Pumpkin Cheesecake

I have tried MULTIPLE pumpkin cheesecake recipes and none of them even come close to the Almost Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake from the Food Network Magazine. Yes, it’s time consuming, but it turn out perfect every time….the filling has a whipped texture and the crust is crispy/crunchy and deliciously caramelized (think brittle). Over the years I’ve only made small changes to the original recipe, mainly just to make the pumpkin pie spices a little stronger otherwise I don’t change a thing. Tip: Follow the recipe to a T (ie. make sure cream cheese and egg whites are room temp, use the water bath)….I know it’s time consuming, but so worth it. Every year people are always talking about the pumpkin cheesecake days after Thanksgiving, so I’m finally posting the recipe. Enjoy!!!

pumpkin cheesecake

I forgot to take pics of the first couple of neatly sliced pieces, but my wonderful mom twas able to get a couple of decent pics for us.

Recipe

Serves 12.

Crust

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 3/4 cups sugar
pinch of salt

Filling

4 8-oz. packages of cream cheese (the full fat variety), room temp.
1/4 cup sour cream
1 15-oz. can of organic pumpkin puree
6 eggs, room temp and lightly beaten
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I use a little bit more…just because I like the flavor)

Whipped Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F.

2. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until they become crumbs. Combine melted butter, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and a pinch of salt then press the crust into a buttered 9-10 inch springform pan. Make sure the crust is firmly and evenly pressed against the bottom and up the sides of the springform.

3. Bake the crust until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

4. Allow crust to cool on a cooling rack. Once cooled wrap the outside of the springorm pan in foil and place in a roasting pan. Important: Make sure to use a wider, heavier duty foil, not the 12 inch wide roll. If you use a 12 inch roll water can seep into the bottom of your springform and into the crust….it will still be edible, but messier and the texture will change.

5. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While the water is boiling begin making the filling. Beat the cream cheese in a KitchenAid stand-up mixer until it has a smooth texture. Add 2 1/2 cups of sugar and beat until just light. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters with a silicone spatula or scraper. Beat in the sour cream followed by the pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, and spices. Beat until smooth and pour into the springform pan.

6. Gently place the roasting pan on the center rack of the oven. Do NOT pull the oven rack out. Once the roasting pan is resting on the oven rack carefully add the boiling water to the roasting pan taking extra care to prevent splashing. The water level should be about halfway up the side of the springform pan. I like both my Kaiser 10-inch springform pan and also my Cuisinart 9-Inch Nonstick springform pan, they both work great and haven’t warped or gotten weird.

7. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 45 minutes until the outside edges of the cheesecake are set but the middle is still loose (I usually have to cook mine a little longer).Tip: Don’t jiggle it to see how much it has set….you’ll end up with cracks on the top of the filling. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let some heat escape. Then allow the cheesecake to rest in the oven for another hour or so.

8. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and allow to cool on a sturdy cooling rack. Run a knife along the edges of the cheesecake, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for atleast 8 hours.

9. Remove cheesecake from fridge atleast 30 minutes before serving. While cheesecake is warming to room temp whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until fluffy.

Note: Make this a gluten free cheesecake by substituting ginger snaps and pecans that have been pulsed together in a food processor. Also, make sure your vanilla is gluten free too.

  

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Yep, I’m still on a pumpkin/squash kick….and I’ve been pretty lazy about posting, so I’ll go ahead and start with our Thai inspired curried pumpkin soup. This recipe is so versatile and can be made vegan and gluten free. We made ours with chicken broth, half and half, and butter because we had a little bit of each that we wanted to use before it turned bad, but I actually think the vegan version might be better. Also, this soup was super easy to make…the hardest part was peeling the fresh pumpkin, but with a little patience our OXO Peelerdid the trick.

curried pumpkin soup

A little comfort food for a cool fall day.

Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 smallish-medium pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
1 1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I think you could use a curry paste if you don’t have powder)
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk or half and half
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional, omit for vegan)
sour cream (optional)
cilantro, chopped, for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot bring your chicken broth to a boil on medium-high heat and add your pumpkin. Depending on how big/small your pumpkin chunks are it could take 15-20 minutes.

2. While your pumpkin is cooking, in a saute pan combine butter or oil, onion, garlic, curry powder and chili pepper flakes over medium heat and cook until onion is tender and translucent, probably 5-7 minutes.

