Pumpkin Cheesecake

When I was a teenager, I attended a party where one of the guests had brought a homemade cheesecake. I tasted its rich creamy goodness and thought that anyone who could make this at home was either trained by Julia Child herself or possessed some Harry Potter-esque type magical powers. How was it possible to make a delicious cheesecake at home?!

I soon discovered how easy it actually was to make a cheesecake at home, and started making these delectable treats myself. I won't tell you how many years later it is now, but in the meantime I've learned to develop my own cheesecake recipes...and so I present you with my pumpkin cheesecake recipe!

Jump to:

• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🥄 Making the crust
• 🥣 Cheesecake filling
• ⏲️ Baking
• 🍽 Serving
• 📝 Recipe

At Thanksgiving, pumpkin pies are the norm, the typical, the standard dessert presented year after year. While pumpkin pie is good, I like to take my desserts to the next level whenever possible.

The first time I made this pumpkin cheesecake recipe, I brought it to a friend's house for a day-after-Thanksgiving let's-finish-up-the-leftovers-with-the-neighbors kind of thing...and everyone went crazy for it!

While I enjoyed the thanks and praise for my rich and creamy homemade dessert, I was also a little sad that there were no leftovers to take home...they ate it all! Oh well, guess I'll just have to make another one.

Cheesecakes are actually so crazy simple to make and I promise that everyone will be impressed...every time! The only special equipment you need is a springform pan. With a springform pan, you're able to easily release the cake from the pan by removing the sides...without one, there is really no way to release the cake.

One final note before we get started: While many cheesecake recipes call for baking it in a water bath, I have never done so. I have, however, found a trick that reduces the chances of your cheesecake cracking, without a water bath, so read on...

🧾 Ingredients

Crust

• Graham crackers or gingersnaps
• Unsalted butter

Filling

• Philadelphia cream cheese
• Granulated sugar
• Pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• Eggs
• All purpose flour
• Cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Numeg
• Vanilla extract

See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.

🥄 Making the crust

Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers or gingersnaps until they're cookie dust...or very fine crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, you can place the crackers in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Place the "cookie dust" in a bowl and add melted butter. Mix with a fork until the crumbs stick together well when pressed between your fingers.

Using your fingers, press the crust into the bottom and up along sides of the springform pan in an even layer.

🥣 Cheesecake filling

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To soften cream cheese, either leave it sit out on the counter for a little bit until it has reached room temperature, or remove foil wrapper from cream cheese and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, first mix together cream cheese, eggs, and sugar until well blended. Then, add remaining ingredients and mix just until well blended and smooth.

Pour into crust and spread evenly using a rubber spatula.

⏲️ Baking

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

Tip: Now here's the trick: Wearing oven mitts, give the oven rack a good shake. If the outer few inches have firmed up, but the inside is still a bit wobbly, that's fine. Turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour, while it cools down...then put it in the refrigerator. Cooling the pie in this slow manner helps reduce the chance of cracking.  Chill for at least 6 hours.

🍽 Serving

Serve with homemade whipped cream. Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until firm peaks.  Enjoy!

Love cheesecake? Check out more of our cheesecake recipes:

• Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
• Mint Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake
• Cheesecake Mousse

And more fall recipes too:

• No-Knead Bread
• Thanksgiving Stuffing with Fruit
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
• Chnöpfli – The Swiss Mac and Cheese
• Mini Apple-Pear Pies
• World’s Best Apple Pie

Did you make this Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

📝 Recipe

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