Pumpkin cheesecake with a slice of itself.
Thanksgiving is a mere 8 days away, and I’ve been trying out recipes to decide what will grace our table this year. I am, naturally, talking about dessert recipes; Hubbles has the main course covered, so I’m letting him work his magic in peace. Flipping through my copy of Cook’s Illustrated holiday baking magazine (which I saw in line at the grocery store and, of course, had to snatch up – hurray for marketing; it works!), I saw a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. I’ve been wanting to make a pumpkin cheesecake ever since I saw Gordon Ramsay’s recipe for it in his book, Gordon Ramsay’s Just Desserts, but Hubs has an irrational hatred for pumpkin (yes, honey, it is irrational), and to be fair, pumpkin has never been my favourite. Plus Gordon, while producing reliable recipes, nevertheless has a way of making even the most basic dish seem finicky and esoteric. (Though his banana ice cream is to die for. Fear not, as I will be posting about this when the weather warms up a bit! I have at last blogged about that banana wonder!) So the pumpkin cheesecake kept getting put on the back burner, in a manner of speaking.
Pumpkin cheesecake, probably wondering where that slice of itself has gotten off to.
Still, I would periodically long for the chance to make a pumpkin cheesecake, as I’d never worked with pumpkin in the kitchen before and it seemed very interesting! Pumpkins are such adorable things before they’re sliced and diced, you see. I’m nothing if not a sucker for things that are adorable. Anyway, after carving pumpkins this year, and then reading the description by Cook’s Illustrated of the luscious texture and balanced taste of its pumpkin cheesecake, which seemed more balanced and approachable than Gordon Ramsay’s, I decided it was high time to go ahead and make a pumpkin cheesecake, and –
Swoon.
A slice of pumpkin cheesecake, showcasing its silky texture.
As pumpkin flesh is quite fibrous and tough, I was very much taken aback by the cheesecake’s silky texture. It was every bit as creamy and soft as this New York style cheesecake (also by Cook’s Illustrated, funnily enough). The spices – a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice – really are perfectly balanced, and do not overwhelm the pumpkin flavour. The notes of mild, earthy pumpkin and tangy cream cheese are also in perfect symmetry; and these three elements – spices, pumpkin, and cream cheese – are in beautiful harmony. (It’s worth noting that Gordon Ramsay’s pumpkin cheesecake doesn’t call for any spices, period, and is probably quite bland. Still, I’ll give it a whirl at some point, just to compare the two recipes.) I’d thought that Dawn Yanagihara, the Cook’s Illustrated author who wrote that her pumpkin cheesecake would “strike a harmoniously spicy chord” and have a “velvety-smooth texture,” was employing a bit of grandiloquence, but she nailed it with this cheesecake. I’ve always been lukewarm about pumpkin, as I mentioned above, but this cheesecake has won me over to the Pumpkin Side.
There’s yet much, much more to this cheesecake! The crust is made of graham crackers and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, and tastes more like ginger snaps than graham crackers. It’s a lovely accompaniment to the pumpkin cheesecake, adding a bit of crunch and ginger snappishness to the cheesecake that is unexpectedly complex and rich. The brown sugar and bourbon whipped cream is a dreamy addition to the cheesecake, adding a tangy sweetness to the pumpkin flavour. Tasted on its own, I found the whipped cream to be overly strong and kind of sour due to the bourbon, so much so that I nearly threw it out! Thank heavens I didn’t, because when consumed with the cheesecake, it becomes the gastronomical equivalent of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. I’m serious. I was blown away by how well the whipped cream and the cheesecake go together. The whipped cream recipe yields nearly 2 cups of whipped cream goodness, which is quite a bit, so I recommend either cutting the recipe in half or simply passing a bowl of the whipped cream around with the cheesecake, in case some diners prefer lots of whipped cream with their cheesecake.
This is one helluva pumpkin dessert, man. I made it expecting to like it okay, but I fell deeply, deeply in love with it. This is so much better than your garden variety pumpkin pie that it’s not even funny. You just look soberly at the pumpkin pie and lower your eyes… because there’s a new kid in town.
Pumpkin cheesecake topped with swirls of gorgeous brown sugar and bourbon whipped cream. That’s kind of a mouthful of a name for whipped cream. Pun Power!
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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Sugar & Bourbon Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
For the crust:
9 whole graham crackers (I used Honey Maid brand)
3 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
8 TBS unsalted butter, melted and divided (1 TBS will be used for brushing sides of springform pan)
For the cheesecake:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 (15 oz.) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into 1″ chunks
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 TBS lemon juice
5 large eggs, at room temperature (I place eggs in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes to get them to room temperature)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp bourbon
pinch of salt (optional)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
Method:
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 325˚F. Spray the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper round, and spray the round. Try to avoid spraying the sides, as you’ll be brushing these with melted butter. It’s okay if a little spray gets on the sides of the pan.
