Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's October, so you know what that means... Pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING. From coffee to candles, your senses are going to be bombarded for the next month or two, like it or not. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! This layered pumpkin cheesecake has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor without overwhelming everything else. Details like the homemade pumpkin purée and graham cracker crust makes for an exceptionally delicious cheesecake. It's sure to impress, and the nice thing is it's really not that difficult to make! The pumpkin purée can be made in advance, and the canned stuff just doesn't compare in flavor. The bit of sugar in the graham cracker crust gives it such a lovely crisp. The hubby and I ate up the whole thing in about two days, no lie. It's that good... Enjoy!


Fresh Pumpkin Purée 

• 1 Sugar Pumpkin (pie pumpkin)
• Approx. 1 Tbsp Oil (olive, canola, vegetable, whatever you've got)
• 1 c Water

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Wash the flesh of the pumpkin to remove any dirt and debris. Pop off the stem and cut pumpkin into quarters. Use a spoon or an ice cream scoop to scrape out the seeds (set aside if you like to roast them) and stringy bits. Once it's all cleaned out, rub the cut edges with oil to help prevent the edges from burning. I used olive oil and simply poured a bit in my hands to work into the edges. Place the pieces into your baking dish without overlapping them. I used an 8x8 glass casserole dish and there was just enough room. Add a cup of water to the bottom of the pan, also to help prevent burning. Cook for 60-90 minutes, until the flesh of the pumpkin is soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. Set pieces on a wire cooling rack. Once cool, but not cold, use a spoon or an ice cream scoop to scrape the flesh away from the skin (in the Halloween spirit, how creepy did that sound? Haha!). Use a food processor, blender, or food mill to blend until you have a smooth purée. Set aside 3/4 cup of pumpkin. One sugar pumpkin will make a significant amount of purée. The remainder can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week or so, or will last for months in the freezer.


Graham Cracker Crust

• 12 Graham Crackers (full sheets)
• 6 Tbsp Melted Butter
• 1/3 c Sugar

Begin by breaking up the graham crackers into a fine crumb (I used honey graham crackers, and they work awesome with this recipe). If using a food processor or blender, be careful not to overdo it! We're looking for crumbs here, not powder. Mix in the sugar, then the melted butter. Once well combined, pour into an ungreased 9" pie pan. Using your hands, press graham cracker mixture into the bottom and along the sides of the pan. Getting the sides nice and even is a little tricky, but with a little patience and some firm pressing, you'll have a lovely crust in no time. Set aside when finished.


Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

• Prepared Graham Cracker Pie Crust
• 2 8 oz Packages of Regular Cream Cheese (softened to room temperature)
• 1/2 c Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 c Fresh Pumpkin Purée
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a dash of ground ginger if you don't have pumpkin pie spice)

Preheat your oven to 325°F. In a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat in each egg, one at a time, until well combined. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of this mixture into your prepared graham cracker crust for the first layer of traditional cheesecake and set aside. Next, add the pumpkin purée and spice to the remaining mixture and gently stir until well combined (you don't want to overwork it).  Pour over the first layer. Mine filled up right to the top! So long as you're able to handle it without spilling, fill it on up because cheesecake doesn't really rise. Bake for 30-45 minutes. You're looking for the top to just barely start picking up color, and for the middle to be nearly set (in other words, there shouldn't be much movement when you jiggle the pan). Set on wire cooling rack for an hour or so. Once cool, transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Cheesecake as it appeared freshly placed in oven.

Baked to glorious perfection!