Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake

Welcome back!

Today, we have a fun seasonal variation on the Basque Cheesecake, featuring pumpkin! It's similar to the original, with the burnt-looking top and the rugged edges all there, but it has its own differences that make it really unique.

Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake

Makes a 7 inch cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 box (8 ounces) cream cheese
200 grams pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and steamed (we used kabocha pumpkins)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spices (you can substitute for 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice):

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon ginger powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

After peeling, seeding, and steaming, mash the pumpkin with a fork. If you want an even smoother texture, you can pass the pumpkin mash through a sieve to press out the large chunks.
Add the cream cheese and pumpkin into the food processor and pulse a few times to mix the two ingredients together.
Add each of the other ingredients one at a time and pulse to incorporate them into the mixture. Once everything is added, you should have a smooth, even batter.
Line a cake pan with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the cake pan.
Bake in the oven at 400°F for 35-40 minutes.

Honestly, it's quite like a cheesecake version of a pumpkin pie, while retaining all of the smooth cheesecake goodness, you also get the feeling of being at a Thanksgiving feast with all the spices. Plus, it's another really interesting way to incorporate some pumpkin in a recipe; evidently, pumpkin is a really versatile ingredients that you can eat in any way: roasted by itself, in soups or stews, and now in cheesecakes!

-Chefpo

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