Orange Blossom Cheesecake with Pomegranate Honey

Posting one of my favorite desserts today: Cheesecake!

That irresistible, pure vice dessert that draws me back into the kitchen again and again for marathon baking sessions.

Unfortunately, cheesecake isn't about instant gratification. It can be maddening when you're enduring cravings. Waiting for the ingredients to lose their chill. Then the long baking time and even longer time to cool, chill and set up. The reward for all that waiting: a rich creamy dessert that promises happiness with each bite, while it stealthily fills out your hips.

This cheesecake is an absolute winner. The flavors are amazing and I can honestly say it is one of the best cheesecakes I've ever eaten.

Let me take you on a brief cheesecake tour, starting from the bottom up. We've taken the classic graham cracker crust and added ground pecans, cinnamon and cloves to give it a subtle spicy nuttiness. The creamy cheesecake is fragrant with orange blossom and zest. Then we have our sauce, a sweet and tart reduction of pomegranate, raspberry and honey. Complementing the floral citrus flavor of the cheesecake perfectly.

It was so good that I ate every single slice I cut to stage and photograph. How many was that? Forget it. I will never admit it.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Happy Monday All!

August is here! (Thank goodness) Hopefully this signals an end to the craziness that was July and I can get back into my blogging groove. It has been hard to hole up indoors when there are so few sunny days in this part of the world. Mr Humble and the Little Humble have been demanding a few less desserts and a few more hours of sunshine.

The throwing of river rocks is best done
outside of the Humble Kitchen

However the mornings are beginning to be foggy and chilly once again and we've been spending more and more time indoors. This has resulted in some real time in the kitchen and I have plenty lined up for this week.

Mother Humble is in town visiting as well, helping herself to all my butter and whatever I'm currently turning out, be it gelato, pastries or today's cheesecake. The rapidly disappearing butter has been made up for by her trip to the local farmers market and I am flush with oodles of local fresh fruit.



The plan was to make jams but since that hasn't materialized, I'm stealing some for this week's cooking and today's desert: Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake



Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
serves 8-10
adapted from Martha Stewart Living May 2004
(cupcake version can be found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)
1 cup (5oz) finely ground graham crackers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 packages (32 ounces total) cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch salt
4 large eggs, room temperature

pot boiling water, for the roasting pan

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Place a 9" spring form pan onto a double layer of wide aluminum foil. Wrap up the sides of the pan to make it water tight. You don't want any foil seams or edges on the bottom or low on the sides of the pan, or water may creep in while it is baking.

Combine the graham crackers, 2 tablespoons sugar and the melted butter in a large bowl and mix. Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of your spring form pan. I find that a flat bottomed ramekin or coffee cup is useful for pressing the crumbs evenly and tightly into the pan.

Bake the crust until set, roughly 10 minutes and then allow it to cool on a wire rack.

Reduce your oven's temperature to 325°F.

Purée the raspberries and then strain out the seeds and any solids. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the strained puree. Pour into a small sauce pan and bring the raspberry sauce to a bare simmer over medium low heat. Reduce the sauce for 1-2 minutes until it has thickened slightly and then set aside to cool.

In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and fluffy (roughly 3 minutes). Reduce the mixer's speed to low and add the 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a slow steady stream. Beat in the salt and vanilla and then on low speed, beat in the eggs, one at at time. Adding the next after the first has been incorporated. Take care not to over mix as the eggs can trap air in the batter and this leads to all sorts of cheesecake trouble.

Once you've mixed in the last egg, pour the batter into your prepared crust. Dot the top of the batter with drops of the raspberry sauce and with a knife or wooden skewer, swirl the surface of the batter to create the marbled effect. Reserve the remaining sauce for garnishing later.







Set the cake into a large roasting pan and place into the oven. Carefully ladle the boiling water into the roasting pan. Fill the pan no higher than the lowest edge of the foil, or you run the risk of baking a cheesecake soup.

Bake until the cake is puffy and set but the center is still has a slight wobble. This will take approximately 65 minutes.

If your oven tends to brown your cheesecake, lightly tent the pan with foil.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Transfer the cake to the refrigerator and allow to chill overnight (or a minimum of 6 hours).

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the cake to release from the pan and remove the spring form collar.

Slice with a damp clean knife

Serve slices with a little (or a lot) of the remaining raspberry sauce.



Enjoy!

