I was in charge of dessert (surprise, surprise), but couldn’t decide between a cheesecake, a sweet potato pie, or a pecan pie–so I combined all three. Forewarning, it takes a while for the cheesecake to ‘set up,’ so try to make this the day before so that it can refrigerate overnight.

Vegan Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Praline Pecans

Crust
16 graham crackers
3/4 cup melted earth balance
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling
1 package vegan cream cheese
1 cup sweet potato, mashed and cooked
1/4 cup vanilla almond/rice/soy milk (I used rice)
1/2 block silken tofu
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs worth of egg replacer

Topping
1 cup whole pecans–toasted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup earth balance

For crust:
*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
*Crush graham crackers. Add melted earth balance and sugar. Mix. Press into bottom and sides of spring form pan. If you do not have a spring form pan, split the mixture into two and press into standard pie pans (this is what we did). Bake 7 minutes.

*Prepare egg replacer. Beat all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Add to crust. Bake approximately 30-45 minutes (depending on pan) until set. Refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

*Add pecans to dry frying pan over low medium heat. Toast in pan for approximately 5 minutes, shaking pan to get the heat evenly distributed. Add pecans, along with all other ingredients to sauce pan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and syrupy. Use to top pie.