add to milk mixture
4.  Pour coconut/pistachio mixture into a medium saucepan
5.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
6.  Allow to cool slightly, then pour the ingredients into a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour until chilled.
7.  Remove bowl from fridge, stir well, then pour into ice cream maker
8.  Once the ice cream is of a thick consistency, pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze until ready to serve.

That's it!  Too easy.

This ice cream is great drizzled with a little extra agave nectar and a sprinkle of crunched up pistachios.

Pistachio Rosewater Coconut Ice Cream