Pumpkin Cheesecake

Three years ago there was a recipe in the Joy Magazine for pumpkin cheesecake.  I remember two things about it.  It made a lot more than what the recipe said it would, and it was so delicious!!!  My recipe somehow made it into the recycle and every year since then, I have searched all of my recipes in the off chance of finding it again.  

This year was different.  My mom had one of the magazines on her coffee table and I thought I should try to call them and see if they could get me the recipe somehow.  Guess what?  They did!!!  YAY!  I am SO excited! 

Carson, 3 years old, and his pumpkin cheesecake!

pumpkin cheesecake

Yields one 10x15 or two nine-and-a-half inch round cakes.

Crust:

3 Cups flour

2 Cups brown sugar

1 pound unsalted butter

2 Cups fine chopped pecans

Filling

3 Pounds cream cheese

3 Cups sugar

2 1/2 Cups canned pumpkin

6 eggs

2 Tablespoons vanilla

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1 Teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon ground allspice

Crust: Combine flour and sugar, then cut in butter until crumbly and toss in pecans. Set aside 1 1/2 cups for topping and press remaining crust into glass baking pan.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. Pour over crust and sprinkle with reserved topping, then bake one hour in 325 degree oven, rotating halfway through the cooking time for consistency.

Courtesy of Susanne Glass, baker, Country Cottage Café in Jacksonville

selection & storage

When choosing pumpkin from your garden or the produce patch, select smaller pumpkins weighing between two and five pounds. Heavier pumpkins yield softer flesh while lighter and larger pumpkins offer tougher "meat" and a large hollow at the center more suited to carving than baked goods.  Once plucked from the vine, pumpkins will keep for several months in a cool dry place or cold storage. When prepared, whether baked or boiled, pumpkin should be used within 2-3 days or stored wrapped in the freezer. To use fresh pumpkin in recipes calling for canned, decrease liquid to compensate for the more runny consistency of fresh pumpkin.

Here is another recipe that was listed in the article.  I haven't made this one before.  

pumpkin roll dessert

Ingredient List

Cake

4 Eggs

1 1/3 Cups sugar

1 Cup prepared pumpkin

1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

½ Teaspoon orange zest

1 ¼ Cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ Teaspoon salt

2 Teaspoons baking powder

3 Teaspoons cinnamon

1 Teaspoon each ginger and nutmeg

½ Cup finely ground nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds)

½ Cup powdered sugar

Filling

2 Cups powdered sugar

8 Ounces cream cheese (light is OK)

½ Cup butter, softened,

½ Cup whipping cream (whipped)

Prepare a rimmed cookie sheet by greasing, lining with parchment paper, then greasing again. Preheat oven to 350˚.

In a large bowl beat the eggs at high speed for 5 minutes until light and airy. Add the sugar to the eggs and beat for 1-2 minutes. Add pumpkin and orange juice and beat for another minute until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, spices and nuts. Stir to blend. Combine dry flour mixture with egg mixture, then pour into prepared sheet pan and bake for 12-15 minutes until cake springs back when touched.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Place a dishtowel the size of the cookie sheet on a flat area and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Carefully unroll the cake from the parchment onto the towel, beginning at one end and finishing at the other. Place rolled cake seam side down in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

For filling, beat together the sugar, cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture, incorporating well. Remove chilled cake from refrigerator and unroll it onto a flat counter. Beginning at inside end, spread filling very thickly, slowly rolling in the same direction as you did before chilling, forming a "log" as you spread. Make sure you do not spread filling all the way to the end.

Once the roll is done, seal in plastic or waxed paper and freeze overnight. Slice while frozen, sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar and allow to soften slightly before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Sandy Dowling, chef, The Willows Cooking School in Central Point