Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Mmmmm... Cheesecake....

So my blog readers, I am still playing catch up and I'm afraid to say I'm losing! I am so far behind that I continue to work on getting Thanksgiving recipes up here on Christmas Eve. All my lovely holiday treats are stuck in the queue behind pumpkin and apple recipes from weeks prior! Today is the day though- they shall be liberated... starting with this treat I was proud to put on the table.

You must have a creamy pumpkin dessert on Thanksgiving. It's a law I think. I've been feeling ambitious and wanted to leave the traditional pumpkin pie for at least one year. And since I hosted T-day for the 4th year in a row, I had the luxury of making whatever I wanted!

There are lots of pumpkin cheesecake recipes out there and I'm not the world's best baker, so it's hard to choose between them all. I settled on a recipe I saw on AllRecipes.com, and made a few modifications along the way based on my "research" also know as looking at 20 similar recipes.

Once again I ended up with a crack in the top (dang it!) and hubby didn't particularly like the gingersnap crust, but everyone else loved it. We ate it for breakfast the Friday afterwards it was so tasty!


Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake
Source: AllRecipes.com

• 1 1/2 C. Ginger Snap Crumbs
  
• 1/3 C. Butter, melted
  
• 2 8 oz. Packages Cream Cheese, softened
  
• 1/2 C. White Sugar
  
• 1/4 C. Brown Sugar
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  
• 3 Eggs
  
• 1 C. Pumpkin Puree
  
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
  
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves
  
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger

1. Prepare the crust for the springform pan by combining the ginger snap crumbs and melted butter together and pressing to bottom. I mixed them together in a sauce pan and then only pressed them on the bottom of the springform, though I had enough to go up the sides if I had chosen.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
3. Put the cream cheese in a stand mixer and whip on medium speed until light and fluffy.
   
4. Mix in the white sugar and vanilla and cream until smooth.
   
5. Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
   
6. Set 1 C. of the plain cheesecake batter aside for marbling.
   
7. In remaining batter, add in brown sugar, pumpkin, and spices. Blend well until very smooth and lovely.
   
8. In the springform pan, pour in about half of the plain batter. Gently pour in some of the pumpkin batter into a second layer on top of the plain. Continue layering plain and pumpkin until you have run out. I believe I got 2 layers of each.
   
9. With a butter knife, gently swirl the 2 batters together by holding the knife vertical and at a very slight angle, like a canoe paddle, and moving around the batter. Do not swirl too much or you will lose the 2 colors!
   
10. Bake for about 55 minutes until the center has just barely set up. I baked my cheesecake in a water bath, though I still ended up with a crack in the middle. (A water bath means you wrap your springform pan in foil to prevent leaks and then place the cheesecake in the middle of a cookie sheet with water in the oven. This helps prevent the outside from getting too dry while the middle sets up.)
    
11. When baked, let the cheesecake sit in the oven with the heat off so it can slowly cool down. Cooling too quickly increases the chance of cracking. When cooled, chill overnight or at least for a few hours before serving.