3. Once your pumpkin is tender go ahead and add the onion mixture, peanut butter, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and slowly add coconut milk or half and half to the mixture. Blend until creamy using your hand blender.

5. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.

Note: Toasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds would also be a nice addition.

For other great pumpkin and squash recipes I really like this book.

  

Orange Spiced Pumpkin Macarons

orange pumpkin spiced macaron

orange pumpkin spiced macaron…no feet, but perfect texture and flavor

This recipe is nearly identical to the one found on plant food fabulous. I just made a couple of spice adjustments to suit my taste. She has some great tips for macaron making and troubleshooting too.

Cookie Recipe

30 cookies (more or less)

2/3 cup almond flour/meal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 aged egg whites (left out on the counter overnight)
orange gel food coloring

Filling (you’ll probably have leftover)

1/4 cup butter, room temp
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree, moisture removed by drying between two paper towel layers
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions

1. Sift together powdered sugar and almond meal, at least twice.

2. Stir in spices.

3. Beat aged egg whites until just frothy then add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over beat your eggs.

4. Preheat oven to 375 (know how your oven cooks and adjust accordingly) I usually turn mine down and cook a little longer.

5. Add almond mixture to your egg mixture; stir with a rubber spatula. Then macaronage  by spreading the mixture against the side of the bowl and then scraping it back down. Do this between 8 and 10 times. This removes some of the air from the batter. You’ll know it’s done when the batter folds back on itself in ribbons and spreads out slowly. You don’t want it to be runny.

6. Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the batter and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles on to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Once your baking sheet is full tap the baking sheet on the counter 5 or 6 times to remove the air bubbles from the macarons.

7. Let your macarons rest for 15+ minutes to form a skin on the surface.

8. Bake your macarons for 6-7 minutes, then rotate your baking sheets and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. They should be just golden around the edges with nice frilly feet.

The macarons pictured don’t have any feet…maybe due to the rain, over (or under) worked batter or maybe undercooking, but they were still nice and chewy with a slightly crunchy exterior.

Filling Instructions

1. In medium sized bowl combine butter, cream cheese, pumpkin, powdered sugar, vanilla and orange zest and mix with your hand mixer to desired consistency.

2. Pipe or spoon on to the bottom side of a macaron and then press another macaron to the frosting creating a “sandwich.” Repeat until they’re all matched up.

3. Let macarons mature in the fridge for 24 hours (if you can resist) and the flavors will all blend together nicely.

Here is a tutorial video on how to make macarons: macaron tutorial.

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Caramelized Pears

So we opened a can of organic pumpkin puree to make our pumpkin crème brûlée last week, but we didn’t finish it off, so we made orange-pumpkin spiced macarons, and still hadn’t finished the pumpkin. So to finish it off we created this slightly wacky panna cotta. Panna cotta  means cooked cream in Italian and is historically from the Piedmont region of Italy. It’s a super smooth, creamy eggless custard that is super easy to make and is great with fresh fruit, or in this case pumpkin and caramelized pears.

goat cheese pumpkin panna cotta

okay…so maybe we used more than a dollop of whip cream

Pumpkin Panna Cotta Recipe

3-4 servings.

4 oz. plain goat cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 ½ cups half and half (heavy cream or even milk, you can make this as full fat as you want)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 packet gelatin (1/4 oz)

Instructions

1. To soften gelatin add it to 1/3 cup milk and stir gently. Let sit while you prepare rest of the panna cotta mixture.

2. In a sauce pan combine goat cheese, pumpkin, half and half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a quick simmer.

3. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk briskly to make sure everything is blended well. We used the whisk attachment that came with our Cuisinart hand blender’s whisk attachment and the cream turned out super smooth.

4. Divide into 4 lightly greased ramekins and refrigerate for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Caramelized Pears Recipe

2 pears
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Peel pears, quarter and core them; then dice into small cubes (1/4 in. or smaller).

2. In a small frying pan melt the butter until frothy then add pears, sugar and cinnamon. Over medium heat continue stirring until pears are tender and golden.

