Fluffy Pumpkin Cheesecake

"This is my adaptation of a Better Homes & Gardens recipe for New York Style Cheesecake-- only my version makes the ENTIRE thing pumpkin, and is much lighter and fluffier. I think my methodology is easier too and it came out utterly divine. It calls for using an entire 28-oz can of canned pumpkin so you don't have to worry about leftover pumpkin (though as a pumpkin lover who gets frustrated that canned pumpkin is only available in stores in the fall, "leftover pumpkin" is a foreign phrase in this house. :) ) This is also a correction-- I had it down for 15 oz, it really IS 28 oz. I also corrected the crust instructions-- start with 1/4 cup milk, and if you can't run the beater through the crust, add more. I usually use 2% milk, but vanilla or pumpkin pie soymilk will add to it awesomely. :D I used three 8-oz bricks of store-brand cream cheese. (It was almost $2 cheaper than Kraft Philadelphia.) You can probably also use a tub of whipped cream cheese or Tofutti and it'd come out just as good. This is an awesome and delicious dessert to have year-round, but makes a really nice fall and early winter party cake and is a rich and tasty alternative to traditional pumpkin pie."
 
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Ready In:
1hr 55mins
Ingredients:
23
Yields:
1 cheesecake
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Set aside all of your tools and ingredients for the 3 components-- which is why the ingredients are listed the way they are-- the crust, filling, and second layer glaze. (BTW, preparing the canned pumpkin gets it own step in #2) The glaze isn't like a frosting or some optional thing, you NEED to have this glaze on or the cheesecake won't have its fluffiness nor will it set right. You need at least 3 mixing bowls, two medium and one very large. You will also need an electric mixer (unless you have the strength of the Hulk to whisk all that cream cheese), a 10" pie pan, and a rubber scraper to get all of the mixtures out of their bowls.
  • Prepare the pumpkin by measuring out 1/2 cup to use for the crust, and measure out 1/3 cup to use for the glaze-- the entire remainder of the 15-oz can (which should be just a little over 1 cup) is going to be used in the main cheesecake filling.
  • Make the CRUST: Put 1/2 cup pumpkin, 4 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg into a medium or large mixing bowl. Beat well with the electric mixer and put it in an ungreased 10" pie pan, be sure to use the rubber scraper to get plenty on the sides of the pain and doesn't sink all the way to the bottom.
  • Bake the crust at 350 for 10 minutes and then let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
  • As the crust bakes then cools, make your GLAZE: Mix 1/3 cup pumpkin, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Beat softly in a medium sized mixing bowl, it should look like a bowl of orange yogurt. Cover the glaze and put in the fridge to chill for now.
  • Get your large mixing bowl ready for all the ingredients for the FILLING: the remainder of the canned pumpkin, the cream cheese, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Beat slowly then quickly, until the mixture is completely smooth and melded.
  • Raise the temperature to 450 (after the pan with the crust has been pulled out and I imagine it's cooled off for a while now.).
  • Carefully pour the FILLING into the pan with the baked crust. When the temperature is done rising, put the pan back in the oven to bake at 450. Bake for 10 minutes.
  • When the 10 minutes are up, lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 35 minutes.
  • When the 35 minutes are up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
  • Take out your GLAZE and carefully spread it on the top of the cheesecake until there is none left. Bake for another 15 minutes at 300.
  • When the 15 minutes are up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
  • Cover the pan with foil and let it chill in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours before eating so the glaze can set.

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Reviews

  1. Cans of pumpkin (along with mincemeat & a few other things) are items I stock over the winter months, & then, if I happen to run out during the year I'm not opposed to ordering a case of whatever online! Do love pumpkin, & this recipe definitely grabbed my attention, as did the finished product when my son decided he'd like to take half of it home with him! Much more work than I'd planned for, but this cheesecake is OUTSTANDING, & the glaze just takes it another notch up! Will definitely feature this gem during the end-of-year holidays next time around! [Recipenapped & made in the Vegetarian/Vegan Recipe Swap 23]
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

