Must-make cheesecake

This weekend, JG and I are trekking down to Annapolis, Maryland, to see the Delaware football team play Navy and we’re meeting up with my sister and her boyfriend to tailgate and watch the game. As a treat, I made a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, which was only fitting since I am kind of on a pumpkin streak this fall.

When I was in high school, my mom clipped this recipe and asked me to make it for our family’s Thanksgiving dinner in New York. I had never made a cheesecake all by myself before, but they always seemed to stress my mom out, so I had this vision of a complicated, soufflé-like concoction that required tip-toeing past the oven. I agreed to make the dessert and was stunned by how not-so-bad it turned out to be. I won’t say that it was easy because it dirties up a lot of dishes and I won’t say that it was simple because judging done-ness of cheesecake is more art than science. Essentially, though, I just mixed the crust, pressed it into the pan, baked it, mixed the cheesecake, dumped it in the pan, and baked it. The problem with making a big dessert meant to be doled out on the spot is that you can’t taste it to make sure it has come out right, so I just hoped for the best. Well, the family raved about the cheesecake that year and I’ve had to make it ever since. Last year, when we hosted Christmas at our house, I adapted the recipe slightly by replacing the graham cracker crust with a gingersnap one and it is a definite improvement, if I do say so myself.

This cheesecake holds a special place in my heart because I felt it confirmed me as a dessert provider for family gatherings. In a holiday season dominated by chocolate, I think this cheesecake holds its own by being sweet and light, but still fully festive. As a person who could never really get into pies, I love eating this dessert because it gives me all of the pumpkin goodness, none of the hassle of crust, and adds in cream cheese. Who can complain?

(Recipe after the jump)

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Yields one 9-inch cake

Crust

• 1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs*
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Mix gingersnap crumbs and flour together. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly.
2. Press into the bottom of a spring-form pan.
3. Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes.
4. Let cool before adding cheesecake mixture.

Cheesecake

• 12 ounces cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 8 ounces solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 3 eggs

1. Cream the cream cheese and sugar together.
2. Gradually add sour cream and pumpkin; mix well until combined, scraping down bowl as needed.
3. Add spices, mix well.
4. Add eggs one at a time and combine.
5. Pour into prepared crust and bake at 325 degrees.
6. The cheesecake is done when the center is still wobbly, but the cake is solid in general. Turn oven off and let cheesecake cool inside it for about an hour. Let the cheesecake cool outside the oven for at least 3-4 hours before refrigerating.

* I used my food processor to make the gingersnap crumbs, but if I don’t want wash more dishes, I just put the cookies in a food storage bag and roll over them with a can of soup or something else heavy.