Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Balsamic Swirl

‘Tis the season for pumpkin. Whether it’s pumpkin muffins, pies or cookies we love to bake with pumpkin this time of year. We also associate the holidays with richer desserts like creamy, velvety cheesecake. We pulled out one of our favorite recipes from Cooks Illustrated that combines the two into a spiced pumpkin cheesecake but…we took it a little further. By swirling in the sweet and tangy flavor of our maple balsamic, we discovered a delectable and gorgeous indulgence that wasn’t overly sweet. Our good friends Laura and Joe – who are quite the foodies themselves – helped out in the tasting department. You can make this cheesecake up to three days in advance but keep in mind after one day the crust will start to lose its crispness. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients or the “water bath” method of baking; most of the ingredients on the list are spices and we show you step-by-step how to do it all.  Another bonus, this dessert is definitely a make-ahead dish; which always helps during the holidays. One taste of the smooth and rich texture of this dessert and you’ll agree, it’s definitely worth it!

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

• 5 ounces graham crackers (9 whole crackers), broken into large pieces
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar (10 1/3 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 1 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin
• 1 ½ pounds cream cheese (3 8-ounce bars), cut into 1-inch chunks and left to soften at room temperature, about 30 minutes
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 5 large eggs, left at room temperature, about 30 minutes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons Olive This! Vermont Maple Balsamic

DIRECTIONS

Before you start the crust, set out the eggs and chunks of cream cheese at room temperature. Place the oven rack at the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 9-inch spring-form pan by spraying the bottom and sides with cooking spray (alternatively, you could brush the bottom and sides with olive oil).

Place the graham cracker pieces, 3 tablespoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of allspice and ¼ teaspoon of cloves into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse mixture 15 times for about 2 seconds each. When finished, pour crumb mixture into a bowl and drizzle the 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well until evenly moistened.

Transfer the crust mixture into prepared spring-form pan and spread into an even layer.  Using a large spoon or drinking glass, press crumbs evenly into pan bottom and up the sides about halfway. Bake crust in the oven for about 15-18 minutes until browned around the edges. Cool on a wire rack while preparing the cheesecake filling.

To achieve the right consistency, it helps to remove some of the excess moisture found in canned pumpkin. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Place the pumpkin onto the paper towels and spread it out evenly with a spoon. Place another 2 or three layers of paper towels on the pumpkin and press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible.

Peel back the top layer of paper towels and discard. Take hold of the bottom layer paper towels and fold pumpkin over enough times to “roll it off” the bottom layer and discard towels.

At this point, you’ll want to boil some water for the water bath process described in a later step. Put about 4 quarts or water on the stove in a large stock pot. Bring this to a boil as you finish making the cheesecake filling.

In a small bowl whisk the sugar and spices (1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice, and ½ teaspoon table salt) from the list of filling ingredients. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add one third of the spiced sugar mixture to the cream cheese and continue to beat for one minute. Stop and scrape down the insides of the bowl and paddle with a spatula. Repeat two more times for the remaining two thirds of the sugar/spice mixture; mixing for one minute and scraping down the bowl for each addition.

Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and lemon juice to the mixture and beat at medium speed to combine, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl.

You will be adding the eggs in two stages. Turn the speed of the mixer to medium-low and add 3 of the 5 eggs. Beat for about 1 minute until well combined and scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the remaining 2 eggs and repeat the mixing (for 1 minute) and scraping. Pour in the one cup of heavy cream and beat for about 45 seconds on low speed. Remove the bowl from the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl with the spatula and give the mixture a final stir by hand.

As the testers at Cooks Illustrated point out, a water bath is commonly used when baking cheesecakes and custards because it moderates the temperature around the perimeter of the pan, preventing overcooking at the edges and a “pudding” center. It’s quite simple; rather than placing the spring-form pan directly on the oven rack, place it into a larger roasting pan filled with about 2-3 inches of hot water and bake the whole thing together. However, spring-form pans are not water tight so we wrapped ours with heavy duty (wide) foil to prevent the water from leaking in (nobody likes a soggy crust!).  Wrap the spring-form pan in a double layer of foil bringing the foil up to the top edge of the pan (as pictured above).

Place the wrapped spring-form pan into your roasting pan and fill with cheesecake batter. Smooth the top of the batter with a spatula. You may have extra filling left over, depending on your spring-form pan, but do not overfill. We used a 9-inch spring-form pan and had about a cup of filling left over.

Once the batter is poured, drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of the maple balsamic over the cheesecake batter in a circular pattern. It doesn’t have to be pretty at this stage.

Using a small knife, “cut” the balsamic vinegar from the outside edge towards the center; creating the concentric pattern. Here’s where you express your artistic side!

By now your hot water is probably at a boil. Gently pour enough water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides of your spring-form pan.

Carefully transfer the roasting pan to the preheated oven. Bake until the center of the cake comes to 145-150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. For us, this took about 1¼ hours but depending on the oven and the temperature of your ingredients it could take 15 minutes longer. Rely on your thermometer here. Also, even when the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees, the cheesecake will still be a little wobbly in the center; that’s fine.

Cooling the cheesecake is an important step in the process. Cheesecakes sometimes split in the middle and that’s okay – it all tastes the same. However, if you’re shooting for a presentation without “cracks” there are a few steps that may help.

As soon as you take the roasting pan out of the oven, run a small knife around the inside of the spring-form pan to loosen and separate the cake from the sides. The cheesecake is still sitting in the water bath at this point.

Place the roasting pan on a cooled stove-top or a wire rack to let the water bath cool gradually; about one hour. Next, remove the spring-form pan from the water bath, remove the foil and discard. Place the spring-form pan directly on the wire rack; we ran a knife around the inside edges one more time just to be sure it separated from the pan ring. Let the cheesecake fully cool to room temperature, about another 3 hours.

Finally, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Before serving, let the cheese cake stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. When slicing your cheesecake, it helps to use a sharp knife with a narrow blade frequently dipped in hot water.

After your first bite, you’ll notice the velvety smooth and consistent texture along with the rich spiced pumpkin flavor. You’ll quickly realize that it was all worth it!

MAKES ONE 9-INCH CAKE, SERVING 12 TO 16

Have a comment?  We’d love to hear from you.  Have you tried this dish?  Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy?  Leave us a comment below.