Pumpkin Cheesecake

Move over pumpkin pie there is a new king of the holiday desserts and that is pumpkin cheesecake! I love pumpkin and I love cheesecake, put the two together for this easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe.

How can you go wrong with pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and cream cheese? The short answer you can’t!

I will admit growing up cheesecake wasn’t necessarily my favorite kind of dessert. But now it is one of my favorite things to eat. It is so decadent, and every bite is so rich and full of flavor.

There are so many different flavors of cheesecake and this pumpkin one is incredible. It is very easy to make, if I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get baking!

Ingredients
*Crust

• 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs about 12 whole graham crackers (125 g)
• 1 Tbsp. of white granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp. of unsalted butter melted (90g)

Filling

• 3 8oz packages of softened room temp cream cheese (678g)
• 1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 285g
• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie mix 425g
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream 57.5g
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 16g
• 2 tsp. of pumpkin spice 3.5g
• 1/4 tsp. of salt 1g
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 15ml
• Whipped cream for topping

Instructions
Crust

First, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C.) Crush up the graham crackers in a food processor or use a bag and rolling pin. In a bowl combine the crumbs with the granulated sugar. Melt the butter and add that to the bowl as well. Mix until the crumbs resemble damp sand.

Place the cookie crumb mixture in a 9" springform pan which has been sprayed with kitchen spray. Use the back of a spoon to smash down the crumbs and level them out. They will go up the sides a little bit. Once the crumbs are firmly packed, bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes. Then allow it to cool while you make the filling.

Filling

Time to make the filling. In a large bowl add the softened room temp cream cheese and the brown sugar. Cream them together with a hand mixer or stand mixer.

In a separate large bowl mix together with a whisk the canned pumpkin, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, sour cream, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Don't use a hand mixer for this, it is too easy to over mix it, which may cause cracks, those cursed cracks, later on.

Now mix both of those mixtures. At this point, you can use a hand mixer or stand mixer until just combined. That pumpkin cheesecake filling is ready to go. Pour the filling over the crust and level it off with a spatula.

Baking

Turn the heat on your oven down to 325 F (162 C). In a baking pan add about an inch of water. Place the baking pan with water on a lower rack and the cheesecake on the middle rack. The water will create steam which helps evenly bake the cheesecake. You can also cover the bottom of the pan with a few layers of foil and set the springform pan inside the baking pan of water for a traditional water bath. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the heat down to 300 F (148 C) and bake for another 30 to 45 minutes until there is a slight jiggle in the middle.

Once the time is up, turn the heat off and prop open the oven down with a wooden spoon which will allow the cheesecake to cool down very slowly, which will help to prevent cracks. After it has cooled, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.

Use a knife to go around the inside of the pan to loosen the cheesecake, then cut a slice and serve! Add whipped cream and cinnamon on top if you like as well. Enjoy!

Print the full recipe here on my website: https://www.inthekitchenwithmatt.com/easy-pumpkin-cheesecake

Watch the video tutorial here: