Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Graham Cracker Crust
A nice change of pace from the classic pumpkin pie dessert. This creamy smooth wintery spiced cheesecake has a pecan and graham cracker crust. Be sure to plan ahead, as you do have to bake this cheesecake one day ahead and let it cool and chill in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cheesecake, pecans, pumpkin
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Cooling time 10 hourshours
Servings 12
Calories 517kcal
Author Irvin
Equipment
9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
Crust
1cuppecans110 g
9 to 10graham crackers, broken in half135 g or about 1 sleeve
15ouncespumpkin pureenot pumpkin pie filling, 425 g
To bake
Boiling water for water bath
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a 9-inch springform pan on top of a piece of aluminum foil. Gather the foil up about 1 inch up the side of the pan to help seal the bottom in case there is any leakage and to help prevent the water from seeping into the pan when you bake the cheesecake.
Place the pecans in a food processor and process until they are broken down into small bits, roughly the size of unpopped popcorn kernels.
Add the graham crackers and process again until they are broken down into crumbs and the pecans are about half the size that they were. Add the sugar, pumpkin spice and salt. Pulse a couple of times to blend. Then drizzle in the melted butter, pulsing while you do, until the entire crumb bottom is moist, and looks like wet rough sand.
Dump the crumbs into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Press down with your fingers and the palms of your hand, spreading out the crumbs until a flat layer has covered the bottom of the pan.Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet or pizza pan and then bake in the oven for 10 minutes. The top of the crust should look slightly drier but don’t worry too if there isn’t much difference in the way the crust looks after baking. Let cool on a wire rack while you make the filling. Keep the oven at 350°F temperature.
Make the filling by placing the room temperature cream cheese in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix the cream cheese on medium low speed until the cream cheese is smooth, creamy and clings to the side of the bowl. You want to make sure there are no lumps in the cream cheese, as it will be difficult to get those lumps out later.
Add the pumpkin spice and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate, about 10 seconds on medium low speed. Scrape down the sides and add the brown sugar and white sugar to the bowl. Mix to incorporate, about 30 seconds, then scrape down the sides again.
Repeat with the eggs, adding them all at once, then the sour cream and pumpkin puree together, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition and mixing.
Pour and scrape the filling in to the pan with the crust. Smooth the top of the filling out with a butter knife or offset spatula and then tap the pan gently on the counter to settle the filling and make sure there are no air bubbles.Place the entire pan in a large roasting pan, then pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, being careful not to get any in the cheesecake. Pour until the water is about halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.Bake in the oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until the edge of the pan looks set but the inside of the cheesecake is still a little wobbly. Once done, turn off the oven and crack the door slightly. I like to put the handle of a wooden spoon in-between the door and the oven to do this. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven as it cools for 1 hour. This will help the cheesecake cool slowly so it is less prone to cracking.Once the hour is up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and then remove it from the water bath. Place on a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 to 3 hours. Once it has completely cooled (you can’t feel any warmth at all from the underside of pan), cover the cheesecake with foil and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Serve cold or let the cheesecake warm up slightly for an hour on the counter before serving.