Make pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving

Bibi Hutchings, a lifelong Southerner, lives along a quiet coastal Alabama bay with her cat, Zulu and husband, Tom. She writes about the magical way food evokes memories, instantly bringing you back to the people, places and experiences of your life. Her stories take you all around the South and are accompanied with tried-and-true recipes that are destined to become a part of your memory-making as you share them with your friends and family.

In the 1980’s, the brand Prego ran a television ad for tomato sauce with the repeated phrase, “It’s in there.” It featured a dad softly criticizing his son and daughter-in-law for using bottled sauce instead of making their own from scratch, because in his opinion there was no way anything commercial could compare to homemade.

In a heavy Italian accent, the son tells his dad, “It’s in there,” every time his father rattles off each necessary ingredient for the perfect sauce.

By the end of the short ad, the two men happily agree that everything really is “in there,” and I think of that refrain when I bake this Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, whipped cream . . . It’s in there! Whole eggs, pumpkin, maple syrup, liqueur…It’s in there! It’s all in there! It is all in there — everything you can think of for the most gorgeous, autumnal spiced  cheesecake you have ever tasted is in there. 

This honey hued showstopper with its cookie crumb, pecan crust and mile high filling pleases pumpkin lovers, skeptics and those on the fence. It is light yet dense, tangy, sweet and spicy and velvety smooth, except for the chewy texture of the crust, which ranks for some as the best part.

Go on and take a gander at the ingredients list. How could it not be the most luscious thing ever?   

Make this cheesecake a day and a half to two days in advance of when you plan to serve it. It only improves as it ages and settles and thanks to the topping, it never cracks or folds in on itself like some cheesecakes are prone to do. It needs nothing extra, like whipped cream, because it is already in there!

A light sprinkling of coarse brown sugar or coconut sugar right before serving looks pretty against the paler shade of the top layer, but, honestly, this cheesecake is ready, set, go straight from the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Yields

12 servings

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

70 minutes (plus 12+ hours cooling time)

Ingredients

For the crust

2 cups gingersnap or graham cracker crumbs, or mix of the two

1 cup ground pecans or walnuts

1/3 butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoon brown sugar or coconut sugar

For the filling

16 ounces cream cheese

1 cup brown sugar/coconut sugar

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Grand Marnier, brandy or cognac 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 can pure pumpkin

1/4 cup heavy cream

For the topping

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

Scant 1/4 cup brown sugar/coconut sugar

1/4 cup Grand Marnier, brandy or cognac, same as used in filling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse cookies and/or graham crackers to large crumbs and then add chopped pecans or walnuts and spices and pulse until the texture is the size of uniform small crumbs. 

3. Pour out into bowl and stir in melted butter and sugar. Press mixture into bottom and as far up sides as mixture will go of a 10” springform pan. 

4. Bake for 7-10 minutes until fragrant but not browed. Remove from oven and set aside. (I have never had a problem with this crust sticking to the bottom of the pan - once the first piece is removed. You can take the extra precaution of placing a well buttered, cut circle of parchment about the size of the base into the bottom of the pan before continuing with instructions for the crust.)

5. Make the filling: Have all ingredients at true room temperature. Do not over beat. You want the filling smooth and creamy but not too airy.

6. Beat cream cheese and a dollop of sour cream until smooth then add sugar and beat until light. Add remaining sour cream, maple syrup, Grand Marnier/brandy/cognac and spices and beat to combine well. 

7. Add eggs one at the time beating in between each addition. 

8. Add pumpkin and cream and beat until incorporated.

9. Pour into prepared crust. Do not fill to the top of the pan. Make sure to leave 1 1/2” to  2”. Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until edge of cheesecake pulls away from the inside of the pan. Check often, but without opening the oven door, after 50 minutes. 

10. Make the topping while cheesecake is baking: Beat cream until fluffy then add sour cream, sugar and Grand Marnier/brandy/cognac. Place in refrigerator until ready to use. 

11. When cake is ready (when edge pulls away from pan), remove from the oven, but do not remove from pan. Increase oven temperature to 400F.

12. Once oven heats to 400F, spread topping over cheesecake and return it to the oven for 10 minutes. 

13. Do not remove from the pan. Allow cake to come to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. 

14. When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and then remove pan.

15. A light sprinkling of brown sugar or coconut sugar is all you need to spruce up this cheesecake before serving. 

16. This cake is best when made 2 days ahead of serving. 
     

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Cook's Notes

Sweetness: I prefer a less sweet filling and use only 1/2 cup coconut sugar, but a whole cup of sugar is to most people’s taste.

Brandy/Cognac/Grand Marnier: The subtle orange flavor of Grand Marnier is delicious with pumpkin, so it is always my choice. If you choose brandy or cognac, add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the filling for extra flavor.

Excess filling and topping: Because there is cream in both the filling and the topping, you may find you have extra according to how much it expands when whipped. You can fill a buttered ramekin or small casserole dish to bake whatever does not fit in the pan.