3 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 15-ounce can puréed pumpkin (450 ml)
3 eggs, room temperature
¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch black pepper (optional)
Serve with:
whipped cream
gingersnap crumbs
Takes ,
serves 12-16.
Instructions
For best results, cheesecake should be prepared a day in advance.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the pan: Grease or spray the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a round of parchment and place into the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the bottom of the pan with 2 squares of foil.
Make the base: Reserve two tablespoons of gingersnap crumbs for garnish. Place remaining gingersnap crumbs, sugar, ground ginger and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Slowly add melted butter, stirring to create a loose crumb. Pour into pan then press into an even layer on the bottom and 1-inch up the side. Transfer to oven and bake for 7 minutes to set. Cool on a wire rack.
Prepare the filling: Place cream cheese and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Run machine on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, eggs, sour cream and vanilla mixing to incorporate. Then add spices, salt and pepper, if using. Mix to fully incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour batter into springform pan. Place the springform into a larger pan, like a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
Transfer to oven and bake for 60 minutes. The centre may still be jiggly.
Turn the oven off, crack the door slightly open. Leave cheesecake within for 1 hour as the oven cools. Then remove from oven and carefully lift the cheesecake pan from the water bath. Remove and discard foil. Place cheesecake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cool, loosely cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator overnight.
To serve: Remove cheesecake from refrigerator placing it on an attractive serving plate. Gently pop the buckle on the ring lifting it up and away from the cheesecake. Slide cheesecake off metal base or serve as is. Cut cake into 12 or 16 portions, cleaning the knife after each cut. Transfer wedges to dessert plates and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of reserved gingersnap crumbs.
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the base:
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
3 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 15-ounce can puréed pumpkin (450 ml)
3 eggs, room temperature
¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch black pepper (optional)
Serve with:
whipped cream
gingersnap crumbs
Directions
For best results, cheesecake should be prepared a day in advance.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the pan: Grease or spray the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a round of parchment and place into the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the bottom of the pan with 2 squares of foil.
Make the base: Reserve two tablespoons of gingersnap crumbs for garnish. Place remaining gingersnap crumbs, sugar, ground ginger and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Slowly add melted butter, stirring to create a loose crumb. Pour into pan then press into an even layer on the bottom and 1-inch up the side. Transfer to oven and bake for 7 minutes to set. Cool on a wire rack.
Prepare the filling: Place cream cheese and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Run machine on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, eggs, sour cream and vanilla mixing to incorporate. Then add spices, salt and pepper, if using. Mix to fully incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour batter into springform pan. Place the springform into a larger pan, like a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
Transfer to oven and bake for 60 minutes. The centre may still be jiggly.
Turn the oven off, crack the door slightly open. Leave cheesecake within for 1 hour as the oven cools. Then remove from oven and carefully lift the cheesecake pan from the water bath. Remove and discard foil. Place cheesecake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cool, loosely cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator overnight.
To serve: Remove cheesecake from refrigerator placing it on an attractive serving plate. Gently pop the buckle on the ring lifting it up and away from the cheesecake. Slide cheesecake off metal base or serve as is. Cut cake into 12 or 16 portions, cleaning the knife after each cut. Transfer wedges to dessert plates and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of reserved gingersnap crumbs.
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
5 / 5. 1
A light gingersnap crust topped with a filling of spiced pumpkin and sweetened cream cheese, served with whipped cream…
Got a craving for pumpkin spice? This SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE recipe is for you!
We’ll start with a huge thank you to my dear friend Olga for inspiring this post. Like us, Olga and her family love that pumpkin spice flavour profile, but who knew it could be so captivating and memorable in a homemade cheesecake recipe? Trust us, this SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE is straightforward to prepare and extremely delicious.
Our go-forward with this recipe: sure you can make and enjoy it anytime, but it’s especially wonderful for the holidays, think Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just don’t forget that this dessert recipe has to be made the day before you intend to serve.
Now, if pumpkin and other members of the squash family are to your liking, we have other new recipes for you to try. Give breakfast an upgrade with our PUMPKIN SCONES, then for lunch or dinner a SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP. Party people can’t get enough of this SPICED PUMPKIN HUMMUS, and for those with a sweet tooth, our PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE or the twist on the classic, PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES.
