DB Upside Down Peach Cashew Cheesecake with Mango Compote

"Cheesecake gone crazy" was echoing in my head after learning of the challenge that had really no restrictions beyond being a cheesecake. I've made vegan ones before with Tofutti cream cheese, and have been impressing (or tricking) non-vegans for quite some time now. So I wanted to challenge myself and come up with a recipe using cashews instead of the conventional vegan Tofutti alternative. I also wanted to stay within my grocery budget and use what was in my pantry, fridge, freezer, etc. So... a carton of soy yogurt got subbed for my original plan to use silken tofu (someone used it!), and instead of fresh fruit, I defrosted a bag of frozen mangoes. Feel free to do your own substitutions and use what's in your kitchen!

I pressed my graham cracker-date crust into the bottoms of a mini bundt cake pan to make 6 cute little individual cheesecakes, as shown below.

Here they are turned out onto a cookie sheet. They didn't stick- yay!!

In the end, I got very good reviews- success!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 C. ground graham crackers
1/2 C. dried pitted dates
2 T. water
1 T. Earth Balance buttery sticks

Filling:
1 C. raw cashews, soaked overnight
6 oz. container of peach soy yogurt (or try coconut milk yogurt)
2 T. agave nectar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. lemon juice

Mango Compote:
2 1/2 C. frozen mango
1/4 C. water
1/4 C. sugar
small pinch of salt

Spinz:
Process the crust ingredients until you get a fine crumble that sticks together when pressed. Spray cooking spray into mini bundt pans and fill evenly with the crust. Press into the bottoms. Bake for 5 minutes at 350.
Blend all ingredients for the filling until silky smooth. Pour evenly into bundt pans on top of the crusts. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350.
In a sauce pan, heat the mango compote ingredients until a nice syrup develops. Taste, and alter acidity with lemon juice or sweetness with more or less sugar if needed. My frozen mangoes were really sour and not very sweet, so these amounts may vary.
To assemble, let the cheesecakes cool to room temp. Turn them out onto a sheet pan and transfer onto a plate with the mango compote already on it. If desired, add a dollop of vegan whipped cream.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.