Pumpkin cheesecake

Some of the folks in my poker group love cheesecake, so when I had extra cream cheese and Halloween decor that needed transfiguration, pumpkin cheesecake came to mind.

I have this great recipe that originally came from the food magazine Everyday Food, it was for a cheesecake tart with a fruit topping. I have made it many time in many different ways.  I have adapted it to make this excellent light pumpkin cheesecake, it would be great for a Thanksgiving dessert.
I'll give you both recipes.

First I had to dispatch Jack.

I scraped out the seeds and stringy bit and steamed it, scraped it out of the skin and pureed it in the food processor.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Crust:

        14 gingersnaps

        1/3 cup almond meal

        1/4 cups sugar

         4 tablespoons melted butter

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, grind gingersnaps.

Add, almond meal, and 1/4 cup sugar, process until finely ground.

 Now add melted butter, and process until moistened. 

Transfer to a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. 

Using the base of a dry measuring cup, press mixture firmly into the bottom.

 Freeze at least 15 minutes.

The Filling:

  2 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature

  3/4 cup pumpkin puree

   1 large egg

   1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

   Pinch salt

   3/4 tsp. cinnamon, 

   1/8 to 1/4 tsp. each: powdered cloves, nutmeg and ginger powder

   1/2 cup brown sugar

2. Make filling and bake: Carefully wipe processor blade and bowl clean. Place cream cheese, pumpkin puree , 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg, vanilla, spices and salt in food processor; blend just until smooth.

 Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet; fill with cheesecake mixture. The baking sheet is because the crust leaks a bit of butter as it bakes.

Bake until filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer tart pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chill for at least several hours. The nice thing is that you can make it ahead of time and it will only tatse better in a couple of days.

Serve with whipped cream and make your friends happy.

Basic Cheesecake Tart.

Crust:

        6 graham crackers 

      1/3 cup almond meal

      1/4 cups sugar

      4 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

    2 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature

    1/2 cup sour cream

    1 large egg

    1/2 cup sugar

    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    a pinch of salt

Make it the same way as the above recipe.

To make it lemon, add lemon zest and extract to the filling and top with lemon curd or lemon glaze.

To make it fruity, top with fresh fruit or jam of your choice.

Honey Ginger Buttercream Frosting

I have had a lot of fun making those pumpkin cupcakes from an earlier post.
When my friend recently asked for something with pumpkin and ginger in a birthday dessert, I decided to make them again only this time frost them with a ginger frosting. I was amazed to find that when I googled "ginger buttercream frosting" there were lots of hits.
This would be great for gingerbread cupcakes as well.

Start with 3/4 cup softened butter. Beat it until it's creamy.

Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar depending on how stiff you want it. Beat on high until smooth.
Now add 1/3 cup honey, 1 tablespoon powered ginger, and 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh grated ginger.

I love my micro grater, just be careful of your knuckles.
The easiest way to always have fresh ginger on hand is to freeze it !!
Freezing  also makes it very easy to grate.

Beat for a few minutes until smooth again and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Mix that in and adjust the thickness if needed.
You can tell from the cupcakes that I used a pastry bag and fancy tip. You can also just frost them with a knife. As a finishing touch I grated some fresh nutmeg onto each cupcake.