But let’s get back to the main attraction. Here are some tips and things to consider when making this SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE:
SPRINGFORM PAN
Whenever someone asks, “What’s the best pan to bake a cheesecake in?”, the first answer that comes to mind is a springform pan. The springform pan was invented in Germany by the company CHG, and first appeared in their catalogue in 1910. These pans feature sides that can be removed from the base thanks to a belt-like action. A latch on the side loosens or tightens the side when aligned with a groove that runs around the base. We used a 9-inch springform pan with a flat-bottom insert (not waffle or Bundt). Using it for this recipe involves spraying it lightly with nonstick cooking spray, adding a round of parchment paper to the base, and then wrapping the bottom and sides with foil – more about that in a bit.
CHEESECAKE CRUST
One of the surprise flavours in this pumpkin cheesecake recipe comes compliments of the crust. Our goal from the outset was to make a dessert that kept the flavour of the pumpkin and spices at the forefront. Usually, the main ingredient in cheesecake crusts is Graham crackers, and yes, we too love a good Graham cracker crust. But then we thought about that goal to boost the spice flavourings, so we used gingersnap cookies zipped in a food processor. We also added ground ginger to the cheesecake crust mix.
The steps to making this flavourful crust are easy. Simply mix the cookie crumbs, granulated sugar, kosher salt and ground ginger together in a medium bowl. Then add the melted unsalted butter in slowly while stirring to combine.
Forming and baking the crust is also easy. Transfer crumbs to the springform pan then use a tablespoon or flat-bottomed measuring cup to push the buttered crumbs down into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Then, press crumbs up the sides of pan, about 1-inch up. After that, a quick 7-minute bake in the oven to set and you’ll be good to go. One special direction is to reserve a few tablespoons of the gingersnap crumbs to the side. It’s a lovely garnish for when the cheesecake is served.
PUMPKIN SPICE
In the VIDEO attached to this recipe, we give you an out: feel free to use your go-to pre-made pumpkin spice blend in this recipe. But, if you want a more memorable, more fragrant, tastier cheesecake, follow our lead and stir up your own.
We played around with the quantity of spices for this recipe and have a blend that really delivers the best pumpkin spice blend we’ve ever tried. Blending ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves in a small bowl does the trick. Note, we also added a pinch of salt and a pinch or two of freshly ground pepper into the spice blend. You can leave them out if you’re crafting a larger quantity of pumpkin spice blend to also use beyond this cheesecake recipe.
FILLING
Looking at the above photo of the ingredients you’ll need for the filling hopefully has you thinking, “Hey, I can do this!” Yes, you can! Picking up the ingredients at your local grocer should be a breeze. Bet you already have granulated sugar and, fingers crossed, dark brown sugar in the pantry. Why the two sugars? We upped the quantity of brown sugar to give this cheesecake recipe caramel flavour notes. We further decreased the amount of granulated sugar in an effort to dial down the sweetness. Other ingredient notes: grab the large eggs, sour cream and cream cheese in the dairy section and then the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract in the baking aisle. We kept things easy for good reason: less time running around gathering ingredients equals more time to chill and hang out with family and friends.
PUMPKIN PURÉE
This is important: ONLY use pumpkin purée and NOT pumpkin pie filling for this recipe. Looking at the above photo, it’s the two cans on the left, and not the one on the right. Pumpkin pie filling is a product made with sugars or other sweetening agents plus pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin purée, sometimes labelled as pure pumpkin, is just that: no additives, just the pumpkin. During the testing of this recipe, we discovered that an organic pumpkin purée has loads of pumpkin flavour and a rich, orange colour. Using it is the way to go.
DAIRY
We had two lightbulb moments during the testing of this recipe. First, we ended up making the final version of this SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE with 3 boxes of premium cream cheese instead of 4 (24 ounces vs. 32 ounces). Doing so still delivers that expected creamy cheesiness, but it also noticeably ups the pumpkin flavour – we like that. Next, the sour cream. Adding sour cream to a cheesecake batter helps give the cheesecake a silkier texture. We like that, and the addition of vanilla extract, too!
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE FILLING
To mix the filling, we suggest using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, not the beater or whisk. The only thing to be mindful of is the instruction to scrape down the sides of the large bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Doing so will help yield a batter that’s perfectly blended on medium speed. Let’s say you don’t have a stand mixer; a hand mixer can also do the trick as does the good ol’ spoon-and-elbow-grease stirring method, but both are a bit more work. Up to you.
FILLING THE PREPARED PAN
Check this out: we have no special instructions for when you pour the batter into the prepared pan. Pour filling, scrape bowl… and you’re done. No need to tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles, there aren’t any. How about smoothing out the batter? No need for that either. The batter fills the pan and smooths out evenly on its own. From the outset of making the filling to transferring it to the pan involved an easy sequence of prep steps. Prep time on this recipe is 20 minutes while the total time is 140 minutes, but that includes baking and leaving it to cool in the oven. The entire recipe is easy.
