The Pumpkin “Pie”

I love all things pumpkin, I really do.  From lattes to ice cream, I add it to everything this time of year. This brings me to this week’s Thanksgiving recipe, the pumpkin “Pie”.  Well actually it’s a cheesecake but that’s what the quotation marks are for aren’t they.  It combines two of my favorite desserts into the end all be all of desserts for the holiday. I will warn you that it does take about five hours to make and a full day to set but believe me that it is totally worth the time, just look at this picture.

Ingredients

Crust

·         2 cups crushed gingersnaps

·         6 tbsp. butter

·         1/4 cup brown sugar

·         1/8 tsp. salt

Caramel

·         1 cup sugar

·         2/3 cup light corn syrup

·         1/2 cup water

·         1/2 cup + 3 tbsp. heavy cream

·         1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cheesecake

·         5 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

·         5 eggs

·         2 egg yolks

·         2 tsp. vanilla

·         2 cups sugar

·         1/8 cup flour

·         1/4 cup heavy cream

·         1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

·         1 tsp. cinnamon

·         1 tsp. allspice

Process

1.      Get out your cream cheese, eggs and cream and let sit while making the crust so that they are at or close to room temp by the time you need them. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Mix gingersnaps, sugar, salt and butter in a bowl until combined and press into the bottom and about an inch or two up the sides of a 9″ or 10″ springform pan.

3.      Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take out to cool. Turn off the oven.

4.      While the crust is baking, make the caramel: Cook sugar, corn syrup, water and a pinch of salt in a heavy bottomed, 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir only until sugar is dissolved, then let the mixture come to a boil.

5.      Boil mixture until it turns a deep golden caramel, about 10 minutes. DO NOT STIR. EVER.

6.      Remove from heat and carefully pour the cream and vanilla down the side of the pan. Be careful, the mixture will bubble and steam.

7.      Turn burner to low and place pot back on. Stir carefully until the caramel is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.

8.      In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla; mix until smooth. Add in the sugar, flour and heavy cream and blend until smooth. Do not over-mix as this will create more air bubbles which can contribute to your cake cracking.

9.      Pour 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup caramel (if it has hardened too much, heat it up until it’s easier to pour). Mix until combined.

10.  Add the pumpkin and spices into the remaining 2/3 of the batter.

11.  Pour 1/3 of the pumpkin batter into the prepared crust. Drop in spoonfuls of the caramel batter on top. Pour in another 1/3 of the pumpkin batter and repeat the spoonfuls of the caramel batter. Pour in the rest of the pumpkin batter, it should be over 3/4 full, but not completely to the top (you may have some batter left over, it’s great for making mini-cheesecakes in mini muffin tins). Then drop in spoonfuls of the remaining caramel batter (cover the top, but don’t overfill). Finally, drizzle the caramel (again you may need to heat up a little) over the top and swirl it all around with a knife, but don’t overmix.

12.  Place in the oven and turn it on to 400 degrees (F). It should NOT be preheated. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 200 degrees (F). Bake for 3 hours. Turn the oven off, prop open the door slightly and let cool for 1 hour. Finally, place in your refrigerator and chill for a full 24 hours before removing the springform pan’s side and serving.