Pumpkin Cheesecake
This cheesecake looks and tastes like a professional made it. I've gotten more compliments on this recipe than I can remember. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or anytime you're craving pumpkin!
This cheesecake looks and tastes like a professional made it. I've gotten more compliments on this recipe than I can remember. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or anytime you're craving pumpkin!
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
- topping
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
- crust
- filling
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- garnish
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 cups pecans finely chopped
- 1/4 cups light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cups unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3/4 cups graham crackers crumbs
- 1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoons ginger
- 1/2 cups light brown sugar firmly packed
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons whipping cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups sour cream room temperature
- 1/2 cups light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Carbohydrate 60.6810935773128 g
- Cholesterol 264.545937506452 mg
- Fat 36.8267811274351 g
- Fiber 2.50772505727507 g
- Protein 11.3399090000445 g
- Saturated Fat 15.0686329390417 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (233g)
- Sodium 1165.29852126108 mg
- Sugar 58.1733685200378 g
- Trans Fat 4.10001792517097 g
- Calories 604 calories
Step-by-step
- Chill nine inch springform pan, butter thoroughly, set aside in refrigerator.
- To make crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, chopped pecans, brown sugar, and sugar.
- Stir in butter and press into the bottom a 1/2 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
- Chill 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- To make filling, whisk together pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, brown sugar, and eggs. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat cream cheese until mostly smooth.
- Add sugar, cream, cornstarch, and vanilla, and beat in.
- Beat in pumpkin mixture until smooth.
- Fill large bowl or pan with hot water, put pan on lower rack of oven.
- Pour filling into crust and bake for 50-55 minutes on the middle rack in the center of the oven, until center is just set. The middle few inches may wiggle slightly when done, this is okay. Do not let the edge of the cake grow more than light brown.
- Remove from oven (do not turn off), run thin spatula or knife carefully around edge of pan, and let cool on wire rack for five minutes.
- To make topping, whisk together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.
- Spread evenly over top of cheesecake and then bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cheesecake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1-2 hours.
- Cover and chill overnight. Carefully remove rim of pan.
- To candy pecan garnishes, preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and butter.
- Beat egg white until very foamy, whisk in brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in pecans, pour out onto cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until browned. Allow to cool. Store in refrigerator.
- Garnish chilled cheesecake with candied pecan halves. Enjoy!
Achieving a smooth, crack-free surface on a high-dairy baked custard requires careful ambient humidity management and precise thermal control. Dense cream cheese batters are prone to surface splitting when baked in dry oven environments, making auxiliary moisture sources non-negotiable. Bakers must also account for specific chilling windows to stabilize the starches and fats.
- Use a heavy nine-inch springform pan, and chill the metal thoroughly in the refrigerator before pressing in the crumb crust to solidify the butter base.
- Place a large vessel of hot water on the lower oven rack during baking to generate steam, which buffers the surface temperature and prevents rapid protein contraction.
- Pull the cake from the oven when the outer edges are set and the inner two inches retain a slight wobble, as residual heat will finish the internal cooking.
- Run a thin metal spatula around the perimeter of the pan exactly five minutes after baking to separate the shrinking custard from the metal wall before cooling.
- Store the finished dessert covered in the refrigerator overnight, as the extended refrigeration window allows the cornstarch and dairy fats to fully firm up.
Leftover slices maintain their structural integrity for up to four days when kept chilled in an airtight container. The dense crumb crust and spiced custard actually benefit from an extra day of resting, as the moisture equalizes throughout the layers.
