Pumpkin Cheesecake

One of the most lucrative business ideas I have ever had was baking cheesecakes. I would ask my Dad to pick up the three pound bricks of cream cheese and the remaining ingredients were readily available from my Mom's kitchen. I charged $20 for a large cheesecake and made a 100% profit. This turned out to be quite a joke, almost as funny as some of those cheesecakes that I sent out into the world. They may have tasted good but the final presentation left a lot to be desired. I recently saw a picture of one of my cheesecakes that had been in the local paper. If wearing a hand-me-down blazer from my Grandma wasn't bad enough, the cheesecake was mangled around the edges and parts were brown and parts were creamy white. I must have been completely oblivious to the mess in front of me because I looked proud as punch holding the cheesecake up for the camera!

Since those days, I have mastered the art of cheesecake making and this pumpkin cheesecake recipe is my favourite. The recipe comes from "The Rose & Thistle Tea Room Cookbook" from Kingsville, Ontario. Rumour has it that the cookbook has recently been updated and re-released. I haven't verified that yet, and they definitely aren't selling it at Chapters.

This weekend, I am baking desserts for my cousin Beth's engagement party. There will be three pumpkin cheesecakes, three maple praline cheesecakes, two prize-winning pumpkin pies, and a triple pear mascarpone mousse cake (like the lemon cake but with pear, in different forms, throughout the cake - scrumptious!). Beth's fiance has a weakness for all things pumpkin and I am determined not to disappoint!

A few tips about making a beautiful cheesecake. Trace the bottom of the spring form pan onto a piece of parchment paper. Cut that out and then cut out strips of parchment paper to line the sides of the pan. I dab soft butter around the sides of the spring form pan to hold the pieces in place and fit the circle of parchment into the bottom. Make sure that your cream cheese has been warming up on the counter for a while before this. If the cream cheese isn't warm, you will still be able to see lumps even after it has finished baking.

Some people feel as though they have failed if their cheesecake splits. I don't have a problem with a split here or there; you know it must be homemade if it isn't perfect. However, there are a couple of tricks you can try to avoid a split. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf of the oven before you put the cheesecake in to bake. The steam helps keep the cheesecake from splitting - sometimes. After the cheesecake is finished baking, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 15 minutes or so. At this point, you could open the oven door and let the cheesecake continue slowly cooling off. Also, avoid opening the oven during the cooking time. Nothing is guaranteed to work but these tricks may help.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crumb Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. butter, melted
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon, optional
Melt butter. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Press into the bottom of a prepared 10 inch (25 cm) spring form pan. If you wish, you can make a crust on the sides too - but messy and not necessary. *I like to bake mine for about 5 minutes before I put anything into it. Be careful not to forget it in the oven if you do this!

Pumpkin Cheesecake:
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature (3 - 8oz. pkgs)
1 c. white sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 - 16oz. can pure pumpkin
1 c. whipping cream
2 t. pure vanilla
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
1 t. ground ginger
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with hand mixer (or whips up beautifully in Kitchenaid mixer with paddle attachment) until light & fluffy. Continue beating and add sugar.
2. Beat in eggs and yolk one at a time, beating well after each and scraping down the sides as you go along. Add vanilla and spices.
3. Stir in pumpkin and whipped cream.
4. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake approximately 45 minutes more until set. Turn off oven and leave additional 15 minutes in oven. Serve cooled with whipped cream.