BAIN-MARIE
Here’s this recipe’s game-changer; baking the cheesecake in a BAIN-MARIE. Sometimes referred to as a water bath or double boiler, the process involves placing the filled pan into a larger baking vessel. We used a large roasting pan that’s the same height as the springform pan. The next step is to add boiling water to the larger pan so that it comes up at least halfway up the pan in the centre. Ah, so that’s why we wrapped the springform in foil! That tight foil wrap prevents the hot water from seeping in through the bottom of the pan. Brilliant! Next question: “Why do you bake a cheesecake in a bain-marie?” This method of baking cooks custards or cheesecakes gently. We suggest baking the cheesecake at 350°F with the oven rack in the middle position. The result: no darkened crusts and more importantly, no cracks on top. But we’re not done yet, keep reading.
OVEN COOL
We checked with a couple of foodie friends about technique. One explained, “I agree, baking cheesecake in a bain-marie should prevent the top from cracking but, as an added security, crack the oven door to cool!” What? After the 60-minute cook time, check the cheesecake for doneness by jiggling the pan. If the centre is still a bit jiggly, the cheesecake is done. To finish, following this sage advice, turn the oven off and leave the oven door cracked open a tiny bit leaving the finished cake to cool within for a final hour. Worked like a charm.
COOLING DOWN
As mentioned from the top, it’s important to prepare this cheesecake recipe the day before you intend to serve. Leaving it cool in the oven for an hour is part one. Part two is taking it from the oven and placing it on a wire rack to cool for an additional two to three hours to get to room temperature. For best results, discard foil from the bottom of the pan at this point. The final cool-down moment is to place the cheesecake, loosely covered with wrap, in the refrigerator overnight. Totally, cool, right?
TO SERVE
So, you just made this glorious dessert, you’ve followed our instructions to carefully pop and remove the outer ring of the springform, and you’ve carefully transferred it to a beautiful presentation plate or footed cake stand. Now, time to enjoy. We kept the serving of this SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE simple too. We suggest preparing a lightly sweetened whipped heavy cream that can then be transferred to a piping bag fitted with a star nib. Remember the 2 tablespoons of crumb we had you reserve when making the cheesecake crust? Have that handy too.
Cut the cheesecake into 12 or 16 wedges, remembering how rich this flavourful dessert is. Transfer wedges to dessert plates, add a blossom of whipped cream to the top of each, then sprinkle with reserved gingersnap crumbs.
This SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE is picture-worthy for sure. It’s also worth paying close attention when your family and friends take their first few bites. Guaranteed, there’ll be lots of compliments, oohs and aahs. It’s quite fantastic!
Because this dessert recipe is so absolutely amazing tasting and beautiful, too, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite dessert, holiday dessert or cheesecake board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make it too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the scrumptious baking you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
Serving this SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE at your next get-together is reason to celebrate!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
For the base:
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
3 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 15-ounce can puréed pumpkin (450 ml)
3 eggs, room temperature
¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch black pepper (optional)
Serve with:
whipped cream
gingersnap crumbs
Directions
For best results, cheesecake should be prepared a day in advance.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the pan: Grease or spray the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a round of parchment and place into the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the bottom of the pan with 2 squares of foil.
Make the base: Reserve two tablespoons of gingersnap crumbs for garnish. Place remaining gingersnap crumbs, sugar, ground ginger and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Slowly add melted butter, stirring to create a loose crumb. Pour into pan then press into an even layer on the bottom and 1-inch up the side. Transfer to oven and bake for 7 minutes to set. Cool on a wire rack.
Prepare the filling: Place cream cheese and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Run machine on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, eggs, sour cream and vanilla mixing to incorporate. Then add spices, salt and pepper, if using. Mix to fully incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour batter into springform pan. Place the springform into a larger pan, like a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
Transfer to oven and bake for 60 minutes. The centre may still be jiggly.
Turn the oven off, crack the door slightly open. Leave cheesecake within for 1 hour as the oven cools. Then remove from oven and carefully lift the cheesecake pan from the water bath. Remove and discard foil. Place cheesecake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cool, loosely cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator overnight.
To serve: Remove cheesecake from refrigerator placing it on an attractive serving plate. Gently pop the buckle on the ring lifting it up and away from the cheesecake. Slide cheesecake off metal base or serve as is. Cut cake into 12 or 16 portions, cleaning the knife after each cut. Transfer wedges to dessert plates and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of reserved gingersnap crumbs.
Until Cottage Season
