Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake





Since Fall is officially here, I decided it was time to make a cheesecake and what better ingredient than Pumpkin! This cheesecake is as beautiful to look at as it is to eat! The cheesecake coupled with the gingersnap crust was smooth and delish!

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year and Halloween is MY Holiday! I decorate to the MAX and enjoy ever single minute of the holiday and the days leading up to it!

Two things of note regarding this cheesecake
*To cut into nice sharp slices run your knife thru hot water and dry then cut
*Serve at room temperature

Ingredients:
· Crust (see Notes below):
· 2 cups finely crushed ginger snaps cookies
· 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
· 6 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

· Filling:
· 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
· 1 cup sugar, divided use
· 1 tsp vanilla
· 3 large eggs at room temperature
· 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) OR 1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
· 1/8 tsp ground cloves

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. (300 degrees F. for a dark springform pan) and position the oven rack in the center of the oven.

For the Crust (see Notes below):
Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

For the Cheesecake Filling:
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla until well blended. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing each time just until blended.

Remove 1-1/2 cups of the plain batter and set aside.

To the remaining plain batter, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Using a large spoon, stir to combine.
Pour 1/2 of pumpkin batter over crust in springform pan. Spoon 1/2 of plain batter over pumpkin layer. Repeat until all batter is used.

Using a long butter knife, gently swirl through all layers of cheesecake batter without disturbing crust to achieve a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Do not overbake. Use a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust.
Cool completely on wire rack.

Remove outer pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

Notes for Optional Pie Crust: If you don't want to bother with a springform pan, purchase or make two small or one 10-inch oversize graham cracker or gingersnap pie crust shells. Skip the crust part of this recipe above and proceed to the fillings. Divide both fillings equally between the small pie crust shells or use same instructions for large crust and swirl. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes for the small crusts and 45 to 50 minutes for the large.

25 comments:

Debbie said...

That's a perfect fall cheesecake. I love Halloween also!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

It's gorgeous and I want a slice right now!

Donna-FFW said...

I am DYING to get baking with pumpkin.. our stores wont have it available, in NJ, till oct sometime, such a pain to wt. Im an instant gratification type of girl.

This will be on my fall list of must must just gotta try.Its beautiful, I decorate to the max also.. make sure you take pics, I wanna see..

Krystal said...

That looks awesome. Fall pretty much just showed up today, and I'm anxious to start making yummy treats!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I love chesecake but I've never tried pumpkin cheesecake..

Imme said...

OK, we will be making this during the weekend. What a fabulous idea! I can't wait! :)

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

this is a beautiful thing...

Perfect for my upcoming chili cook off

Thanks for this recipe

Pam said...

This was truly the most delicious cheesecake I have EVER had. It was so creamy and flavorful. I especially loved the crust. Thanks for sharing Cheryl!

Foodiewife said...

You are evil! Pumpkin is one of my food craving weaknesses and so is cheesecake. I see this recipe coming soon, in my kitchen. I'll let you know when I make it. I can tell that this is amazing. Muwaah!

Unknown said...

Thank you for all the lovely comments you have left on my blog recently! :-) Wow - you are a very good cook! My human hates cooking and only does it so she can have stuff to eat...and she can't bake to save her life! :-)

SLobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Mini Baker said...

mmm I'm so excited for Fall! I'm also so excited I found your blog! I love it!!! I'll be back often :)
-Mini Baker

Heather said...

i'd like you to consider vacationing in arlington, va sometime soon. and when you do, you can make me this cheesecake! it looks AMAZING!

Velva said...

Your cheesecake looks amazing! YUM!

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

Looks great! I'll make it this weekend and let you know what our gang thinks.

megan said...

wow this looks awesome. I just found your blog through tastykitchen. isn't that a wonderful recipe site? I love to find new blogs like this. I love fall desserts, and believe it or not I've never made a cheesecake before! Maybe I"ll start with this one :)

Slices of Beauty... said...

Looks so yummy!

The Blonde Duck said...

Sweet wounded wuffles!

Paula said...

Cheeeeesecaaaake! Gingersnap crust! YUM! Oh lord, just plaster this on my hips now. :-)

Great photos, by the way. I especially like the one with the fork!

Anonymous said...

Everybody's got pumpkin on the brain, and I'm not complaining! Bring it on! Your cheesecake looks AMAZING!

Anonymous said...

Everybody's got pumpkin on the brain, and I'm not complaining! Bring it on! Your cheesecake looks AMAZING!

Anonymous said...

Everybody's got pumpkin on the brain, and I'm not complaining! Bring it on! Your cheesecake looks AMAZING!

Muneeba said...

Ahhhhhhhh .. so this is how I can turn my pumpkin cheesecake into a piece of art! Thks for the great tip ... looks fantastic! I plan to make this in a week or two, for sure.

Anonymous said...

The Canadian Thanksgiving is in one week, and this is SO GOING ON THE MENU.

Gingersnap crust? I think I just peed a little.

Unknown said...

Pumpkin cheese cake is my favorite, and yours looks fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Great Recipe! For those with dogs your left over pumpkin puree is great to help keep them regular, spoon some in with their food. Mine LOVES it. ; )

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