Nonsequitur Life

I made Bob a pumpkin cheesecake for his birthday. Two of his favorite desserts in one. I’m not entirely crazy about pumpkin myself, but I’ll spoil my husband completely.

Finding a cheesecake recipe that isn’t overly complicated is damn near impossible. Put it in a water bath exactly three inches deep, bake it for six hours at 100 degrees, leave it sitting in the oven for three hours with the door open after it’s done baking, only use cream cheese made with whole milk straight from the cow in your own backyard, and for pumpkin cheesecake—only use fresh pumpkin goo from a pumpkin you grew yourself.

You get my point.

I finally found a recipe that wouldn’t take days to make.

I had to cross my fingers that it wouldn’t turn out like my last cheesecake attempt, but hey you know, whatever.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

1 & 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (8 sheets or one sleeve)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 stick butter, melted (try 1/2 stick)

Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk (I accidentally used 1 egg white instead of a yolk…oops…it still worked out and is slightly healthier!)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional as this is slightly redundant)
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Press into 9-inch spring form pan in an even layer, it should spread up the sides about 1/2 to 1 inch. Bake for 10 minutes and let it cool slightly before adding filling.

3.) Beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, sugar, and spices. Add vanilla and flour. Beat until well combined and smooth.

4.) Pour filling into crust. Spread out evenly and bake for 1 hour to 1hr 20 minutes (depending on oven). A water-bath is recommended to keep top from cracking, but is not required.

5.) Remove from oven and cool to about room temp. (Cool enough to not put out too much heat in the refrigerator.) Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

Adapted from here.

I always put my spring-form pan on a cookie sheet for easier handling (and just in case of a leak). After I pre-baked the crust, there was melted butter pooling around the edges of the cookie sheet. PLANNING! I sopped up most of it with a paper towel before putting the filled crust back in the oven. A considerable amount of more melted butter leaked out over the course of baking. I think if I make this recipe again, I’ll reduce the amount of butter used in the crust to 1/2 stick and see how it goes.

The original recipe said to bake for 1 hour, but it was still incredibly wobbly in the middle so I put it back in for another 10 minutes and checked again. Still really jiggly. Another ten minutes seemed to do the trick. My top did crack, but I’m not trying to win any presentation contests, so I didn’t bother trying to concoct a water-bath. I don’t have a big enough pan to use anyway.

I used fat-free cream cheese, which might be the cause of the need for a longer bake-time.

The original also said to cool for 15 minutes before refrigerating. It was still way too hot after 15 minutes and I wasn’t about to put that much heat in my fridge. I let it cool to almost room temperature before covering it with foil (and putting it on a plate to keep the butter mess contained) and refrigerating. I left it overnight to give it proper set-time.

Admittedly, I held my breath a little when cutting into it. It was nicely set, unlike last time. The pumpkin made it slightly less dense than traditional cheesecake and also, not nearly as rich. The outer edge of my crust was pretty hard and difficult to cut through, I suspect it had to do with my butter leaking problem.

Bob thoroughly enjoyed his birthday cheesecake. As did our cake guests, Willy and Tommy. I also sent a piece home with them for Marci since she missed out. Now we only have half a cheesecake taunting us in the fridge instead of one with just two pieces gone so far.

But hey—fat free cream cheese! It’s practically a health food!

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