24 November 2014
Welcome friends. Every year when the temperatures first drop and I have to bundle up to be outside the cold wind feels like it is peeling back the layers and leaving me exposed. Like the bark on this tree. We have had a drop in the temperature, and I just want to stay inside and bake something.
I've been making pumpkin cheesecake for years. So long, in fact, that I don't remember where the original recipe came from. I don't think there was any pumpkin in the recipe, at the start, but I love pumpkin so that was my first addition.
In this recipe, I can see different influences from different times. I have a friend who can't eat glutens. She invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner. I found gluten-free ginger snaps to make the crust, but the crust was very hard. I gave the recipe to another friend, and she added graham crackers with the ginger snaps to improve the texture of the crust. I liked the combination, so I adopted it. I had a phase when I added liquor to recipes. I tried irish cream and it worked well with the other flavors. If you don't like the flavor of irish cream, you should omit it. I found that I needed to reduce the amount of irish cream because it seems to get stronger the longer the cake lasts. A few years ago I started using ricotta in other recipes. I decided to use it to replace some of the cream cheese. I think the greek yogurt is the newest addition to the recipe, although I had been using a regular yogurt. All of these things combine to create a cheesecake with a creamy texture that doesn't seem too heavy.
I am looking for a new springform pan. The tops of my cakes have been cracking since I started using this springform pan. I've had a few pans that have leaked. A cracked top is much easier for me to deal with than a pan that leaks and makes a mess in the oven.
Try making this a day or two before you want to serve it, if that is possible. I think cheesecake is one of those things that tastes better after a day or two. If you have leftovers, this is also a good candidate for the freezer. You can freeze it for about 2 months.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
30 min. prep time | 1 hr bake time | chill overnight
Ingredients
serves 8 to 10
- for the crust
- 1/2 cup ginger snaps (about 6)
- 1 cup graham crackers (about 4)
- 3 Tbl butter, melted
- for the filling
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, room temp.
- 8 oz ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup fat-free, plain, greek yogurt
- 4 eggs, room temp.
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tbl vanilla
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 Tbl Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 15 oz solid pack pumpkin
Directions
preheat the oven to 350° F.
place the ginger snaps and graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs. Add the melted butter, and pulse the processor a few times to combine all the ingredients. Place the crust into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and press the crumbs to cover the base evenly. Place this in the freezer while you make the filling.
place the eggs, cheeses, yogurt, sugar, and spices in a blender. Mix until these are combined and smooth. Pour the mixture in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin and bailey’s and whisk them into the batter.
pour the batter into the pan, place the pan on a baking sheet, and place these in the middle of the heated oven.
bake for 1 hour. Check the cake by opening the door and, using an oven mitt, gently sliding the pan toward you. Watch to see how the center moves as you slide the pan. If just a little jiggles at the center, it is done. If more than a third of the center jiggles, bake for 6 more minutes and check again.
allow the cake to cool for 2 hours and then cover the top of the pan with foil and refrigerate the cake overnight. Gently run a knife between the cake and the pan edge before releasing the spring on the side of the pan.