Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

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We had this last weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving. In fact, I've made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for the last 3 years, and it is always delicious!

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers                    

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted                    

3x  8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened                    

1 cup canned pumpkin  

(I usually make pumpkin pie also, and one of those large cans of pumpkin is enough for both the pie and the cheesecake)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar                  

1/4 cup pure maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup                    

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs, slightly beaten

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. For crust, in a medium bowl, combine finely crushed graham crackers, granulated sugar, and the melted butter. Press crumb mixture onto the bottom and about 1 inch up the side of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

 

For filling, in a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, the cream cheese, pumpkin, the 1/4 cup maple syrup, and the vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

 

Gently pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes* or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken.

 

Cool in springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using a small thin knife, loosen crust from side of springform pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove side of springform pan; cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

*My brother-in-law taught me this: If you want to avoid having cracks in the cheesecake, you need to cool it as slowly and gradually as possible. To do this is a bit of an experiment with your oven. You will have to turn it off earlier, for me it's about 15 minutes (so 45min cooking time total) and then you leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool to room temp. The reason you turn it off early is that it will continue cooking because the oven is still hot. After another 45 minutes, I take it out and leave it on a wire rack to cool some more before refrigerating. Sometimes I leave the oven open a crack so it is not such a drastic change in temperature. Even if you do all of this, there are no guarantees, sometimes it still cracks. Other people swear by cooking cheesecake in a water bath for better results. For this particular cheesecake, I like this method better.


Makes 10 servings. I garnished with whipped cream and cinnamon but another option would be a fresh caramel sauce.

Blueberry Cheesecake Supreme

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Love this recipe! I will be the first to admit I am not expert when it comes to cheesecake but I made this at New Years and it was so delicious so when we had company this week it was my first choice for dessert. My brother in law actually told me about this great trick that if you turn off the oven a little early (about 5 minutes for me) and leave the cheesecake in the oven till it's completely cooled before transferring to the fridge it won't have any cracks. I did this at New Years and it worked out great, this time however I left the oven on just a little bit too long, it still tasted great just didn't look as pretty.

INGREDIENTS 
Cheesecake:
1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers 
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon sugar  
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup butter, melted  
3 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar  
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla  
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten  
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (optional)
Sauce:
2 cups bluberries fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn starch 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. For crust, in a bowl combine crushed graham crackers, walnuts, the 1 tablespoon sugar, and, if desired, the cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of an 8- or 9-inch spring form pan; set aside.

2. For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, the 1 cup sugar, the flour, and vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in eggs and, if desired, lemon peel.

3. Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place the pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes for the 8-inch pan, 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch pan, or until a 2-1/2-inch area around the outside edge appears set when gently shaken.

4. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using a small sharp knife, loosen the crust from sides of pan; cool for 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan; cool cheesecake completely on rack. Cover and chill at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 12 slices.

5. To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries with sugar and fresh lemon juice. Bring to a boil; add corn starch, reduce to a simmer, and cook until most of the berries have burst, 8 to 10 minutes.

This recipe is also great with some whipped cream on top!