Sweet Contraptions: October 2009

Pumpkin pie cheesecake has always been a favorite--combining the spice and fall-y flavors of pumpkin pie with the richness of cheesecake. Sometimes plain pumpkin pie can end up a little bit wet and slimy feeling, but the addition of cheesecake really fluffs it up nicely!
Some recipes tell you to mix all of the ingredients (for pumpkin pie and cheesecake) together at once. In typical fashion, I prefer to make them separately, and then mix them together. This allows you to attempt some artsy swirls--although I have found that a true swirl does not cook very well. Sunday's effort features some nice little splashes of pumpkin showing through.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake:
1. Make pumpkin pie (I use Libby's Pure Pumpkin in a can, and the recipe on the back: Libby's Pumpkin Pie. I use only half of the evaporated milk suggested. The recipe linked here is for a single pie, although I usually use the big double can of pumpkin, which makes two pies. My changes are in bold below for a 2-pie recipe (I've bumped up all of the spices, but you can experiment with the quantities:

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 large eggs

1 can (30 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

2 unbaked 9-inch pie shells (or make the graham cracker crust below)

2. Prepare a cheesecake recipe. Many, many thank you's to Debbie for sharing her famous and perfect cheesecake recipe!!! (see comment below).

Crust:
Preheat oven to 375F

1 1/2 compartments of graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup (half stick) of butter at room temp

Crush and blend the crackers with the butter and sugar using a food processor or fork until it feels like wet sand. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan. Tamp the crust down firmly, and back for 5 minutes. (I usually put the spring form on a cookie sheet for easier handling). I have also used store bought graham crusts (from the baking aisle), which are fine for the pumpkin pie cheesecake. Debbie's amazing cheesecake on its own deserves a nice 'real' graham crust.

Filling:
(The cheesecake alone would bake at 325F, see below for Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake baking tips)

1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese (3- 8 oz. blocks) at room temperatur

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream

Blend cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well with each. Add vanilla and salt. Add sour cream and combine well until mixture is smooth. (This cheesecake alone would cool for about an hour at 325F. Mixture will be soft set - jiggling but not flowing. Cool for awhile at room temperature. A crack may form as it cools. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving). See below for baking instructions for the pumpkin cheesecake.

3. Mix most of the cheesecake and pumpkin together. Pour into pie pans with graham cracker crusts (either made from scratch, or purchased from the baking aisle). A double can of pumpkin plus a full cheesecake recipe will probably make 3 9" pies. Remember that the ratio of cheesecake to pumpkin pie can and should vary--try it out, and see how you like it best! I find that it is very flexible.

4. Swirl leftover cheesecake and pumpkin on top to create decorative effect. Lightly sprinkled cinnamon looks nice too.

5. Baking this contraption is a little weird, because the instructions for the pumpkin pie and the cheesecake are different. However, for this most recent pie/cake, I started with 20 mins at 375F followed by about 40 mins at 335F. This timing will of course vary with the thickness and size of YOUR contraption. The smaller pies that I made did not crack like this big one did...