3. Remove from heat and set aside till ready to use.

goat cheese pumpkin panna cotta with caramelized pears

Serving Instructions

1. Remove the panna cotta from the ramekin by boiling an inch and a half of water (enough to cover atleast ½ of the ramekin).  Remove the pan from the heat and dip one ramekin at a time in the water for about 45 seconds. Then take a butter knife and run it around the inside edge of the ramekin. Take your ramekin and place it upside down on a pretty plate, tap each side of the ramekin a few times to loosen the panna cotta from the ramekin. This takes practice, but the presentation is way prettier than serving it in a ramekin….unless of course you have beautiful ramekins.

2. Once you’ve successfully removed the panna cotta, dress it up with a spoonful or two of caramelized pears and a dollop of homemade whip cream.

3. Serve with a whiskey or rum spiked hot apple cider or strong french pressed coffeecoffee for an ultimate fall treat.

 

Easy Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

pumpkin creme brulee

Easiest pumpkin crème brûlée….ever!!!

Recipe (3 servings)

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Whisk together yolks and brown sugar.

3. Stir heavy cream, vanilla and spices into yolk and brown sugar mixture.

4. Pour crème brûlée mixture into your ramekins. We had enough to fill 3.

5. Place ramekins into a baking dish and fill baking dish with hot water about ½ way up the side of the ramekins to create a water bath.

6. Carefully place the baking dish into your oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

7. Chill cooked crème brûlée for 2 ½ hours in the refrigerator.

8. Coat tops of crème brûlée with the granulated sugar and caramelize with a Culinary Torch.

 

Playing with Knives

Yep, it’s raining again….not exactly surprising. Steve and I conjured up a fantastic idea to keep us occupied… taste all the pumpkin beers we can get our hands on while slicing and dicing our own pumpkins. Here are the results:

Pumpkin Beer

All things pumpkin: drinking pumpkin and carving pumpkin

 

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Lakewood, New York)

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

YUM!!! The Pumking is by far my favorite of the pumpkin ales. It’s like drinking an alcohol spiked pumpkin pie. This malty, copper colored brew’s prominent flavors include brown sugar, vanilla, whipped cream, and pumpkin pie spices.

ABV: 8.6%

IBU: 25ish?

Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)

Elysian the great pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale

Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale

This was another good one. Great Pumpkin definitely has pumpkin, cinnamon, sugar, allspice, and nutmeg on the nose, which is balanced by a certain breadiness that reminds me of pie crust. The pumpkin pie spices are a little more subtle than the Pumking. The hops do provide a slightly drier finish to this beer.

ABV: 8.1%

IBU: 22

Elysian Night Owl (Seattle, WA)

Elysian The Great Pumpkin and Elysian Night Owl

Elysian The Great Pumpkin and Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Dessert in a glass. I could probably drink two of these, but then I’d have to call it quits. Night Owl is sweeter and spicier than the Great Pumpkin and has stronger notes of ginger, cinnamon and clove.

ABV: 5.9%

IBU: 18

 

Uinta Brewing Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Uinta Brewing Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

On first taste I said “WOW, this is BOOZY!” and every sip after you can still taste the booze. At 10.31% ABV this beer packs an alcoholic punch. The booziness overpowers this beer’s subtle flavors of pumpkin, vanilla and spice. I would compare this beer to pumpkin bread instead of pumpkin pie, as it is not cloyingly sweet like some of the others.

ABV: 10.31%

IBU: 39

 

 

Uinta Brewing Punk’n (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Uinta Punk'n

Uinta Brewing Punk’n Pumpkin Ale

This was probably my least favorite of the pumpkin ales. It smelled and tasted like fresh cut pumpkin and had a raw, earthy, vegetable flavor to it. While the beer did have hints of honey (yum) I would have liked more spiciness in the form of cinnamon, clove, allspice, ginger etc.; Punk’n might pair nicely with foods that have that flavor profile.

ABV: 4%

IBU: 10

Feeling saucy Steve and I managed to get two pumpkins carved without losing any fingers…yay!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, Rain, Go Away

What’s a girl to do when she gets called off of work because of rain??? Drink as many pumpkin ales as possible, make some squash soup and carve a couple Jack-o-lanterns, of course! Summer has finally come to an end and I better embrace fall or it’s going to be a really crummy season!!! Now is the time to start checking things off of my “To Do” list and to start planning our six month honeymoon.

Let’s celebrate the first rain of the season!!!

Spicy Kabocha Soup

Pumpkin Ales

Fancy Cheese