Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Yes this post deserves an exclamation point! It is yummmmmmmmmmmm delish!
Special thanks to Lestra for giving me this awesome baking pumpkin, and to Pepsi for giving me the idea for pumpkin cheesecake! I googled the recipe from California Pizza Kitchen, where Pepsi says she and her husband look forward to their pumpkin cheesecake every fall and hope they haven't run out by the time they get there!

Who knows how authentic this recipe is to CPK since it's from some random website, but either way it gets two thumbs up from me. I'll post the recipe as is first, then share my notes and pictures:

California Pizza Kitchen Pumpkin Cheesecake
recipe from fooddownunder.com

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 22 sheets, finely crushed with a rolling pin)
3 tbl sugar
6 tbl unsalted butter melted

CHEESECAKE FILLING
3 pkt cream cheese - (8 oz ea)
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar - (firmly packed)
1 tbl all-purpose flour plus
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup sour cream plus
2 tbl sour cream
3 lrg eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

To Make the Graham Cracker Crust: Put the graham cracker crumbs in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until they have a uniformly fine texture. Add the sugar and pulse to combine. With the machine running, pour the melted butter through the feed tube and continue processing just until the mixture forms a soft mass. Remove from the processor and firmly press the mixture into the base of a 9-inch springform pan, spreading it evenly.

To Make the Cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, beat the cream cheese until soft, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the brown sugar and continue beating until thoroughly incorporated and creamy.

In a separate small bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until thoroughly combined, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. In the same way, beat in the sour cream and then, one at a time, the eggs, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and pumpkin and beat until thoroughly combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Protecting your hands with oven mitts or pads, test for doneness by gently moving the pan to see if the center of the cheesecake has firmed up - a sign of doneness - or is still slightly fluid (alternatively, check the cheesecake's internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer, which should register 180 degrees). The cheesecake may require up to 20 minutes more baking time.

When it is done, let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it overnight before removing the side of the pan. Cut the cheesecake into wedges with a sharp knife.

OK first, cardamom. CARDAMOM! This spice, of which only 1/8 teaspoon is called for in this recipe, is $15 per jar! Even $13 on sale at Safeway was RIDICULOUS. I should have noted in my apple butter post that I did not include the cardamom, so I apologize but I'm pretty certain that you'd leave it out too. Cardamom is related to the ginger family, but with all the spices going on (in both recipes) I did not add more of ginger or anything else, I simply omitted it and recommend you do the same if you want to save a little money. Or instead use the $14 (sale price) for four pounds of unsalted butter like I did! Goodness groceries are expensive!

But while we're on the subject of spices, I can't talk about spices and not talk about Penzeys. Penzeys is a spice retailer that I absolutely love. My momma learned about them and started ordering boxes and boxes of spices for me, my sister, and herself every Christmas. They are very high quality and much cheaper than grocery store prices for McCormick or store brand spices. And the selection is infinite for all types of whole and ground spices and spice blends. For example check out the cardamom page! See, I could spend $4 and get four tablespoons (1/4 cup jar) of cardamom seeds or ground. They opened a store in Carytown, near my folks house, and they also have one in Falls Church. You can smell each and every single spice they carry at their stores and it's magnificent. I could die in that place. I love it so much. But really though, your nose does wear out after a dozen or so, so sniff selectively.

The recipe of course calls for pumpkin puree, canned, but since I had that lovely pumpkin... well, it met an early demise... (isn't this cooler than a jack-o-lantern!!)

Please, don't feel sorry for the pumpkin, it was happy to live out it's full potential as a cheesecake. Feel sorry for my poor knife because a hammer was involved with getting the sucker split open.
Martha says to roast a pumpkin, cut it in half and remove the seeds, then place cut side down on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for at least 1 hour. Mine roasted as such for about 15 minutes, then I had to leave the house, so I turned off the oven without opening the door, and let them sit in there while I was gone for 2 hours.
They were perfectly soft and steaming hot under very hard shells when I got home!
I took the pumpkin flesh and whirred it up in the food processor once it was cool, and I had a little less than 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree. It tasted really good just plain!

Here's the graham cracker crust I was pressing into the pan with a cup. I thought the crust came out too thick, so next time I'll use less graham crackers, but it tasted good and held the shape of the cheesecake nicely.
Here's the pumpin puree getting plopped into the batter.
Yes, you know I sieved the batter! Do not skip this step even if it looks fine to the naked eye! You guarantee to eliminate any egg boogers and clumps of cream cheese, and your batter will be absolutely perfect and smooth. Don't forget to use separate spatulas pre- and post-sieving!
Here's the cheesecake straight out of the oven, puffed and cracked in all it's glory.
And here it is at serving time, sunken in and chilled out.
Well, I had to test it before I could get the camera, and you can't blame me for that! It is excellent - not overly spiced, not too pumpkin-y, and not to little either.
Pepsi I hope you and Kyle are home because I'm about to text you and see if you want me to drop some off at your house! No matter how much you like cheesecake you can only eat so much, so there's plenty to share! Anyone else in the area want some in fact? Let me know!