Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake With a Gingersnap Crust
- 40 gingersnaps, about (to yield 2 cups cookie crumbs)
- 14 cup packed light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature (four 8 ounce packages)
- 1 13 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 12 teaspoon ground ginger
- 14 teaspoon ground allspice
- 14 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 14 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, pure
- 1 (15 ounce) canpure solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- Position an oven rack on the middle rung and heat the oven to 350F.
- TO MAKE THE CRUST; pulse the cookies and brown sugar in a food processor until well combined and the crumbs are uniform.
- Transfer to a medium bowl; add the melted butter.
- Combine thoroughly, first with a spoon and then with your fingers, until the mixture is evenly moist, crumbly, and holds together when you squeeze a handful.
- Press the mixture evenly over the bottom and partway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Chill for 5 minutes and then bake for 10 minutes.
- Let cool.
- Heat a kettle of water.
- With an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add this mixture to the cream cheese.
- Beat until well blended, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, making sure each is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next, and scraping down the bowl after each.
- Blend in the vanilla and pumpkin.
- Scrape the batter into the cooled crust.
- The batter will come up past the crust and will fill the pan to the rim.
- Tap the pan gently once or twice on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Set the pan in a larger baking dish (a roasting pan is good), and add enough hot water from the kettle to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- NOTE: I would enclose the pan on the outside with aluminum foil before putting it in the roasting pan.
- Bake until the top of the cake looks deep golden and burnished and the center is set (the cake may just barely begin to crack), 1 hour and 35 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.
- The cake will jiggle a little bit when tapped.
- The top may rise a bit but will settle as it cools.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and run a thin bladed knife between the crust and the pan sides (this will prevent the cake from breaking as it cools).
- Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack.
- Cover and chill overnight.
- Serves 16.
- Fine Cooking.
cookie crumbs, brown sugar, unsalted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, nutmeg, salt, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, pack pumpkin
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/spiced-pumpkin-cheesecake-with-a-gingersnap-crust-337098 (may not work)