Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake
serves 18-20
Look for pure pumpkin when purchasing canned; stay clear of pumpkin pie filling and those with squash added.
Read more about this recipe in George Geary's The Cheesecake Bible.
For Crust:
2 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
For Filling:
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 ground allspice
1/4 ground cloves
For Decoration:
Whipped cream
18-20 pecan halves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
prep: 20 minutes
total: 1 hour 35 minutes, plus 2 hours to cool and 6 hours to refrigerate before serving
mixing bowl
10-inch cheesecake pan, ungreased, or springform pan with 3-inch sides, greased
mixer with paddle attachment
wire rack
plastic wrap
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. For crust: In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.
2. For filling: In a mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar on medium-high speed until very smooth, for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in pecans, pumpkin, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves by hand.
3. Pour over frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Bake in a preheated oven until top is light brown and center has a slight jiggle to it, 65 to 75 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating or serving.
4. Decoration: Ice top of cake with whipped cream or pipe a ribbon around the border, if desired. Arrange pecan halves on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.
