Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake
This past Saturday was my husband Jon’s birthday. He’s older than me, for the time being – by 2 years. I have almost 3 months to hold that over him, then the spread drops to 1 year. But still, I’ll take it. Older is older.
I had grand plans to make him an amazing 3D cake, but because the town changed Halloween Trick or Treating to Saturday night, there was really no way to have a party, and a huge cake for just us wasn’t really smart. Plus, I didn’t have the time. So, on Saturday morning, I asked him what he wanted. Pumpkin Cheesecake was the reply.
Pumpkin Cheesecake is what he got. Only Better.
Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake
makes 16 servings in a 10 inch pan
- 1 – Sugar Cookie Recipe (see below)
- 1 – Recipe for homemade Caramel
- 1 – recipe for Chocolate Ganache (see below)
For the Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces Cream Cheese, softened (4 bricks, I use Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup Vanilla Sugar (can substitute regular sugar if neccessary)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 – 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1 teaspoon bourbon (I used Jim Beam)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Beat one brick of cream cheese with the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of sugar until smooth. Add remaining sugar and cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining ingredients all at once, and stir until just mixed. Pour in to parbaked cookie crust, and bake for 1 hour at 350 in a water bath. Turn oven off after 1 hour and allow to cool in the oven.
When cool, move cheesecake to the refrigerator and allow to chill, about 1 hour. Top with caramel and chocolate ganache. I also added sweetened whipped cream as a decoration.
Sugar Cookie CRUST:
(makes enough for 2 crusts)
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon saltIn mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt until incorporated. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour to make rolling out simpler.
Prepare the cookie recipe as stated. Roll into 10 inch round, the size of the recommended cheesecake pan. Place a piece of parchment paper in the pan, and butter or spray the sides of the pan to prevent sticking. Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan, and slightly up the sides if you wish. Bake for 10 minutes while preparing the cheesecake. Remove and fill with above cheesecake filling.
QUICK Chocolate Ganache
- 1/4 cup Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Bring cream to a simmer in small saucepot. Remove from heat, wait one minute, then add the chocolate. Allow to sit about 30 seconds, then stir until smooth.
i think you’ll find this recipe to be VERY well recieved at your Thanksgiving festivites. And to be honest, it really does come together fairly quickly. Of course, I had the cookie dough, ganache, and caramel already made, but even still, it wouldn’t have added much time to the effort. I hope you’ll give it a try!
And…Happy Birthday again, Kit. I hope it’s a great year for you.
