Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake!

     

     Today I post about a first time for me. There's been a lot of those lately when it comes to food and beverage. When I was in Traverse City, MI a few weeks ago I tried a few new things. I always seem to try something new when I'm there which I'm completely ok with! This trip I tried sake for the first time. I wasn't aware that there were so many different kinds of sake out there. Lucky for me the waitress knew her sake and could give us a few options. We ended up choosing a mild, cool, and slightly sweet sake. I won't lie, I was slightly afraid I was going to cringe when I drank it because if I've seen anyone taking a shot of sake, they cringe. All reservations aside, I was more than willing to try and I'm glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was way more mild than I thought and actually quite delicious. I have to say that I'm a fan of sake and I would certainly like to try some other brew of sake. I also tried tuna for the first time. Well, let me rephrase that, tuna not from a can! I wasn't sure exactly how you were to order a tuna steak so I went with medium because I'm not a huge fan of raw fish. While the middle of the steak was raw the outside was slightly browned and I couldn't have asked for a better grilling. The sauce that came with this tuna steak meal was TO DIE FOR! The meal also come with a browned sticky rice square and stir fried vegetables. Before I got my plate I was worried about eating everything, we also had appetizers, but boy did I clean my plate! I can't tell you how much I wish there was a Red Ginger here in Ft. Wayne! This is by far my favorite restaurant. I HIGHLY recommend it if you are ever in Traverse City, MI. 

Another first for me, and what the post is really about, is making a flavored cheesecake. I can make a delicious plain cheesecake and be in heaven for a few days, but I wanted to try and make something different. I searched around a little bit because I wasn't sure how much I could change my recipe to make it work for a Pumpkin Cheesecake. I ended up going with a Paula Deen recipe because between the two I chose I had all the ingredients for the Paula Deen one. The cheesecake turned out great! That being said, I would like to try another recipe at some point. I guess I'm partial to a plain cheesecake with just some topping added if anything. 

When it came down to doing the recipe I didn't really change much. I know cheesecakes can be finicky when it comes to changes so I just added more cinnamon and a dash of allspice. One more thing I did, and I always do, is use pre-made crust. I really need to invest in a spring form pan but I just never have. For this recipe I got 2 cheesecakes and 6 mini cheesecakes. Below is the recipe that is slightly adapted from Paula Deen's. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake               [Printable Recipe]

adapted from Paula Deen Pumpkin Cheesecake

Prep Time:     15 min

Cook Time:    1 hr 15 min

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• dash or two of allspice
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare baking sheets with a enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Place pie shells in the pans.
3. Beat cream cheese until smooth. 
4. Add pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and spices. Mix until blended.
5. Add the flour and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
6. Pour batter into pie crust.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
8. Turn off oven and let sit an additional 15 minutes. 
9. Remove pans and set to cool for at least 30 minutes. 
10. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.