Pumpkin Cheesecake (Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Sugar)

Plus I finally created an Eat Happy For The Holidays PDF

Nine months ago, I asked you lot of Happies to pre-order Eat Happy Italian as a favor to my publisher so they knew how many copies to print.

Y’all stepped up in a big way, but bonuses are very important to me, so I made sure to not only make the best bonus recipe PDFs, but for everyone who pre-ordered 3 or more books, I MADE AN ENTIRELY NEW COOKBOOK.

So I got to work and re-wrote all of my Thanksgiving classics, plus added new recipes so that your holiday table can be covered in food that tastes good and is (mostly) low carb. The result is a pretty killer PDF called Eat Happy For The Holidays.

I had been procrastinating this process because…well…writing a cookbook is very labor intensive, and I don’t want to put anything less than my best foot forward. I mean, this is holiday food—I take the assignment very seriously!

Check out the page to see the recipes and purchase get an instant download. It’s only for sale at Eat Happy Kitchen. Maybe one day I’ll use it as a book pitch and turn it into a full length cookbook, but right now I’m too tired.

This past week, I have had a chilling glimpse into the healthcare system. I’m typing this from my husband’s hospital room as I await him getting out of surgery. I could’ve take this week off of Substack posts and had a legit excuse to do so. But frankly, writing takes my mind off of the stress.

Loren is going to be just fine, but in order to get done what he needed, it required a tremendous amount of advocating, moving, shaking, tap dancing, you name it. Thank you to everyone who has texted to check in. As of the moment that I’m typing this, he finally got the surgery he needed, and we hope that he will be good as new soon (without any further fuckery, if I might be so humble as to beseech the medical gods to keep my husband healthy).

Pumpkin Cheesecake, recipe and photo by me, Anna Vocino

Since I’m slowly moving all of my recipes from AnnaVocino.com to this Substack newsletter, I’m going to repost one of my most popular recipes: Pumpkin Cheesecake.

When I tell you this recipe is delicious, I am not trifling with your emotions.

This cheesecake is incredible.

But please bear in mind that this recipe has sugar in it, and if you are strictly low carb, do not let this recipe jump off the page and suddenly appear in your kitchen.

This is the most velvety blend of a cheesecake mixed with the creaminess and subtle spice of pumpkin pie, using a grain free crust. All made with the least sweetness possible to make the recipe work.

For those of you new to my newsletter or the Eat Happy cookbooks, here's an explanation of why I identify as low carb/NSNG but still make sweet treats for special occasions with real sugar and not artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes. You are welcome to use whatever you darn well please to sweeten this cheesecake.

I highly recommend using a 9" springform pan. If you choose not to make the crust, make sure you grease the springform pan with coconut oil spray or butter. If you like a sweeter crust, then you can add another teaspoon of sugar. Unlike baking with regular grains, you will not have to roll out the crust dough. You can press it with your hands into the springform pan.

The water bath step to bake the cheesecake helps it cook nicely, so make sure you have your roasting pan and aluminum foil ready. The foil is just in case you think your springform pan might have a leak in it. I found that out the hard way one time and replaced my springform pan with this one.

Here’s the downloadable, printable version of this recipe.

Enjoy!

XOXO

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

(Serves 8)

INGREDIENTS

Crust Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour, preferably fine ground

• 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, or sweetener of your choice

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 stick salted butter, melted (8 tablespoons)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 egg

• Coconut oil spray or butter for greasing pan

Filling Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 8-ounce packs full fat cream cheese, brought to room temperature

• 1/2 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt, or you can use sour cream or crème fraîche

• 1 cup pumpkin purée

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar, or sweetener of your choice

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot powder

• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Crust Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add in the egg and mix thoroughly into a dough. Spray a 9” springform pan with coconut oil spray, or grease with extra butter.

Press the dough ball into the springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan until the crust is about 1/4” thick overall. This will take a few minutes.

Bake in the oven 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and fragrant, being careful not to burn. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly before making and baking the cheesecake filling.

Filling Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, yogurt, pumpkin purée, vanilla, coconut sugar, and maple syrup. Mix in the eggs well. Sprinkle the arrowroot powder slowly over the bowl while mixing it in, being careful not to let it clump. Add in the spice mix and mix thoroughly. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula and make sure the batter is fully mixed once more.

Prepare a water bath: fill a roasting pan with 1-2” of warm tap water. Place the springform pan in a piece of foil large enough to go up the sides of the pan. Place the pan into the water bath. Pour cheesecake batter into the cooled crust in the springform pan. Carefully place the roasting pan holding the springform pan into the oven and bake 60-75 minutes, or until the center is cooked through and when you shake it, has movement but doesn’t jiggle. The cheesecake will rise up a bit when coming out of the oven, resembling a soufflé, but then it will fall as you chill it.

Remove the springform pan from the foil wrapping. Let it cool on counter for 1 hour. Place in the fridge and let it chill at least 4 hours before serving. Remove from the fridge. Slice and serve with freshly whipped cream.