Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. Any kind except chocolate, but then I eat very little chocolate anyway. Last year I got the bright idea to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I usually make pumpkin pies since they are my oldest grandson's favorite.

I went through several recipes and finally came up with what I thought would be a good one. I made it and it was good, but not fantastic good, which is what I want. So my hunt has continued.

Today, I found one in a newsletter I get each day, and it looks so good that I'm going to try it. If it turns out, I'll post pictures of it here and will let you know if it's good. I am going to go ahead and share the recipe in case you may think it also sounds good. Here goes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cookie Crust:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and egg. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon then add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Gather up dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie crust dough into bottom and two thirds up sides of a 10 x 2 1/2 inch springform pan.

Filling:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cake flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy then beat in sugar. Sift together flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, add to cream cheese mixture, beating on low to combine. Beat in vanilla and heavy cream. Whisk eggs into pumpkin and add to batter. Mix on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined. Pour filling into crust in pan and bake 45 minutes. Turn oven off, leave oven door slightly ajar, and let rest for 15 minutes. Open door completely and let cake rest inside for 1 hour. Remove pan from oven and cool completely.

Topping:
4 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup dark raisins
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Topping: Mix cornstarch and water until smooth. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add maple syrup and cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat then stir in raisins and pecans. Cool to lukewarm then spoon topping over cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight before removing sides of pan.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.