Nov 1, 2012

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Rum and gingersnaps give this decadent autumn dessert a spicy, warming flavor. This recipe first appeared in our November 2012 issue along with Bernard L. Herman's story A Bountiful Shore.

Credit: Beth Rooney

SERVES 12

INGREDIENTS

13 oz. gingersnap cookies
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup confectioners' sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1¾ lb. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
¾ cup canned pumpkin
3 tbsp. dark rum
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground mace
2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°. Process gingersnaps, walnuts, and confectioners' sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter; pulse until evenly combined. Transfer to a 9" springform pan set on a rimmed baking sheet, and press crumbs into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan; set aside.

2. Clean food processor, and then add cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, rum, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, cloves, ginger, mace, and eggs; puree, stopping to scrape down bowl with a rubber spatula at least once, until smooth. Pour into crust; bake until browned on top and the middle jiggles slightly when the pan is tapped, about 1½ hours. Let cool to room temperature; chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #151

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Ratings & Reviews (7)

by KLANCELOTTA on 2012-11-04

I will admit up front that I may have messed the recipe up. I don't think I did, but the end-result was so tasteless that I assume I did something wrong. In addition, the suggested cooking time is way too long. I cooked the cheesecake for 80 minutes (as opposed to the suggested 90) in an oven that runs very accurate in its temperature and the crust was already burnt. In concept, the recipe looks great, so I am going to try again to make sure that my initial impressions weren't due to user-error

by PUGGIRL415 on 2012-11-22

I made this recipe because it looked so dark and delicious. I have made pumpkin cheesecake before and it is usually very light colored and pallid looking. Well I don't know how they got that color but mine was much lighter if you take it out while the center is still jiggling slightly. Perhaps the magic of digital editing at work here or you overcooked it for the dark look?

Also I recommend that folks taste the filling before they pour it into the crust. I ended up adding 4 tablespoons of molasses to deepen the pumpkin flavor. I did like the taste after it had a day to sit. Particularly the rum came through very well.

Will do again with my tweaks.

PS made my own ginger molasses cookies for the crust which really makes it, so get good ones if you don't make them yourself.

by EAT TO LIVE on 2012-11-22

This was without a doubt the best looking and best cheesecake that I have ever made. Mine looks exactly like the picture. The prep was easy-peasy (food processor to blend and no water bath to bake in). I pre-dried my pumpkin on paper towels (soaks up excess juice) then measured. The pumpkin taste was spot on, the rum was just the perfect twang of spice, the texture was silken. I forgot to bring the whipped cream but no one missed it. My crust was, unfortunately, hard as a rock. A very good tasting rock, but a rock. Next time (VERY SOON) I will make it with granulated sugar and less butter and see how it turns out. The overall impression at the Thanksgiving dinner I took it to? Out of the park good.

by DCMETRO on 2012-11-23

I read the first review prior to making this. It seemed hard to imagine that the body of the cake would be tasteless given the rum and spices, but to be safe I used heaping amounts of the dry spices. Fabulous! I agree with the first review that the cooking time is less than 90 minutes and closer to 80 min, or even less. The crust was the only disappointment, it was very hard and as a result it was difficult to cut slices through the cake bottom. The crust also looked too dark and maybe cooked too soon compared to the rest of the cake. Maybe, because it was over cooked, the gingersnap flavor was adversely impacted. It was mediocre. Fortunately the flavor of the cream cheese portion was outstanding and more than made up for the crust. The interior color of the cake was just right - cappuccino color. Am glad I made it for Thanksgiving. This is something that would impress others at an event despite the crust. The spiced pumpkin taste is WoW! Recommend using a tried and true crust and you will be set.

by SHANA_M on 2012-11-24

I make a pumpkin cheesecake every year, different recipe (I like to try new things). Mine came out beautifully. I did not add the sugar to the crust because the cookies were sweet enough. I also bought very nice swedish ginger thins for the crust which were perfect. Baked the cheesecake in a convection oven just over an hour in a pan of water. Everyone loved it, and I was very happy with it.

by ERIKALEELEE on 2012-11-25

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and was very happy with it. It was a big hit--everyone loved it.

A few notes:

(1) I only cooked it for 1 hour 15 minutes
(2) The crust was delicious but a bit too hard and thick in places. Next time, I'll try not to pack it so hard and use a bit less of it.

by numuniz on 2012-12-27

Great cheesecake and so easy! I will agree with others that the crust was a bit hard or perhaps too thick - I will use just a bit less next time. I did not have mace in my pantry, so I used allspice -absolutely delicious! This cheesecake was a big hit was my family at Christmas dinner. I will be making it again and again.

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