In advance, I'd like to thank everyone who reviews my recipes and leaves positive feedback! I know that I usually don't email anyone after getting a review, so I'd just like to thank everyone who reviews and submits pictures of my recipes in advance. It's much appreciated! I'm an accounting student who likes to believe it's still 1987. I'm trying to cook at home more so I joined up on here to swap recipes and get ideas, namely for someone with a limited budget and a ridiculously tiny cramped kitchenette. It gets hard for me to keep fresh ingredients around due to cost and spoilage, so most of my recipes call for canned stuff, but feel free to "upgrade" them with fresh ingredients! :) To update this a bit, I went from someone who was totally inept in the kitchen to a self-taught gourmet chef almost overnight. I'm quite proud of this feat and now look forward to things like grocery shopping and doing most of my cooking one day of the week to freeze and refridgerate stuff for future use, and keeping track of dates and perishability helped with my organizational skills. Cooking lingo looked like a foreign language to me, now I know it just as well as I know EPS and price-to-book ratios! I started out following other 'zaar users' recipes and from cookbooks, other cooking websites, etc. then started building on those to the point where I know enough about food structure and flavors to develop my own recipes. The dishes I'm now famous for are homestyle mac n cheese, mango shrimp, cheesecakes, and lots of pumpkin goodies with luscious buttercream frosting. There's some certain recipes that I'll probably stay away from for time, complexity, and budget limitations but I still didn't think I'd ever be able to make my own frosting or burritos. I like watching the Food Network to get ideas although god I wish I had one of those real kitchens heh. My favorite celebrity chefs are Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, and the Barefoot Contessa. I have a madcap and sarcastic sense of humor, which is evident in some of my postings. Not everyone gets it or just thinks I'm being mean or self-deprecating but I'm really not. I like to take things as they come in life and not take myself too seriously because life's just way too short. I live for the company of my friends, who are basically my family, and other warm, funny, and down-to-earth people. Two-faced people and people who act like they're better than me are unwelcome. <b>Other things about me:</b> I've been in college for almost an entire decade, I'm an old school gaming dork, and I clip coupons and look for savings religiously and however money I save on my purchases, gets contributed to my IRA. Don't think it's an effective strategy? I put $1,042 in there to date if that tells you anything! Ha my friends always tell me how much my accountant super-powers keep coming out off the clock. Although I like to view coupon clipping as more of a game rather than the headaches involved with at-risk rules and limit losses. I love cheese. Cheese is the word. I'm a pesco-vegetarian, so that means I'm always looking for innovative ways to use tofu-- baked, mashed, fried, stir-fried, you name it. I like some vegan foods but could never go vegan because of my love of cheese and I also use milk, butter, and the like frequently in my recipes...but as much as I love things like tofu, tempeh, soymilk, and ricemilk I just do not dig Soy butter and soy cheese. Totally not the same!! I don't eat poultry or red meat not because of moral objections for the way they're obtained, but for health reasons as well as I've just never been a meat eater. (Ever see the nasty conditions chickens are kept in? Yeah...makes me prefer tofu.) Don't like it, and cooking vegetables, cheeses, and vegan-friendly stuff is just far easier. At least if I don't fully cook tofu all the way, it won't make me sick. I'd rather get my proteins through tofu, nuts, legumes, and sometimes shellfish and use the calorie allowance on decandent desserts. (Which I've also gotten really good at making!) I love classic comfort foods like mac n cheese, grilled cheese with tomato soup, and chili cheese fries. I'm a big connoisseur of Mexican and Indian food, and I like to try cuisine from other cultures too. I'm always willing to try new things! <b>My weird food quirks: </b>Tomatoes. I LOVE tomato-based foods like pizza, pasta sauces, ketchup, tomato soup, etc. but will only eat raw tomatoes if sliced paper-thin on some sandwiches or finely, finely diced with Mexican food preferably with some cilantro. I hate them in chunks on salads and can't stand chunky tomato soups and sauces. Same with tomato peels! :: Salad dressings- except for some raspberry vinaigrettes, I totally despise packaged salad dressings. I thought Bolthouse Farms 1000 Island dressing was good at first until it gets that chemical taste a few days after opening. I think almost every store-bought salad dressing has this disgusting chemical or overprocessed taste to it whether it's Kraft or that $8/bottle stuff they sell at Whole Foods. But most salad dressings at restaurants, especially French, 1000 island, and buttermilk? I usually can't get enough! :: I hate, hate, hate mayonnaise but don't mind using it in my cooking and love mayo-based sauces and salad dressings. But plain? Ick. I also use Nasoya soy-based Nayonnaise to cut on fat, calories, and perishability and find that it works just as great if not better. If I could buy Nayonnaise by the crate or economy-size jug that would rule. <b>BEST RESTAURANTS EVER:</b> <b>Jackson Diner, Queens NY:</b> Best Indian food EVER. Menu prices are good considering the huge sharable portions and I get enough for 3 dinners out of the leftovers, but the lunch buffet is an AWESOME deal. <b>Blockheads, various points of NYC:</b> Great low-price Mexican restaurant that has healthier eats than other Mexican places, good drink specials, and just a fun place to be. I've got a lot of good memories of getting drunk with my girlfriends over foot-long burritos at this place. <b>Caliente Cab Co, Murry Hill NYC:</b> It's right next to Blockheads and it's a little more expensive but their margaritas are out of this world and you get heaping portions of awesome food. I highly recommend the bean tostadas and shrimp quesadilla. <b>Kate's Joint, Lower East Side NYC:</b> I've been going to this great vegetarian/vegan restaurant since 2003, I usually always get the Super Veggie Burger, McKate, or the Mock Popcorn Shrimp. I don't know what Abijah's Secret Sauce but it sure is delicious. A particularly funny memory I have of taking one of my friends to Kate's with me is when got inside and she asked the waitress, "Dude, will Kate share her joints?" <b>Shady Maple Smorgasbord, East Earl PA</b>: I've been going to PA Dutch Country with my family for vacations for 20 years, maybe farther back if my memory serves me well. Shady Maple's always been there. This place is just awesome. If you go during lunch hours, the buffet is about half the price as dinner and you get the same food. The new building it's in is just amazing-- there's the pizza bar, the steak bar, catch of the day bar, salad bar, 2 dessert bars, classic comfort foods, garden fresh greens, and don't forget their classic whole-wheat rolls with fresh creamery butter! There's something for everyone and even your pickiest kids will find something they love. And you can never go wrong with their shoo-fly pie and red velvet cake, which you can purchase in the Farmer's Market next door to take home. Also, you eat free on your birthday! <b>La Barca, San Francisco CA:</b> My family and I discovered this restaurant by accident in 2001 on a family vacation. At the time, none of us were really into Mexican food but were willing to give it a try because the place looked warm and welcoming and we saw everyone's plates had heaps of food. Well, that turned me on to Mexican food for good! I think La Barca is one of THE best Mexican restaurants in the freakin world. If I'm ever in SF for fun or business again, it's well worth the trip! The prices are unbelievable for the food you get-- and I never saw potato enchiladas anywhere else! The green enchilada is good too. <img src="http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m445/mliss29/vegn%20swap/vegnswap.jpg">
 
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