Note on the giveaway: I mentioned I would do the drawing sometime last week, however I'm still waiting to have the gift certificate in hand. To all of you eagerly awaiting to see if you're $150 richer in CSN kitchen swag, patience. Once I have the certificate, will do the final announcement.

White Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

I'm back and I've brought cheesecake! I was really excited this morning to slice into this cheesecake and taste it. While my husband was getting ready for work, I was brushing my teeth, channeling Liz Lemon, doing my 'I'm gonna' eat cheesecake for breakfast' song and dance routine.

Why he stays married to me I do not know.

So, I was given this recipe from a friend who insisted that I would love it. A recipe for white chocolate caramel cheesecake. She was right about me loving it, I've been itching to make it. How can one not love a cheesecake brazen enough to incorporate nearly a pound of white chocolate ganache into the batter and then slather the whole pie in caramel sauce?!



She was right, I love it. So delicious with a near perfect texture. Woooo!

Yea, I'm riding a serious cheesecake breakfast induced sugar high at the moment.

Feeling good. Let's get down to it...




White Chocolate Cheesecake with Caramel Glaze
adapted from Ray's Boathouse: Seafood Secrets of the Pacific Northwest

Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pint heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Before I get into making the sauce, let me note that this isn't the easiest way for most home cooks to go about making caramel sauce. Melting almost pure sugar in a pan is pesky and it can burn quite easily. If you're not feeling up to attempting this part of the recipe, feel free to buy your favorite caramel sauce and warm it gently to glaze the cheesecake.

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat (I'm using non-stick for this), combine the sugar and lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is mostly melted then set aside the spoon and swirl the pan over the heat to keep the color even throughout.

Continue to cook and swirl until it sugar turns a medium amber color. Watch it carefully, the sugar will quickly darken and should it become dark brown or black it will taste bitter and unpleasant.

When the sauce turns the right color slowly whisk in the cream. If the caramel hardens with the addition of the cream, do not worry. Just continue to add the cream and bring the mixture back to a a boil over medium heat. Continue to stir until the sugar has remelted. Allow to boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Pour into a heat safe container and chill until ready to use.




Crust
10 ounces graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
7 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cheesecake Filling
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt

boiling water

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side of a 10 inch spring form pan.

Bake for 10 minutes and then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Reduce the heat to 325°F and prepare the cheesecake batter.

Place the chopped white chocolate into a heat safe bowl and set aside. Bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a simmer over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate, jiggle the bowl to submerge it and allow to stand for one minute. Stir the chocolate gently until melted completely.

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump free. Add the sugar and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

On medium speed, slowly add the white chocolate ganache. Once combined you can add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until each egg is incorporated. Once you've added all the eggs, mix in the vanilla and salt and pour into your prepared pan.

Set the pan onto a couple large sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan to waterproof.

Set the cheesecake into a large roasting pan and then place in the oven. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, filling to about one inch (no higher than the lowest edge of aluminum foil). Allow to make at 325°F for one hour then reduce heat and bake at 300°F for an additional 60-90 minutes until the center is just set.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

To glaze, gently warm the 1 cup of the caramel sauce on the stove or in the microwave until slightly runny and then pour onto the cheesecake. Smooth the caramel over the cake and you're ready to serve.

Enjoy.

Blackberry Lime Cheesecake

Don't panic, I survived the spider bite!

Generally I am in the habit of blogging here at least 5 days a week, however the entirety of yesterday was spent with Father Humble trying to rescue data off one of my dead hard drives. After no less than 15 hours of work, we--well he--was successful. I have all my data back and I should probably burn my years of precious photographs to disks rather than relying on these temperamental external drives.

So! Fortified by my good fortune, I'm back in the kitchen today and turning out goodies once again. Today's treat: Lime Cheesecake with a Blackberry Swirl. I just love the combination of blackberry and lime. It is sweet, tart and creamy.

I was itching to make mini cheesecakes (nothing to do with the spider bite) and decided to put my 4" springforms to use. However, since I know that is a rather uncommon pan size I'll post the recipe for this cheesecake in 10" form. If you DO have lots of mini cheesecake pans lying around, then feel free to divide among your pans (though you may need up to 50% more crust to make multiple minis). This recipe makes roughly eight 4" cheesecakes or one 10" cheesecake.




Not So Humble Lime Shortbread Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons lime zest

In a food processor, combine the starch, flour, sugar, salt and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Pulse in the zest, if using and then pour into a 10" springfrom pan.

