fall is my favorite time of year for plenty of reasons -- the beautiful trees, the cooler temperatures, rosy cheeks, chapstick weather -- but the top one has got to be baking. there's nothing better than banana bread or apple pie to enjoy while the sun goes down a little earlier. one of the most popular treats we come up with in the fall is pumpkin cheesecake -- with real pumpkins, not canned! a few years ago my aunt gave me the 2005 williams-sonoma miniature pumpkin cheesecake pan, which came with a great recipe on the back of the box (see below). unfortunately williams-sonoma doesn't sell the pan anymore, but using a small non-stick springform pan (like these) should work just fine! williams-sonoma recipe after the jump.
the williams-sonoma recipe (which i did not write) calls for 8 ounces of pumpkin puree. it's easy to find this canned, especially this time of year, but i think it's more fun to puree your own pumpkin! we asked at our favorite farm stand and came up with two small sugar pumpkins that the farmer said were great for baking. using a large knife, i cut off the stems and sliced the pumpkins into quarters, and removed the seeds (which we saved...dry them out and roast them with salt, or with cinnamon and sugar!) and pulp. i preheated the oven to 400 degrees and filled a deep pan with about a cup of water, and added the pumpkin quarters. i baked them for about an hour and, once they cooled, cut the skins off and threw the remainder into the food processor. voila, puree!
williams-sonoma 2005 recipe for miniature pumpkin cheesecakes
for the crust
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbs. sugar
for the filling
- 8 oz pumpkin puree (see above)
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
- 12 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
have all the ingredients at room temperature. preheat the oven to 325o F. lightly butter the springform pans.
to make the crust, in a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar and stir until blended. divide the mixture among the pans (if you're using small ones to make individual cakes). using a shot class or another flat-bottomed glass, press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pans.
bake until the crusts are set, about 10 minutes.
transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. reduce the oven temperature to 300o F.
to make the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. set aside.
in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater (i don't have a mixer so i use egg beaters, but they get the job done), beat together the cream cheese and the sugar on low speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. add the eggs one at a time and beat until blended, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. beat in the vanilla.
add the pumpkin mixture and and beat on low speed until completely blended, about 1 minute. pour the batter into the crusts, evenly dividing the filling between your pans.
bake until the filling is set, 18 to 20 minutes. transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. refrigerate for at least 3 hours before unmolding.
we brought these to our friends' house and ate them while watching the season 3 premiere of "walking dead." how crazy is that show?! we're counting down the days until sunday when the next epsiode airs...and still not sleeping quite right after the premiere.
