Pumpkin Cheesecake

Monday, November 7, 2016




Living by the ocean has spoiled me!  The sound of the surf at night, the view from my porch, the endless line-up of boats at the dock, the 3-mile walks each morning when it's just the rising sun and the fishermen sharing the beach with me. All this has threaded its way into my heart and when the time comes to leave, I know a part of me will stay.


But fall just wouldn't be fall without a glimpse of our maple and oak-studded yard in Winston-Salem in all it's blazing glory, so we drove home for a few days.  And it seemed the leaves were just waiting for our arrival, because they have been falling by the bushels ever since we drove in the lane.

I made this pumpkin cheesecake yesterday to celebrate Autumn. It's perfectly creamy, not too sweet, and a lovely ending to a harvest meal, or for your Thanksgiving table.  I hope you enjoy it in the company of family or friends and that you appreciate every minute of this beautiful season.





Pumpkin Cheesecake



Pumpkin Cheesecake
Recipe from Southern Living Magazine

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled (I used ginger snap cookies)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
5 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons white sugar
vegetable cooking spray

Filling
4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Topping
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of pumpkin pie spice


  • Prepare crust:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Press mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch (I used a 10-inch) springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. let stand at room temperature until ready to use.
  • Prepare filling:  Beat cream cheese and next three ingredients at medium-low speed in a stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low speed just until yellow disappears after each addition.
  • Stir together lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree. (Reserve remaining pumpkin puree.) Add this to cream cheese mixture and beat at low speed until blended.
  • Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 325F for 50 - 60 minutes, or until center of cheesecake jiggles.
  • Prepare topping: Stir together sour cream and 3 tablespoons white sugar. Reserve 1/3 cup of sour cream/sugar mixture. Stir together remaining sour cream mixture, pinch of pumpkin pie spice, and reserved pumpkin puree.
  • Remove cheesecake from oven. Gently spread sour cream/pumpkin mixture over cheesecake. Dollop with reserved 1/3 cup sour cream/sugar mixture and gently swirl with a knife.
  • Return cheesecake to oven and bake at 325F for 5 more minutes. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven with door closed for 15 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from side of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.)
  • Cool completely on wire rack, about two hours. Cover and chill for 8 hours (or not - I served mine after chilling for 2 hours).







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