Press the crumbs into an even layer at the bottom of the pan and half way up the sides to form the crust. Place in the freezer and then preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.

When the oven is hot pull the crust out of the freezer and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.



Not So Humble Blackberry Lime Cheesecake
32 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream (at room temperature)
4 large eggs (at room temperature)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest

2 cups blackberries
simple syrup
splash lemon juice

boiling water

Preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack set in the lower third of your oven.

Start by making the blackberry sauce: In a food processor combine the blackberries with the splash of lemon juice and enough simple syrup to make a slightly thick slurry. Strain the mixture and collect the juices (this is optional, sometimes I use the whole fruit) and set aside, discarding the remaining solids.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese for roughly 4 minutes on medium speed until smooth in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Slowly pour the sugar into the cream cheese scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla, lime zest and sour cream. Sift the flour into the mixture. Reduce your mixer's speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each one is just incorporated taking care not to over beat the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the pan with the crust. Pour the blackberry mixture into a plastic sandwich bag and cut off enough of the corner to pipe a 1/4" - 1/2" ribbon of sauce. Pipe parallel lines of the mixture across the top of the cheesecake. Using a skewer or toothpick, drag it through the batter perpendicular to the lines in a zig zag to create the marbling effect. You can also just swirl the toothpick for a more abstract design.

Set the cheesecake on to two large sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan, making it water tight. Set the cake into a deep roasting pan and place in the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan. About an inch of water works fine, but don't pour above the lowest edge of your foil. (Note: If you're making mini cheesecakes, you can skip the water bath. Simply place a rack in the lowest part of your oven--below the cheesecakes--and set a pan of boiling water onto it. This will keep the humidity in your oven high and help keep the heat gentle.)

Bake for approximately 60-70 minutes until cake is set but center is still slightly wobbly. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven with the door ajar for roughly 20 minutes. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and set the cheesecake onto a wire rack to cool (You'll need to be particularly gentle when handling a marbled cheesecake, as the topping has weakened the surface tension on the cake and they can be prone to cracking). Once the cake is room temperature chill for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Enjoy!

Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake

I spent my weekend trying to come up with ideas for the 10lbs of mascarpone that is sitting in my fridge. For some reason I cannot resist impulse buying large tubs of the stuff. You know how they say, never grocery shop while hungry? Well that is even more true when you blog about food, you can justify just about any purchase in the moment.

So yea, I need to find a way to deal with all this cheese.

Tiramisu was an obvious choice but I make it from scratch (which is a ridiculous amount of work) and then I would unceremoniously eat the whole thing.

In one sitting.

I really don't want Mr. Humble to come home and find me laying on the floor groaning and coated with coffee soaked crumbs, so I needed to come up with other ideas.

I could do more macarons and fill them with flavored mascarpone but I get the feeling that after the macaronathon that was last week on this blog, I would be pushing my luck.

I briefly toyed with the idea of a mascarpone cheesecake, as that would use a great deal of the surplus cheese. However, I really don't adore the texture of mascarpone cheesecakes. Still, cheesecake was sounding good and I did have a lot of cream cheese that needed a purpose as well (don't ask how much). So I decided that I could work mascarpone into a cheesecake in the form of a topping. Mascarpone is after all, wonderful mixed with fruit and of course, my favorite, lemon curd!

Yes, another lemon dessert! Expect many more. I like them. The 'Not So Humble Pie' is after all, a lemon meringue pie.

So the cheesecake I dreamed up yesterday, involves satisfyingly thick shortbread crust, creamy vanilla cheesecake topped with a thin layer of mascarpone then another layer of lemon mascarpone cream.

This morning's little slice of sunshine.
It was so good.

If you want to kick the lemon 'up a notch' feel free to add a little lemon zest to both the shortbread and the cheesecake batter.

Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake Shortbread Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fine lemon zest (optional)

Line a 10" springform pan with a circle of parchment paper and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the starch, flour, sugar, salt and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Pulse in the zest, if using and then pour into you prepared pan.



Press the crumbs into an even layer at the bottom of the pan to form the crust. Place in the freezer and then preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.

When the oven is hot pull the crust out of the freezer and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Not So Humble Cheesecake
32 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream (at room temperature
4 large eggs (at room temperature)

boiling water

Preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack set in the lower third of your oven.

