Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake blends creamy pumpkin filling with a crunchy pecan topping and a maple drizzle for a perfect fall dessert. It’s festive, flavorful and always a favorite.
Equipment
- 1 Stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 sleeve graham crackers (about 9 full crackers)
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- 5 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
Cheesecake Filling
- 4 blocks cream cheese (8 ounces each) room temperature
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cheesecake toppings
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 325°. Spray an 8 or 9 inch springform pan, including the sides, with cooking spray and set aside.
- Chop the pecans with a knife or a food processor. (I chop the pecans for the crust and topping all at once.)
- Put the graham crackers in a food processor and grind the crackers into small crumbs. [It's ok to have some bigger pieces of cookies as the grind doesn't need to be super fine.]
- Mix the graham crackers, chopped pecans, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of white sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Add the crust mixture to the springform pan. Pat it down flat with your hands or a flat-bottom measuring cup with medium pressure. It should be packed firmly but not too hard.
- Bake the crust for 6 minutes and set aside to cool. [This step is optional but highly recommended for a crisp crust.]
Make the filling
- Place the room temperature cream cheese into a mixing bowl and mix on low speed until creamy and all the lumps are gone. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add the white sugar and maple syrup to the cream cheese mixture in the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Next, add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, vanilla and salt to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
- Next, add the eggs one at a time. Mix on low speed just until each egg is combined before adding the next egg. Between eggs, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Baking and cooling the cheesecake
- Pour the filling on top of the crust in the springform pan. Place the springform pan in a larger cake pan (or cover the sides of the springform pan with aluminum foil). Fill the roasting pan with one inch of water to create the water bath. Carefully add the cake pan (or the wrapped springform pan) into the water. [See FAQ or post description on why the moat method is preferred.]
- Bake at 325° for about 60 minutes until the center is mostly set. Then, turn off the oven and open the oven door to start cooling. Leave the oven door open for 2 hours as the cheesecake cools. After 2 hours, remove the cake pan from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack until room temperature.
- Before placing the cheesecake in the refrigerator, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cheesecake from the sides. Cover lightly and refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight or longer.
- After cooling, remove the rim of the spring form pan. Also, remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the springform pan if so desired (see FAQ for help) and decorate the cheesecake.
Decorating the cheesecake
- Melt 1 tablespoon of salted butter in a small bowl in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or until almost melted. Stir vigorously when almost melted. Butter will continue to melt as you stir it.
- Add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to melted butter and stir will.
- Add 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the maple butter mixture and stir until all lumps of powdered sugar are melted.
- Drizzle the maple glaze the across cheesecake in any design. Sprinkle ¼ cup of chopped pecans on top of the maple drizzle.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Notes
* Instead of 1 ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice, you can substitute ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon allspice.
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