Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
It’s the fall season and I love the fall. The leaves are changing on the trees. The weather is starting to call for hoodies and that’s really fun. Our little girl turned one on the 4th which is also exciting. We did it! We kept a human live for a year! With fall comes the warming spices of pumpkin pie and gingerbread. Pumpkin pie spice XYZ is everywhere as it always is. I figured it’s my turn this year. Why not try and pumpkin pie spice cheesecake. This is my attempt at that.
Before we get into the awesomeness that is this cheesecake let’s take a few minutes and talk. For our own mental health it’s important to remember that a lot of what we see has been staged or edited. Not everything is as it seems. That can make it hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. This also leads to trying to live up to the ideals set by society. That becomes impossible since everything is edited and not real. I’m going to show you some things about these pictures and everything so we can realize that it’s not going to be possible to live up to the fake world that has been created for all of us.
We all eat with our eyes first. Our brain does the same thing. It takes in things and then tries to make sense of it. The staged and edited world makes it hard for our brain to do that. We end up wondering why our food, in this case, doesn’t always look as great as the pictures in magazines. We do the same thing when it comes to comparing ourselves to the people we see in magazines. It’s important to remember they’ve been edited in 99.999% of all pictures as well. I hope this helps you realize that not everything is what it seems. Hopefully that makes it easier to not strive for the fake perfection that is out there.
Now that we have that out of the way let’s chat quickly about the picture and setup of this cheesecake. The picture is clearly staged to make the cheese cake look amazing. The background tells a story about what type of cheesecake it is. The colors are vibrant or intentionally dark to create the proper contrast. The composition of the picture focuses on the slice of cheesecake to show the silkiness. It also is set intentionally to hide the fact that the cheesecake cracked. In the baking world a cracked cheesecake is a bad thing. At the end of the day it really tastes the same. It’s possible it was slightly undercooked or just cooled too fast. Neither of those will change the flavor. The image above though will really sell how amazing this cheesecake must taste, and don’t let that hide the fact that it is indeed a wonderfully flavored cheesecake.
What you have on the left is the original staged photo that has not been edited. On the right is the same picture after it’s been edited in Adobe Lightroom. Colors have popped and contrast has been added to enhance the already staged appearance.
Here’s the cheesecake, top down, to show you that it is indeed cracked. Again, no change in flavor, but a sin in the world of cheesecake and food photography. This picture has not been edited. It does show what a change in lighting can do though.
I’m telling you all of this so you can help protect yourself. We’re all susceptible to being tricked by marketing and editing. It’s all there to sell a something and make us feel something. Too much of it though can make it hard for us to discern what is real and what isn’t. That in turn can make it hard for us to cope when we feel we can’t live up to those expectations. Just remember those are manufactured and not real.
Okay, on to the cheesecake. There’s a trick in this one too. I used pumpkin pie spice so I didn’t have to buy individual little containers of spice. Pumpkin pie spice has everything already in it. The downside is you can’t control how much of each spice is used. I can assure you though that this cheesecake is perfectly spiced as is.
The crust is made from ginger snaps for that extra little punch of spicy ginger flavor. It holds up well after a few days in the fridge, if it will even last that long before everyone eats it.
To get the swirl effect split the filling in two, before you add the pumpkin. Then add the pumpkin to half of the filling. Mix it well. Then swirl however you like. Maybe add a bit of one and then the other and use a knife to slowly swirl.
A big tip: Make sure the cream cheese is at room temp before starting this recipe. That will help ensure that there are no lumps as you beat it. Also take lots of care to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beater to help remove lumps. Scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Tiny little lumps of cream cheese will melt and disappear once baked so no need to fret about that.
As with all cheesecake bake until the center is just slightly jiggly. Then turn off the oven, crack the door, and let it cool in the oven (that is off) for an hour.
Another tip: If you don’t have a pan big enough to make a water bath you can use a smaller pan, fill it with water, and place it on the rack right below the cheesecake when it’s baking. It’s mostly the same idea.
Anyway this has been a longer post, but I think the content has been important. Please remember not everything is as what it seems. You are worth getting help, growing, and healing.
The more we talk
The more we heal
Ingredients
Crust
2 Cups crushed ginger snap cookies
6 Tablespoons of butter
1/8th teaspoon salt
Cheesecake Filling
24 oz cream cheese - room temperature (important)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Crust
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Crush the ginger snap cookies until you have 2 cups
Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl
Combine the ginger snap cookie crumbs, salt, and melted butter
Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan
Bake for 15 - 17 minutes
Let cool while making the filling
Cheesecake Filling
Ensure oven is still preheated to 325
Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for 2 - 3 minutes until smooth
Combine the sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl
Add in the sugar/spice and mix
Mix in 2 of the eggs and the vanilla
Mix in the other 2 eggs
Add the pumpkin and mix until combined **
** you can split the mix and add the pumpkin to half and then swirl the two back together if you’d like
Pour the filling onto the cooled crust
Bake in the oven for 60 - 70 minutes, until the center just slightly has a jiggle
Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door, and let the chcesecake cool for 60 minutes
Remove from the oven and cool for an additional hour
Cover with plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
