Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe as Demonstrated on NBC Charlotte Today
As demonstrated on NBC WCNC Charlotte Today (cheesecake bars pictured here: see note below).
It was National Pumpkin Day! And, what better way to celebrate with, yet, another ‘sweet’ treat this week, as we roll into Halloween only days away!
As a personal chef, tis’ the season for pumpkin, sweets, cheesecakes and candy. Well, you know… This is a recipe that you can transform into two recipes, if you like – love those kind of recipes! It’s a pumpkin cheesecake recipe that can be prepared with or without a topping. It can also be prepared into cupcakes or bars. I like the sour cream topping idea if you would like to create a ‘spider web’ to decorate the top. The pumpkin cheesecake bar is amazing, as well with a ‘crumble’ topping. Great for a crowd if you are especially busy and easy to prepare.
For the VIDEO Click HERE
Ingredients you will need for this recipe:
- Moravian or Gingersnap Cookies (for crumbs)
- Light Brown Sugar
- Sweet Cream Butter
- Pecans
- Mascarpone Cheese
- Sugar
- Canned Pumpkin
- Eggs
- Ground Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Vanilla Extract
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcake Recipe
Crust:
- 1 cup of Moravian Cookie Crumbs (or Gingersnap Cookie Crumbs)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons sweet cream butter, melted
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Filling:
- 8 oz. Mascarpone Cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Combine crumbs and brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter to make a crumb mixture. Stir in nuts. In a cupcake pan, line each cup with a cupcake liner and add 1 heaping teaspoon of the crumb mixture and firmly press into the bottom of each cup, forming the crust. Bake for approximately 5-7 minutes. Cool slightly.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake ‘low and slow’. Meanwhile, to prepare the filling, combine mascarpone, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla in a large mixer bowl and blend until smooth. Pour over baked crust. Bake for an additional 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees, depending on your oven, until set and done.
Remove from oven, combine topping ingredients, and spoon enough to cover the top of the cupcake (approximately 1 tablespoon). Bake an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate. Decorate, if you wish. Makes approximately one dozen.
Note: To make cheesecake bars (pictured here), combine cookie crumbs and brown sugar in a medium bowl, cut in butter to make a crumb mixture. Stir in nuts. Set aside ¾ cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom of an 8 x 8 x 1-1/2-inch baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool.
Pour filling, continue baking (omit sour cream topping) add crumble topping. Cut into bars after cooled and refrigerated.