In your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese for roughly 4 minutes on medium speed until smooth. Slowly pour the sugar into the cream cheese scraping down the sides of the bowl well. Add the vanilla and sour cream. Sift the flour into the mixture. Reduce your mixer's speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each one is just incorporated taking care not to over beat the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the pan with the crust. Set the pan on two large sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan, making it water tight. Set the cake into a deep roasting pan and place in the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan. About an inch of water works fine, but don't pour above the lowest edge of your foil.

Bake for approximately 60-70 minutes until cake is set but center is still slightly wobbly. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven with the door ajar for roughly 20 minutes. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and set the cheesecake onto a wire rack to cool. Once the cake is room temperature chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.



When the cake has chilled, spread roughly 1/2 a cup of mascarpone over the top of the cheesecake. If the mascarpone is stiff/sticky, bring it to room temperature before spreading. Then top the cheesecake with the following:

Lemon Mascarpone Cream
1 cup lemon curd (store bought or homemade)
1/2 cup mascarpone

Mix together until smooth and free of any lumps and then pour onto the cheesecake. Smooth the surface with an offset spatula and it is ready to serve.

Egg Nog Cheesecake

Next cheesecake: Egg nog!

I really like egg nog. Enough to create this delicately flavored cheesecake version of the beverage and partially because egg nog alone just wasn't bad enough for a person.

Though I know objectively, egg nog is a pretty weird beverage. My Indian friend Binder told me that egg nog was one of my culture's most frightening holiday creations. She is probably right about that. Cream, booze and lots and lots of eggs. Not usually the sort of beverage that would get me salivating. While I agreed it was an odd drink, I reminded her about those salty yogurt milkshakes she likes so much (salt lassi). We then had a lengthy debate about the relative weirdness of each drink. I think egg nog lost...

Anyway! Enough with the cultural relativism ramblings... on to the cheesecake.



Not so Humble's Egg Nog Cheesecake:

Crust:
1 1/2 cup of graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter melted

Filling
4 8 oz packages cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoons dark rum
1 tablespoon brandy
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup fresh egg nog
4 large eggs (at room temperature)

boiling water

Topping
1 cup heavy cream

1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla
nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 10 inch spring form pan with butter and parchment.

Combine the ingredients to make the crust and press into the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack, reduce oven temperature to 320°F.

In your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment mix the cream cheese for about 4 minutes until smooth. On medium speed, slowly pour the sugar into the cream cheese scraping down the sides of the bowl well. Add the dark rum, brandy, vanilla and spices and mix. Sift the flour into the mixture. Reduce your mixer's speed to low and add the egg nog mixing well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each one is just incorporated taking care not to over beat the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the pan with the crust. Set the pan on two sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan making it water tight. Set the pan into a roasting pan and place in the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan, till it reaches about half way up the side of the cheesecake. I shouldn't have to say this but I will, don't fill the pan above the level of the foil. Cheesecake soup isn't fun.

Bake for approximately 60-70 minutes until cake is set but center is still slightly wobbly. Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.


Before serving make the whip cream, dollop onto the cheesecake and grate fresh nutmeg on top.


Not a single crack! Mmmmm gorgeous cheesecake.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

On to cheesecake #2!

This cheesecake is for serious chocolate fans only. Got that? Rich, dense and silky, it is loaded with chocolate flavor. Did I mention rich?

Enough warning?

Okay, you strong few that have stuck with me... let's proceed.



Not so Humble's Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake:

Crust:
2 cups chocolate cookies
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 8 oz packages of cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sour cream (at room temperature)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
3 large eggs (at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare a 10 inch spring form pan with butter and parchment.

In a food processor grind the cookies into fine crumbs, add the sugar and pulse to mix. Melt the butter and add it to the sugar crumb mixture and pulse again. Take this mixture and press it into your prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack. Leave oven on, place a shallow pan half full of water into the oven reserving the lower middle rack for the cake and reduce heat to 300 degrees. This will increase the oven's humidity and help prevent surface cracking.

Chop the chocolate and place in a double boiler, once melted set it aside and allow it to cool.

Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and on medium speed mix the packages of cream cheese for 3-4 minutes till the texture is smooth and uniform. Add the sugar in a slow stream to the bowl while mixing. Mix the salt, cocoa and flour together and add to the batter, mixing well. Reduce the mixer's speed to low and add the sour cream, vanilla and melted chocolate and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be incorporated fully before adding the next. Take care not to over beat as the eggs allow air to become trapped in the batter.

