Savor a Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake with Crunchy Maple Pecans

Silky, aromatic and just sweet enough, this delightful dessert is a celebration of harvest warmth. I avoid tinned pumpkin – the taste is bland and thin – so I prefer to roast your own pumpkin. The oven’s heat enhances the sweet flavor while evaporating extra liquid, resulting in a deep, aromatic mash imparting real depth. The maple pecan brittle adds the perfect finish: caramelized, rich and providing a textural contrast complementing the velvety texture.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Pecan Brittle

To make the pumpkin base, cut 350-400g peeled, deseeded pumpkin into cubes, cook, with a cover, in a hot oven until soft but not browned. Puree in a high-speed blender.

Prep a brief 10 minutes
Cook about 1¾ hours
Cool 1 hour
Chill overnight
Serves 8-10

Base Ingredients

• gingersnap cookies
• 70g unsalted butter, softened, and some for coating
• ⅛ tsp fine sea salt

Cheesecake Mixture

• 500g cream cheese
• fine sugar
• citrus peel
• 200g pumpkin puree (see introduction)
• cornstarch
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• freshly grated nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• fresh eggs, warmed slightly
• 100ml soured cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Pecan Garnish

• maple sweetener
• sugar
• chopped pecans, in chunks
• sea salt flakes
• whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 365F and lightly grease the base and sides using a cake tin. Using a processor the cookies until crumbly, place in a container. Incorporate the melted butter and salt, and mix so the crumbs are evenly damp. Tip into the buttered container, compact it well, bake for 10 minutes, take out and cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 355F. In the meantime, place the base ingredients in a stand mixer, whip with the paddle attachment at a gentle pace until smooth and creamy. Mix in the spiced pumpkin mix, and beat gently well mixed. Add the eggs individually, incorporating fully after each one, then add the cream and extract, and beat until smooth.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled biscuit base level it out using a spatula. Give it a gentle shake on a surface to remove bubbles, then heat the cheesecake on the middle rack for about three-quarters of an hour until the edges are set with a jiggly middle. Stop baking, crack the door open and leave the cheesecake to cool for 60 minutes. After cooling, chill for at least six hours (or for days), until fully chilled.

While waiting, make the pecan brittle (in advance). Set the oven to a high temperature cover a tray using liner. Mix the maple syrup and sugar in a pot and stir gently gently for about a minute. Mix the chopped pecans, then remove from the heat transfer to the sheet. Heat until golden, until crisp, set aside. Once the brittle is completely hard, cut roughly place in an airtight container frozen.

Open the cake from the springform move to a plate. Whip the cream until fluffy, then place on top of the cake leaving space around. Scatter most of the pecan brittle on top, then serve with extra pecan brittle alongside.