Process graham crackers, sugar, and spices in a food processor until finely ground. (You can use a potato masher to crush the graham crackers in a large bowl. Once crushed as finely as possible, mix in sugar & spices with a fork.) Transfer crumb mixture to medium bowl and mix in 7 TBS melted butter with a fork, reserving the remaining TBS for brushing the sides of the springform pan.
Graham cracker crust, spiced to imitate ginger snaps, about to be pressed into the springform pan.
Evenly press mixture onto the bottom of the prepared springform pan, using a glass measuring cup or similar to ensure evenness. Try to keep the sides of the pan as clean as possible. Bake crust until fragrant and lightly browned around edges, about 15 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely on wire rack. Do not turn off oven.
Once crust is cool, wrap two 18″x18″ sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil around the outside of the springform pan in preparation for a water bath. Ensure that the aluminum foil is wrapped such that no water will seep into the crust while the cheesecake is baking. Place foil-wrapped springform pan into a large roasting pan (I used a 12″ round cake pan) and set a kettle of water on to boil (this will be the hot water you pour into the roasting pan).
For the cheesecake:
Whisk sugar, spices, and salt together in a small bowl and set aside. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a triple layer of paper towels and evenly spread the pumpkin puree across the paper towels. Press another triple layer of paper towels onto the pumpkin and press gently with your hands to encourage the pumpkin to release its liquid. Set aside.
The pumpkin is lurking there beneath the paper towels!
In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese on low speed for one minute; scrape sides of bowl. Add half the sugar and spice mixture; beat on low speed for one minute and scrape sides of bowl. Add remaining sugar and spice mixture and beat on low speed for one minute; scrape sides of bowl.
Returning to the pumpkin, peel back the top layer of paper towels and discard. Using the bottom layer of paper towels, fold the pumpkin in half, then into quarters.
Lifting the paper towels to reveal the pumpkin.
The pumpkin hath been folded in half.
The pumpkin hath been folded into… quarters!
Transfer pumpkin to mixer bowl, along with the vanilla and lemon juice. Beat for one minute on low speed, then scrape sides of bowl.
When the pumpkin was added, it turned the batter a very pretty buttery orange colour.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low for one minute after each addition and scraping sides of mixer bowl after each addition.
To get eggs to room temperature quickly, I place them in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes, rotating their positions every couple of minutes if they don’t quite fit in the bowl, as is the case here.
Add heavy cream and beat on low speed for 45 seconds.
By the time the heavy cream is added, very little mixing is needed to completely incorporate the cream.
Use a spatula to finish stirring the cream into the batter, if necessary. Tap mixer bowl on the table or counter a few times to encourage air bubbles to rise and pop.
Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Carefully fill the roasting pan halfway with water that is just shy of boiling; take care not to burn yourself. The water should come halfway up the sides of the cheesecake. Be sure when decanting the water that you do not splash any into the cheesecake batter or inside any folds of aluminum foil.
The cheesecake in its water bath, awaiting transport to the oven.
Bake at 325˚F for 90 minutes, or until the center two inches of the cheesecake still wobble slightly when the pan is gently shaken. The edges of the cheesecake should look set but not browned. Set roasting pan onto wire rack and immediately run a paring knife around the sides of the cheesecake to prevent its sticking to the pan. Allow cheesecake to cool in its water bath for 45 minutes to an hour; the water inside the roasting pan should be lukewarm or cool. Carefully remove cheesecake from roasting pan and discard aluminum foil. Place springform pan back onto wire rack, this time with neither roasting pan nor aluminum foil, and allow cheesecake to cool completely, about 3 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours; overnight is best.
To unmould cheesecake:
Take plastic wrap from top of cheesecake and set aside upside-down, so that the side that was touching the cheesecake is facing up. Release pan sides. Run bottom of cheesecake, still on springform bottom, over hot stovetop for 10 – 15 seconds. Lay the plastic wrap back onto the top of the cheesecake, and place a large, flat plate over the top of the cheesecake. Carefully flip cheesecake upside down so that the top of the cheesecake is against the plate. Using an extremely sharp knife, loosen cheesecake from springform bottom. (You may have to reheat the bottom of the pan if it is being stubborn.) This is where lining the springform pan with parchment paper pays off – the crust should easily release from the springform pan bottom. Flip cheesecake onto serving platter. Remove plastic wrap from top of cheesecake.
To slice cheesecake cleanly, use a sharp knife dipped into very hot water and wiped dry. Between each slice, wipe knife clean, re-dip into hot water, and wipe dry. This sounds like a lot of work for slicing a cheesecake, but you’ll be rewarded with clean, sharp edges on each slice.
For the whipping cream:
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients with a whisk until incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to one day, stirring once or twice to help brown sugar dissolve completely. When ready to serve, whip mixture until soft peaks form. Serve immediately.
Source: Barely adapted from Cook’s Illustrated All-time Best Holiday Baking, 2013
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