Pumpkin Cheesecake

 It’s my very first pumpkin cheesecake! 🙂 I do love both cheesecake and pumpkin, but never tried to combine them together until I baked too many pumpkin slices and already couldn’t eat them.
Cheesecake is enjoyed by millions around the world, and each person has its own take on the best way of making it. Truly a scrumptious dessert! I guess that the pumpkin cheesecake is the America’s favorite dessert. Moreover, I’ve heard about National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, is that true? In Russia we eat pumpkin, too, but usually it’s sliced and simply baked with sugar, or whole pumpkin stuffed with grains (have a look at my recipe here).
I knew how to make a basic cheesecake, so I just added pumpkin puree and some spices. Oh, I’m so happy with the result! The only thing I was worried that it can be too wobbly, finally it set good, just cracked a little. The texture is perfect – creamy, deliciously smooth and not-very-sweet, everything how I like. Unfortunately, the cheesecake has some unwanted calories, thus for weight watchers I recommend to substitute cream cheese with low-fat cottage cheese or quark.Pumpkin cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

You need 18cm baking tin for this recipeSlice of pumpkin cheesecake
Ingredients should be at room temperature
Crust
150g graham crackers, finely crushed
80g butter, melted
Filling
350g cooked pumpkin, then pureed
220-250g cream cheese
30g brown sugar + 40g white caster sugar
2 tbsp double cream (35% fat)
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
small pinch of ground cloves, allspice and salt
Method
  1. To make crust. In a medium bowl, blend butter with graham crumbs. Press the mixture into the base of baking tin to create an even layer. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge, then bake in preheated 160C oven for 5-7 minutes. Take the tin out and let it cool for 10 minutes.
  2. To make filling. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with sugar until smooth consistency. Add pumpkin and combine. Break one at a time, add egg yolk, mix to combine. Add double cream, cornstarch, flour and all spices. Beat until well combined. Pour the filling into crust, spread evenly and bake in preheated 180C oven for 45-50 minutes.
  3. Take the tin out of the oven, let it cool at room temperature. Cover the baking tin and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Remove cheesecake from the tin and slide onto a plate, slice and serve.
Enjoy!
[Click the photos for a closer look]

45 Comments

  2. Nancy says:

    Looks delicious… it sounds like you have it perfectly spiced as well! (Beautiful photos! Orange-ish colors can be difficult sometimes, but you have gorgeous results!)

    « Reply
  4. polianthus says:

    looks fantastic – love pumpkin, love cheesecake I have eaten it before in the US in the cheesecake factory I remember it was amazing, I have read many cheesecake recipes, however, have not made a single one….dont you have pashka in russia – have read recipes for that as well – and of course you have my favourite little cheesecake rolls – the delicious sirki!

    « Reply
      • milkandbun says:

        Do you mean a sweet mixture of tvorog (cottage cheese) and sugar? It’s easy to make- just mix cottage cheese, some sugar and sour cream. That’s all! Some people add butter, but I don’t , it doesn’t make any sense in it. Also you can add raisins, dried apricots or any fresh chopped fruits.

      • polianthus says:

        Hm really- sounds very nice – is the cottage cheese you use smooth (like farmers cheese?) or granular like regular cottage cheese? Do you put it in a mold in the fridge until it is hard?

    • milkandbun says:

      If you wanna make hard syrki (which are usually covered in chocolate) better to use smooth cottage cheese, or push a regular through a sieve (if it’s too dry add some sour cream or cream). Have a look a recipe below, hope it will work. 🙂
      In a bowl mix 220-250g cottage cheese with 30g melted butter, add 2-4 tbsp icing sugar (or more). You can add, if desired, vanilla, raisins, lemon or orange zest, or choco-chips. The mixture should not be too liquid. Divide the mixture and make several bars, cover each in a plastic warp or foil; put in a fridge for 30-40 minutes or until it becomes hard. Then melt some chocolate and cover bars, put them again in a fridge until they get hard. Enjoy!

      « Reply
      • polianthus says:

        oooh that sounds like it would work!! you are a star! Thanks so much, I remember eating these in Moscow when I was there one winter . december in fact, it was -30 a lot of the time, I loved it, beautiful city in the snow, grey and dark most of the time but wonderful and somehow the food is great too when it is cold outside -specially georgian spicy foods, yum! Thanks so much for posting the syrki recipe, REALLY appreciate it! They would make nice after dinner desserts too if made smaller 🙂

  5. Shari says:

    Mila, This is gorgeous! It must taste amazing too with those spices and the pumpkin. You are brave to try it. I am always a little hesitant to make cheesecakes, just because they seem tricky. Well done!

    « Reply
    • milkandbun says:

      Thanks a lot, Shari! You can regulate the amount of sugar in homemade cheesecakes, and how much cheese to add , that’s what I like. Most of store-bought cakes too sugary for me. 🙂

      « Reply
  12. dianeskitchentable says:

    I’m not sure if we have a National Cheesecake day but I wouldn’t be surprised since we have a special day for just about everything. I love all kinds of cheesecake but have never tried pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins so I can imagine this would be delishish .

    « Reply
  14. chef mimi says:

    Your first pumpkin cheesecake is perfection! the cream cheese substitute is smart, but also it’s critical to dry out you baked pumpkin as much as possible so it’s not wet. Same with brands of canned pumpkin – the more expensive brands contain a denser pumpkin mash!

    « Reply
    • milkandbun says:

      Thanks a lot for the info, Mimi! I didn’t know that. Actually, baked pumpkin was very soft and juicy. How can I make it more dense next time? to keep it longer in the oven?

      « Reply
      • chef mimi says:

        You could do that – at a low temperature let it dry out. Or, use a skillet and dry it out. Just to get as much water out of it as possible. Otherwise, the cream cheese and other ingredients end up overcooking while the oven is trying to cook the pumpkin. That’s also why I’ve only used a fresh pumpking once for pie!

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