A little late, but I made you guys this marbled pumpkin cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day (and Thanksgiving)! Now, someone come eat it…
Happy National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day!
I completely missed the boat on National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day (seriously, there’s a “national day” for pretty much every food that you can think of). It was October 21st and I didn’t make a pumpkin cheesecake for you guys. For that, I apologize. But your patience has paid off (because you all KNEW that October 21st was National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day and you were totally wondering where my cheesecake was, right?) because I have one-upped the standard pumpkin cheesecake. That’s right. I give you marbled pumpkin cheesecake with whiskey.
There’s a problem with cheesecake in my house. I married a man who doesn’t like it. Nothing about it. He hates the graham crackers that typically make up the crust and he says that eating cheesecake seems to him like straight up eating a block of cream cheese. Look, he’s got plenty of strengths in other areas. I have to forgive him this one thing. What’s more with this cheesecake is that he really doesn’t like pumpkin either. So come over and grab a fork because my fridge is full of marbled pumpkin cheesecake and I’m already having trouble buttoning my jeans. Seriously. SOMEONE COME EAT THIS CHEESECAKE.
For this marbled pumpkin cheesecake I decided to completely forego the graham cracker crust and use ginger snaps instead, taking a cue from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Then I substituted whiskey-Chattanooga Whiskey, to be exact (we’ll just have to call this Chattanooga Whiskey week on Chattavore, since there was whiskey in my caramel on Tuesday)-for part of the cream and swirled some pumpkin and some spices into half of the batter. An hour and a half in the sauna (that is, a water bath in my oven) and I turned out this beauty. And I want to go eat a slice right now. It was delicious (by the way, Philip’s comment was “It’s all right, I guess.” Coming from Philip, that’s practically a compliment to my pumpkin cheesecake!).
Marbled pumpkin cheesecake with whiskey is a great way to shake things up – just a bit – for your Thanksgiving dessert table!
Mary
Yield: one 9-inch cheesecake
Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake with WhiskeyThis recipe is adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
30 minPrep Time:
1 hr, 45 Cook Time:
2 hr, 15 Total Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust- 7 ounces ginger snap cookies
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the cheesecake- 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon (I used Chattanooga Whiskey)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, Chinese 5-spice powder, or Alchemy Spice Wake & Bake Blend (which is what I used) or a blend of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the ginger snaps to fairly fine crumbs (no large pieces remaining). Pulse in the sugar then drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse until the crumbs hold together. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, using a flat-bottomed measuring cup to level out the crust. Bake for 15 minutes then set aside to cool for thirty minutes.
- While the crust is cooling, spread the pumpkin onto several layers of paper towels and press down with several more layers (this will get out the excess moisture). Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed (I used my KitchenAid). Scrape down the sides and beat in the sugar and salt until well-combined. Again, scrape down the sides and beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides again and add the cream and whiskey. Beat until well combined.
- Divide the batter between two bowls (I used my kitchen scale to get the most even division). Whisk the pumpkin and the spices into one bowl until well-combined.
- Wrap the outside of the springform pan in a double layer of aluminum foil. This will prevent the water from the water bath to getting into the cheesecake and will keep the cheesecake from leaking out.
- Layer the batters into the prepared pans, pouring a little bit of one into the pan then pouring a little bit of the other on top until you have used all of the batter. This should cause enough marbling but you can swirl them together with a knife if you desire more of a swirl/marble.
- Place the pan into a roasting pan and place on the rack of the preheated oven. Using a large pouring vessel with a spout, pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for an hour and a half then remove the roasting pan to a wire rack.
- Run a thin knife or spatula around the edge of the springform pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Cool for an hour, until the water in the roasting pan is just warm. Remove the springform pan from the roasting pan and continue to cool for three hours, then wrap in foil and chill for at least three more hours before serving (I chilled mine right in the springform pan to protect the sides, but you can take it out if you wish).
7.8.1.2284https://chattavore.com/marbled-pumpkin-cheesecake/
Mary
Yield: one 9-inch cheesecake
This recipe is adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
30 minPrep Time:
1 hr, 45 Cook Time:
2 hr, 15 Total Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 ounces ginger snap cookies
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon (I used Chattanooga Whiskey)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, Chinese 5-spice powder, or Alchemy Spice Wake & Bake Blend (which is what I used) or a blend of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the ginger snaps to fairly fine crumbs (no large pieces remaining). Pulse in the sugar then drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse until the crumbs hold together. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, using a flat-bottomed measuring cup to level out the crust. Bake for 15 minutes then set aside to cool for thirty minutes.
- While the crust is cooling, spread the pumpkin onto several layers of paper towels and press down with several more layers (this will get out the excess moisture). Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed (I used my KitchenAid). Scrape down the sides and beat in the sugar and salt until well-combined. Again, scrape down the sides and beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides again and add the cream and whiskey. Beat until well combined.
- Divide the batter between two bowls (I used my kitchen scale to get the most even division). Whisk the pumpkin and the spices into one bowl until well-combined.
- Wrap the outside of the springform pan in a double layer of aluminum foil. This will prevent the water from the water bath to getting into the cheesecake and will keep the cheesecake from leaking out.
- Layer the batters into the prepared pans, pouring a little bit of one into the pan then pouring a little bit of the other on top until you have used all of the batter. This should cause enough marbling but you can swirl them together with a knife if you desire more of a swirl/marble.
- Place the pan into a roasting pan and place on the rack of the preheated oven. Using a large pouring vessel with a spout, pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for an hour and a half then remove the roasting pan to a wire rack.
- Run a thin knife or spatula around the edge of the springform pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Cool for an hour, until the water in the roasting pan is just warm. Remove the springform pan from the roasting pan and continue to cool for three hours, then wrap in foil and chill for at least three more hours before serving (I chilled mine right in the springform pan to protect the sides, but you can take it out if you wish).
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