Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

I've really been amazingly busy over the past 2 weeks...lack of inspiration and no me-time at all. On Saturday we were invited to Xmas in July at our lovely friends, Marga and Graham's house. 

It was really so much fun, and we all had to bring a dish - I was asked to bring a pudding, but not a trifle... No one really likes Christmas pudding do they? Mince pies? GROSS! So I thought maybe it's time I try a recipe I keep on coming across on Tastespotting and Pinterest and Martha Stewart...Yanks seem obsessed with Pumpkin Pie! I thought an actual filling of pure pumpkin may be a bit extreme for our South African palates ...who are used to savoury pumpkin and more often than not, butternut rather than pumpkin. 

I'd saved a recipe for a Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake a while ago, and after adapting it slightly, to fit into my pie dish, as opposed to a springform pan, which is better suited to cheesecakes, I made the most amazingly delicious heavenly pudding. 

I made a smaller one, so Andrew and I could "just check" that it tasted nice before I served it to other people...oh my word: it was like apple crumple, without the appley lumps and the bloody clove lurking in a mouthful ( which I always seem to find! Find with my mouth) Seriously this combo of gingersnap, cinnamony, cream cheesey, pumpkin and caramel is something you MUST try! 

Americans. I get it now! 

 Admittedly, the most time-consuming part of making this dessert is making the pumpkin puree. You see, we don't get canned pumpkin in SA, but its a cinch to make - a tiny bit messy, but WELL worth it. 

I bought a packet of ready - diced pumpkin from Woolies, I know PnP does it too, and this amount of pumpkin was perfect for one cup of puree. I just steamed the diced pumpkin, pureed it, and then strained the liquid out in a colander over a glass bowl, overnight. I squeezed loads of moisture out by using paper towel. Make sure your puree is as dry as you can make it. I got about a cup of moisture out of a cup of pumpkin! Be prepared to use most of a roll of paper towel. 

Seriously. 

For the crust:

2 packets of gingersnaps

6 tablespoons melted butter

Teaspoon of golden syrup

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Filling:

2 packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 ¼ cup of white sugar

2 eggs

Pumpkin puree ( 1 cup )

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon of ground allspice

4 tablespoons of heavy ( double-thick ) cream

Topping:

¾ White sugar

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of heavy cream

Tablespoon of water

1.       Make the pumpkin puree a day early. Steam a packet of Woolies/ Pick n Pay ready chopped pumpkin. Puree it in a food processor. Drain it overnight in a colander with paper towel. Squeeze out the moisture until none is left. You’ll use loads of paper towel.

2.       Put oven onto 180 degree.  Rack in the middle of oven.

3.       Crush the gingersnaps in a food processor. Add the melted butter, brown sugar and the syrup.

4.       Press the crust into either a springform tin, or a tart dish.

5.       Put in the fridge for half an hour

6. Cream the cream cheese and white sugar together until fluffy and light. Add the pumpkin puree and spices.

7.       Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds between eggs.

8.       Add the cream and mix well

9.       Pour the filling into the base, and place in the oven for 45 minutes. If the middle still jiggles when you remove it after 45 minutes, leave it for another 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 150 if you leave it longer, just for safety’s sake. Don’t freak out if it looks like the cheesecake is rising, it does sink back as it cools. If you’re using a springform pan, and it’s very deep, the cheesecake can take up to 1.5 hours to cook

10.   Remove from the oven, leave to cool for at least half an hour before you add the topping. If you made the cheesecake in a springform pan, just run a butter knife around the rim while the cake is still warm, just to help loosen it a bit, before you unfasten the clips in half an hour. 

11.   Add the white sugar and water to a saucepan, stir

12.   Add the butter to the sugar mixture and stir until butter is melted, when it starts going a light golden brown, add the cream and remove from the heat.

13.   Very quickly use a spoon to drizzle the caramel/ butterscotch over the top of the cheesecake

14.   Place cheesecake in the fridge and when you’re ready, serve with cream or ice-cream