Recipe: Raw, vegan, gluten-free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Gingerbread Crust

Whether you're a raw foodie or not, these bars from Raw Fragrant Vanilla Cupcake look OUT OF THIS UNIVERSE. 

Nut free, vegan, and gluten free, this treat will please any of the pickier eaters. Great for upcoming Fall festivities - I know I'm definitely going to do a test-bake (does it count if its raw?)  for Thanksgiving! 

(Pssst: there's actually no pumpkin in this recipe! Raw pumpkin is not so sweet and pretty hard to deal with, so using raw carrots with the right spices does the trick!) 

What You'll Need: 

Crust:
2 cups finely shredded dried coconut
3/4 cup buckwheat, sprouted and dehydrated (or additional coconut)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
12 soft medjool dates, pitted (if not soft, soak them until they are and drain them)

Pumpkin:
2 cups fresh young coconut meat*
1/4 cup fresh coconut water (or filtered water)
3 Tbsp raw coconut nectar, raw agave nectar, or raw honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
seeds of one vanilla bean, or 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid

1 cup chopped raw carrots**
1 tsp maple extract (optional)
1 inch chunk fresh ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

For the crust, combine coconut, buckwheat, sea salt, ginger, spices, dates in the food processor and process until fine crumbs and starting to hold together when squeezed. Press the mixture into a 9 inch square pan lined with foil and set aside in the fridge.

To make the filling, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter in a high speed blender or food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, add the coconut butter and process a minute more. Remove 1/4 of the mixture and set aside. To the remaining mixture in the food processor, add the carrot, maple, ginger, spices and puree until smooth (if you do not have a powerful food processor, you may need to strain the mixture and press it through a fine meshed strainer to get out the bits). Pour the "pumpkin" mixture over the crust, spread to smooth, then drop the plain reserved mixture over it randomly by the Tbsp. Swirl with a knife, and place in the freezer until firmed up, about 2 hours (it needs to be very firm in order to cut cleanly).

Once the bars are firm, cut into squares, and enjoy! Store in the fridge.

* if coconut meat is unavailable (and if using nuts is an option), Raw Fragrant Vanilla Cupcake suggests substituting 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours, then drained for the coconut meat, and filtered water for the coconut water in the recipe.
**raw carrot tastes just like raw pumpkin, but is a lot easier to work with, and sweeter which is why I use it. But feel free to use raw pumpkin or squash if you like.

Make Your Whole Body Happy  and give this recipe a try. How'd it go?

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