Pumpkin Cheesecake

We will soon be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. Will pumpkin cheesecake be on your dessert menu? Dark chocolate pomegranate seeds sit on top of little swirls of butterscotch whipped cream.

Ingredients for crust:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup crushed ginger snaps
• 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

1. Melt butter. 
2. Stir together crumbs and brown sugar.
3. Pour melted butter over crumb mixture and stir well.
4. Press into bottom of lightly greased 10" spring form pan. Set aside.

Ingredients for filling:

• 3 -8 ounce packages regular cream cheese, room temperature (not light)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin (not ready to use pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Method:

1. Using an electric mixer beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and beat well.
2. Crack eggs into a smaller bowl and whisk until pale yellow and frothy. 
3. Add eggs to cream cheese mixture and beat for 2 minutes.
4. Using the same bowl as you used for the eggs stir together pumpkin and spices.
5. Add pumpkin mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat on low until just incorporated.
6. Whip cream until soft peaks form. 
7. Gentle fold whipped cream into pumpkin cream cheese mixture. 
8. Pour mixture over crust.
9. Wrap one large sheet of foil around bottom and sides of pan. Press against sides.
10. Place wrapped pan in a baking dish and fill with hot water halfway up the sides of the pan.
11. Bake in oven that is preheated to 325º. For convection oven heat to 300º.
12. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Cake will still be jiggly in the centre but will set as it cools.
13. Cool at room temperature. Remove foil and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to chill and allow to completely set.
14. Remove the ring of the spring form pan, and place onto cake plate.

Butterscotch whipped cream:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant butterscotch pudding powder

1. Whip cream until very soft peaks begin to form. 
2. Add vanilla and pudding powder. Beat until thick.
3. Decorate and serve. 

Note: After baking you can keep in refrigerator for 3-4 days. Cover loosely. Add cream when ready to serve.

Any left over cheesecake freezes well. For best results allow to thaw in refrigerator.