Our good friends Arindam and Monica invited us over for a not so traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. What an amazing spread they had planned: Chicken Roast, Lamb Roast with Mint Aioli, Pork Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Carrots and Parsnip, Spinach and Avocado Salad. I offered to bring the dessert and keeping with the theme decided to make a Double Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Pecans- a departure from the usual Pumpkin Pie. The dessert was a hit- a rich creamy cheesecake with mild flavours of pumpkin and ginger with the sweetness of the candied pecans!
Ginger Cookie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325 deg F. Wrap a 9-inch springform pan twice with a heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a baking spray.
- Grind 1 1/2 cups of Gluten Free Ginger Cookies (I used store bought due to laziness ;-)) in a food processor until finely ground.
- Add 5 tbsp unsalted melted butter and pulse a few times to combine.
- I didnt add any sugar as the cookies were pretty sweet but if your cookies aren't, feel free to add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.
- Spread the moistened crumbs into the prepared pan and, using a measuring cup or glass, press into an even layer.
- Bake for approx. 15 mins. or until fragrant.
- Cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and move the rack to the center position.
- In a large
bowl, combine 3 8 oz packets of plain cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Don't over-beat.
- Blend in 2 eggs, one at a time. Fold in 1/2 cup sour cream. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of the cooled ginger crust; set aside.
- Add 1 cup pureed pumpkin (more if you love the pumpkin flavour), 1 tbsp spiced rum and pumpkin pie spice to taste to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended (if you don't have pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice, mix ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground nutmeg in equal proportion). Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour in water bath, or until center is almost set. The water bath is easy to prepare. Fill an oven-friendly bowl with hot water and keep this bowl under the cake pan while baking. The steam from the water bath creates a moist atmosphere for the cheesecake thus minimizing any cracks. Turn off the oven after an hour, prop the door open and let the cheesecake sit for another hour. Remove the sides of the springform pan and allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Candied Pecans
- Preheat oven to 250 deg F.
- Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1 tsp salt together in a bowl.
- Whisk 1 egg white and 1 tbsp water together in a separate bowl until frothy. Toss ~ 500g of pecans in the egg white mixture.
- Mix sugar mixture into pecan mixture until pecans are evenly coated. Spread coated pecans onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until pecans are evenly browned, 1 hour.
P.S.: This recipe has been adapted from the following recipes:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Caramel Sauce
- Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Candied Pecans
