Linda Beaulieu's Native Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Ingredients
Pumpkin puree:
1 (5-pound) pumpkin
Your favorite ground spices (ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon are recommended), to taste
2 tablespoons butter

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup ground raw almonds
4 to 6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 cups (24 ounces) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs

Directions
First, make the pumpkin puree. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the stem from the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove all seeds, saving some for garnish.

Combine equal amounts of all your favorite ground spices. Rub the spice mixture into the flesh of the pumpkin, using generous amounts. Place 1 tablespoon of butter into each pumpkin half. Place pumpkin halves in a roasting pan and put them into the oven.

Bake the pumpkin for about 1 hour or until the flesh is very soft and brown on the outside. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove all flesh from the skin. Place the flesh in a food mill or food processor, and process until smooth. Measure 1 1/2 cups of puree for the filling; set aside.

Next, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the
crumbs, almonds and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well with a spoon. If needed, add another 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Finally, make the filling. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, combine the maple syrup and softened cream cheese. One at a time, add the eggs, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree. Mix the batter until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared
springform pan.

Place the springform pan into a larger pan that can be filled with water when the cheesecake is placed in the oven. This allows the cake to bake more evenly from the edges to the center. Fill the outer pan with water just up to where the top of the cake is. This water bath method of cooking prevents the top of the cheesecake from cracking.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the center is firm. Depending on the oven, this could take another hour or so. Check for doneness every 15 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight before unmolding and serving. The pumpkin seeds you saved can be roasted in the oven while the cake is baking to use as a garnish, along with a dollop of whipped cream.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

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