Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust
1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cheesecake Layer
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pumpkin Layer
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin puree (pure pumpkin)
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. allspice
2 Tbsp. dark corn syrup or molasses
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 small can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • See the note at the end about optionally preparing a water bath.

Graham Cracker Crust

  • If you are using graham crackers rather than pre-made crumbs, place the graham crackers into a food processor and pulse until they are finely crushed.  Alternatively, you can place the graham crackers into a sealable plastic bag, seal it, and crush the graham crackers with a rolling pin.
  • Combine all of the graham cracker crust ingredients in a bowl and mix to evenly distribute them.
  • Transfer the mixture to a springform pan.
  • Pat the mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan and slightly up each side.

Cheesecake Layer

  • Place all of the cheesecake ingredients into a mixing bowl.
  • Mix well using a stand mixer or handheld mixer until the ingredients are incorporated into a consistent mixture and the filling is smooth.
  • Pour the filling into the springform pan on top of the graham cracker crust.

Pumpkin Layer

  • Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, spices, and molasses.  Mix well.
  • Add the eggs and milk.  Stir to combine and incorporate the eggs and milk into the pumpkin mixture
  • Gently pour or spoon the pumpkin mixture over the cheesecake mixture.  To ensure that the pumpkin mixture does not sink into the cheesecake mixture, you may want to spoon the pumpkin mixture on top of the cheesecake mixture rather than pour it.

Baking

  • Bake the Pumpkin Cheesecake at 375 degrees until the tip of a knife inserted into the pumpkin layer comes out clean (like inserting a toothpick into a cake to test it).
  • It will likely take about 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, but the baking time will depend on the size of your springform pan and the accuracy of your oven’s temperature.  Test the doneness at 45 minutes and then keep baking if it is not yet done.  Note that the top of the pumpkin layer may start to brown a little, which is fine.
  • Cool.  Then carefully remove the cake from the springform pan and refrigerate the cake until fully chilled.

Tips

  • You can hide the small knife slit by covering it with whipping cream or another decoration.
  • Also, note that I baked my Pumpkin Cheesecake in a water bath for even cooking.  I covered the bottom and outer sides of my springform pan with aluminum foil to prevent water from seeping into the cake.  Then I set the springform pan in a roasting pan and added warm water until it reached halfway up the sides of the springform pan.  Next I added the three cake layers (graham cracker crust, cheesecake, and pumpkin) to the pan.  If you do not have a roasting pan large enough for your springform pan, then you can skip this step, but it will likely change your cooking time.  The next time I bake this dessert, I will experiment with skipping the water bath and update the timing for that method.

© 2014 FoodieOasis