I thought long and hard about when my love affair with cheesecake started and more like a typical male(sorry guys 🙂 ) I could not remember our “anniversary” of the first time we met. My mother didn’t make cheesecakes at home(not sure why… she still doesn’t) and so I only ever got it going out. I’m sure my first experience involved the no-bake Jello cheesecake version that was so popular when I was a kid. But I suspect that I fell in love at a restaurant taking a bite off my mother’s plate. No doubt it was New York cheesecake with the then obligatory blob of cherries on top…for years this is the only way I thought it could be offered.
Fresh from all my pastry learning, I worked part time(I was a full time teacher) at a little bakery that sadly no longer exist(Phoenix is over run by commercialism now). I decided that I wanted to make the cheesecakes(among other things). Now you are probably thinking that I chose that so I could eat all the cheesecake I wanted….WRONG. I took it in hopes of breaking off the affair. When my brother was in high school he worked for a large Chicken chain. The first two weeks he worked, he threw up every night. After two years of working there he couldn’t eat fried chicken for many, many years after that. This is what I was thinking of when I agreed to do cheesecakes. I would get sick of them and never want to put another piece in my mouth…again with the WRONG. All that did was make me much more efficient at making them. It introduced me to many new flavors of cheesecake that I didn’t know existed and encouraged me to bake at home to come up with new cheesecake ideas for the bakery. So needless to say the love affair did not end but my job did(4 months=15 pounds so I quit).
So today I offer you a pumpkin swirl cheesecake from my days at the bakery. I once again, chose to make mini ones( I swear I do own full size pans). This is such a great recipe. It’s so creamy and light but still a little rich at the same time. The pumpkin flavor is not overpowering but is noticeable there. The gingersnap crust give a nice bite to the creaminess of the cake. If I were to have made a real sized cheesecake I could have gotten the good swirl going, but since I did mini’s you can’t add enough batter to get the full effect. This one is a crowd pleaser for sure.
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
1 1/2 cups Gingersnaps
1/4 cup melted butter
2 1/2/lbs cream cheese
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 TBSP flour
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1. For crust, combine the gingersnaps, and butter. Press onto the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes in 350F oven. Set aside.
2. For the filling, cream the cheese until soft. Add in the sugar and mix well. Add i the flour and mix to blend.
3. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping th bowl down after each addition. Add in the yolks and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Remove 3 cups of the batter and place in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, combine the pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the 3 cups of plain cheesecake batter.
5. Layer the two batters in the springform pan starting with the plain batter. Do three layers plain batter and two of the pumpkin batter. Swirl the batters to create a marbelized look.
6. Place the cake on a sheet pan. Place in the oven and pour in hot water to create a water bath. Bake the cheesecake at 350 F for approx. 2 hours. A thin knife inserted in the center should come out almost clean.
7. Cool the cake and then chill. Let sit overnight before unmolding.
All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.
Claire says
Oh…this looks delicious. I think I’ll be trying this sometime this fall. yum!
Kirsten says
Oh yum!!!! That looks really good. My boyfriend might be getting lucky in a cheesecake sort of way, very soon!
What bakery did you work at in Phoenix? I wonder if I knew of it?
Jennifer says
Cheesecake is one of my very favorite things. I don’t make them that often, but that’s probably for the best!
Jen says
Oooooh! I was planning on making a pumpkin cheesecake in the next week or so, you beat me to it! I’ll still be whipping one up 🙂 This one looks great!
Jeff says
God..it’s 11pm here, I was out with my friends tonight and I’m now lusting after that cheesecake
peabody says
Kristen- it was called the Flour Pot… but they closed in 1996. 🙁
Lis says
Looks fabulous =)
Riana says
I love cheesecake. And I love pumpkins. I should try this.
Kirsten says
How sad re: Flour Pot – and what a cute name! I moved to Phoenix in 1996 from Chicago, so I may have missed it entirely. 🙁
julia says
Yeah cheesecake!
delicious!
it looks stunning – I love those layers…=)
sam says
Your cheesecake looks absolutely amazing. I’m going to have to make this sometime as it includes two things I love, pumkin and cheesecake. Thanks!
Ivonne says
And who could blame you for falling in love with such a glorious thing!
From Our Kitchen says
Beautiful cheesecake! I love pumpkin in baked goods. It’s so moist and flavorful.
Nonny says
Thanks for bringing the leftovers to the GTG! I thoroughly enjoyed gorging myself on it. 🙂
Jann says
I am going to make this for my fall party…….this is perfect and looks delicious! thanks…..
gilly says
Oh my, this looks amazing!
Kirsten says
I have one of these in the oven right now.
It’s my first-ever cheesecake, so I am giving myself some leeway for cracks, sinking middles, etc., but can’t wait to try it!! Thanks Peabody for a great recipe!
Josie says
Oh my, but does this cheesecake look *luscious*! This is my first time on your site, and I’m simply loving it! *smile*
Lisa says
Wow, I’ve tagged this one — must make it this Fall. I never bake, but this looks so luscious it’s got me tempted. I’ve had pumpkin cheesecakes that are too heavy on the pumpkin; this one looks just right. Thanks!
Kirsten says
Ok, so I made the cheesecake and served it today for a co-worker’s birthday. I am now the hero of my office – thanks to Peabody!!!
YAY, what a YUMMY recipe. 🙂
peabody says
Kristen- glad it turned out good for you!
Yolanda says
mmm…I stumbled across your site while I was looking for a good pumpkin cheesecake recipe to make for Thanksgiving. I decided to go with this one and it was a winner! Only thing is it needed less than the 2 hours…I put it in the oven at 2am so I set my alarm clock for 4…and it came out slightly brown. Not too bad though. I will be adding this to my repertoire! Thanks!
katie102006 says
So funny! There is one almost identical to this on recipezaar.com I made. Looks great! 🙂
Danielle Listemann says
I adore cheesecake, i have made it at my current job, at the moment i am in a culinary arts school, i am studying for college as well. I would greatly appreciate hearing from you, maybe a possible visit to our school and show us your creations and what you have also learned along the way with your studys as well. My e-mail is Daniellebamberg@aol.com please email me and we can talk about everything!!! hope to hear from you, love the website!!!
-Danielle
Stephanie says
How much cream cheese does this call for?
Peabody says
@Stephanie- 2 1/2 pounds