By Angela McGowan
The best part of fall for me is all the pumpkin, that is if you can’t tell from all the pumpkin recipes I’ve been sharing lately. My all time favorite way to enjoy pumpkin though is everybody’s favorite, pumpkin pie, although I do love cheesecake too. I really can’t decide which I like better, so when I heard about pumpkin cheesecake, I knew I just had to try it at home. It took me a while to try it, because the Cheesecake Factory is so close to our home, but I finally did it yesterday. Mine wasn’t as rich, it was a little lighter, and a fraction of the price. That was the best part!
Yield: SERVES 4
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 5 graham crackers
- 5 ginger snaps
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 packages cream cheese, 8 oz, at room temperature
- 1 – 14 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 3/4 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine graham crackers, ginger snaps and pecans in food processor. Pulse until fine. Add melted butter and pulse until well combined. Press crust into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Now you have to make your pan watertight. Either wrap it with two sheets of aluminum foil, the type that comes in the long box, heavy duty 18 inch, or I have also heard that a turkey roasting bag will fit around the cheesecake pan. Do not use 2 sheets of regular size aluminum foil, this is not watertight, and you will have a soggy crust.
3. Add ricotta cheese to large mixing bowl. Use a hand-held mixer to blend until it is smooth. Add cream cheese and sugar. Blend until smooth. Add pumpkin, spices and salt. Blend until well combined. Add eggs, slowly, one at a time. Make sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next egg.
4. Pour batter into cake pan. Place cheesecake in a large roasting pan and fill with water until water comes halfway up the cheesecake pan. Place in oven. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for 50- 60 minutes. Center will be jiggly when done, but not ripply. Turn oven off and leave it in the oven an additional 2 hours. Remove cheesecake after 2 hours and place on cooling rack until it is room temperature. Then place cheesecake in refrigerator for at least 8 hours before serving.
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