Pour batter into the crust and place into the oven for about an hour. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool. Once cool, refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving.

If desired, dust cake lightly with cocoa powder or top with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache (optional)

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of heavy cream

Heat heavy cream to barely boiling and pour over chips, mix till smooth.

(This cheesecake recipe also works well with a little espresso powder or Grand Marnier added to the mix for those wishing to play with the flavors. I've also made this recipe with 100% pure cacao and the result is an even darker, richer and more intense chocolate dessert. However, a sliver of that cheesecake will bring any faint hearted chocolate aficionado to their knees.)

Frangelico Pumpkin Cheesecake

I've spent the last couple days baking cheesecakes. An absurd number of cheesecakes. I'm on a mission to fatten up Mr. Humble (If you're reading this go have another slice!). Hopefully time allows me to actually get some posts up and I can share at least a couple.

So I'm starting to feel the holidays approaching and I decided to put down the summer berries and accept that fall is upon us and that I should start making some seasonally appropriate dishes. Although really, we only have two seasons in Seattle: the wet season and the not as wet season. Anyway, my first seasonal recipe is relating to pumpkin. I know there are plenty of pumpkin breads, ice creams, whoopee pies, muffins, soups and of course, cheesecakes all over the place out there in the foodie blogosphere. Still, I baked a pumpkin cheesecake and I'm going to post it... just like everyone else.

However, this isn't your run of the mill pumpkin cheesecake, this one is just a little different. Pumpkin with a hint of hazelnut in both the cheesecake and topping, in the form of frangelico. Lots of frangelico. So try not to drain the bottle whilst assembling the thing, even to steel your nerves against possible cracks. You're going to need that stuff.

Not so Humble's Frangelico Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Note about the crust:
I like to use whatever cookies I've been baking recently to make my cheesecake crusts, be it gingersnaps, homemade graham crackers, or in this case, those vanilla bean cookies. Whatever I have on hand that is getting just a little too stale to eat and will make a good crumb. You're welcome to use whatever you'd like to create the crust here, just aim for about 2 1/2 cups of crumbs and 3-5 tablespoons of melted butter (depending on how moist the crumb is) and it should work fine. You may also add toasted chopped hazelnuts to this crust as well if you would like to incorporate the hazelnut flavor there too.

For my vanilla bean cookie crust, I re-baked 5-6 cookies in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees to remove any remaining moisture and allowed them to fully cool. I then ground them in the food processor to obtain my 2 1/2 cups of cookie crumbs. I mixed these with about 3 tablespoons of butter to form the crust. Press the crust into a buttered 10 inch spring form pan outfitted with a round of parchment. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on but reduce the heat to 300°F. Place a dish of water on one of the oven racks, leaving the lower middle rack free for the cheesecake. This will up the humidity in your oven and keep the heat gentle.

Frangelico Pumpkin Filling
3 8 oz packages of cream cheese (at room temprature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup frangelico
15 oz of pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
5 large eggs (at room temperature)

Frangelico toping
2 cups sour cream (the freshest you can find)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup frangelico

After all your ingredients have reached room temperature fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the cream cheese on medium speed for several minutes till smooth and lump free. Slowly incorporate the granulated sugar and then add the brown sugar. Add the spices, vanilla and frangelico to the mixture and mix till uniform, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Sift in the flour and add the pumpkin puree and mix on medium speed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be incorporated before adding the next.

I then strain this batter through a loosely woven mesh sieve because I like to ensure it is homogenous. This removes any little rogue particles of brown sugar, egg chalaza or cream cheese bits that were not beat into submission during the batter making.

Pour the filling into the crust and place in the center rack of your oven and bake for 65-75 minutes at 300°F. At an hour check the cheese cake; it should be set but still wobbly in the center (any testing of 'wobbliness' should be done as gently as possible). Turn the oven off and prop open the door a few inches. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another hour like this. Then remove from the oven and place on a wire rack . Turn the oven back on and preheat it to 400°F.


Mix the ingredients for the frangelico topping until smooth. pour onto the cheesecake and return to the oven for 7-10 minutes till the topping sets. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. I slide a small offset spatula around the edge of the cake now to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan so it can contract freely, helping to prevent cracking.

Allow the cheesecake to fully cool then chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. Cut with a clean wet knife.