Gina's Pumpkin Cheesecake - Thanksgiving Dessert

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! For the next few days, I am posting about some of Thanksgiving dishes. To begin my first post, it will be on Dessert. I baked my first pumpkin cheesecake. At first, I was a little skeptical with the amount of cream cheese used for this recipe. I thought it would be heavy but not at all. The gingersnap cookies really goes well with pumpkin and the cinnamon whipped cream topping, that, is really a great touch!! Great recipe!

Thanks Gina for this fabulous recipe.  :)

Gina's Pumpkin Cheesecake, Food Network

Ingredients:

Crust:

30-35 squares gingersnap cookies

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the gingersnaps to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the melted butter. Stir until evenly mixed. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan with 3-inch sides. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely while preparing the filling.

Fillings:

4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 (15-ounce) can puree pumpkin (not pumpkin mix)

5 large eggs

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 ground cloves

1/2 tsp table salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Put a teakettle filled with water on the stove top, over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar and beat with an electric mixer at a low speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and beat until incorporated. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and vanilla, and beat until blended. Add flour and beat until incorporated.

Wrap the sides and bottom of the 9-inch spring-form pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Pour filling into the pan and put it in a small roasting pan. Pour the hot water from the teakettle into the roasting pan, filling halfway up the sides of the spring-form pan, about 1 1/2 inches. Bake at preheated oven at 350 degrees F until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the water bath and let it cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a paring knife to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan. Chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with Cinnamon Whipped Cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until thick and frothy. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, and beat until medium peaks form.

 Still cooling in the pan

after being chilled in the refrigerator overnight.

Spread cinnamon whipped topping.

(i also topped with grated semi-sweet chocolate)

Notes:

Avoid over-beating the batter. Over-beating incorporated additional air and tends to cause cracking on the surface of the cheesecake.