Sunday, November 16, 2008

Pumpkin Cheesecake



It's autumn, and that means all things pumpkin. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice lattes, and pumpkin cheesecake! I've got a little dinner party to go to tonight, so I decided to try making a pumpkin cheesecake, which I've never done before. So, take this recipe with a grain of salt, I guess, because as of this writing I haven't actually tried it yet. It certainly looks and smells good, though.

Update: Scratch that last part. We tried it, it's awesome.

Clinton Hill Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted - if melting in the microwave, use a very low power setting

Filling:

24 oz. cream cheese (three 8 oz. packages) - it's important to make sure these have a chance to sit and soften at room temperature, so take them our for an hour or so before your start.
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.





Combine the graham cracker, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl and mix until combined.



Press into the bottom of a springform pan (I used a 9" one) and bake for 5 minutes. Set aside.





Mix the cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. I used a stand mixer, but any electric mixer should work. Add the eggs, pumpkin, and spices and continue to mix until smooth.





Pour the mixture into the pan and back for 65-70 minutes. I'm not exactly sure when it's done (this is my first one), so I went until the top was just starting to brown.



Take out and let cool. I think I pulled the ring of the pan off a bit too early, as it pulled a ring of the edges off around the sides, which you can see in the picture.



Getting the cake off the pan was pretty eay once I watched this video.

So we'll see how this comes out! I'll update this post once I've had a chance to try it.

Update!

The cheesecake was a huge hit, and I'll definitely be making it again. I forgot to mention that I made some whipped cream to go on it. There's nothing to it, and it makes a huge difference.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Add ingredients to a bowl. Whip (I use either the stand mixer (set it and forget it), or an electric hand mixer). It takes a few minutes for the cream to get thick enough. If you keep whipping forever it will turn into butter, but that takes a long time, so don't worry about over-whipping.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

ohhh boy, that really wets my whistle... you go girl

Anonymous said...

Man does that look good. What other desert recipes do you have up your sleeve.

Anonymous said...

i've heard that letting the cake cool in the oven with a pan of steaming hot water helps prevent the cracks on top. Not really a taste-issue, but if you are into cosmetic stuff. Anyways, looks SUPER tasty!

Brian said...

I am, and that's definitely the next step, making it look pretty. I'm thinking of doing a chocolate cheesecake next with some kind of chocolate glaze.

Anonymous said...

hey let me ask you, is there anyway we can take this to the next step and do some tastings?

Brian said...

No plans to right now, but hopefully I'll be able to take part in one of the Brooklyn blogger get-togethers, and I think it would be fitting to bring some food.

Right now I'm trying to decide whether I want to make a flourless chocolate cake or a goat cheese cake next week.

Anonymous said...

Oh Goat Cheese for sure. Go Foodie Go

Anonymous said...

Goat Cheese, live a little....

Anonymous said...

i vote for goat cheese, that sounds super yum.

Brian said...

Well, I bought 14 ounces of goat cheese last night, so goat cheese it is!