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.
