pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust

I love gingersnaps.

I forget how much I love them until I unexpectedly eat one and then can think of nothing else but when I can buy my own bag to munch on.

I got a bite of gingersnap last week when I was visiting my friends in NY. It was in a pudding dessert that I don't even know what it was or where I got it. I was simply walking to my friends apartment and stopped at a dessert truck and bought a pudding thing.

I ate the entire dessert so fast that I didn't even take a picture of it, (bad blogger) or of my whole weekend actually. Here is one of  the few pictures I have of my trip and I took it from my friend Lisa. I love it!

Judith, Lisa, Moi, Conie

I had a fantastic time. My friend Conie, farthest on the right, was back in town for a quick visit as she is serving 2 years in the South Pacific in the Peace Corps.

It was so good seeing her and my other besties.  :)

Anyways, I had a gingersnap.

As soon as I got back to DC I purchased a bag of them and immediately thought, "What can I do with these bad boys?"  I thought about it and it finally hit me; use it as a crust!

For cheesecake!

Pumpkin!

So, that's what I did.

This cheesecake is ALL  KINDS OF GOOD.

It's creamy and decadent and silky. Yum!

It takes quite a bit of time to make as you have to chill it in the  fridge fro 12 hours, but I think it's worth it.

The gingersnap crust is a nice departure from graham crackers and adds a great "fall-ish" and spicy flavor to the cheesecake. Pecans are also in  the crust

I also drizzled salted caramel sauce on top and caramelized pecans to add to the presentation.

This is a good one you guys.  :)

Gingersnap Crust

• 1 3/4 cups gingersnap crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup ground pecans

Pumpkin Cheesecake--adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 lbs (20 oz, or 2 1/2 eight oz. bricks) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 large pieces of heavy duty foil,  wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath.


2. Use a food processor to crush gingersnaps and pecans. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine. Press into a 9″ spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1 inch.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, heavy cream, vanilla extract, cinnamon , ginger and salt. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium-low until creamy (approx. 2 mins).  Gradually add sugars and beat until blended.  Add pumpkin mixture and beat until blended. Add cornstarch and beat until just combined.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

5. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter onto the cooled crust.  Place the aluminum-wrapped pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan.  Pour enough hot water into the pan to come up 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.  Bake 70-80 minutes, or until set and slightly wobbly.  The cake will completely set as it cools.

6. Place cheesecake in the refrigerator for 12 hours to finish setting. Top with whipped topping and other garnish as desired.

pumpkin crème brûlée

Check out the accents on the letters in the title of this post. I'm always so proud of  myself when I remember how to do those. Honors French class for the win!  =)

Okay, so I don't know if I've told you before, but crème brûlée is my favorite dessert. Like EVER.

I think I like it better than ice-cream. Actually, I don't know if that's true because crème brûlée and ice-cream are like the same thing, right? Eggs, cream, sugar, and different flavors? Yea, same thing. So I like them both the same.

The cream in crème

Anyways, typically I only like the traditional vanilla variety, but a couple of weeks ago my colleagues and I had pumpkin crème brûlée at a work luncheon and it was delicious!

I decided to try and recreate it for a dinner I had to attend last night and it went over fabulously!

The pumpkin  flavor is pronounced but not overpowering, and the spices are incredibly complementary.

So that's the story of my pumpkin brûlée. It's uber sophisticated yet incredibly easy, so give it a try this season!

On another note; I'm getting fat (ter).  Between blogging, numerous work luncheons and conferences, and the fact that I enjoy food way too much, my pants are getting tight.

I don't want to pay for a gym membership so I recently purchased 30 Day Shred and am going to give it a whirl. Has anybody tried it or used some other form of exercise DVD that won't make me feel like I want to die? I want to feel empowered after a workout, not like I hate my life and want to eat crème brûlée after.

I figured I should also begin eating cleaner so I plan on going shopping and buying some healthier food options. I don't eat terrible now, but I could always improve.

Hmm. I'll let you know how it works out or if anything great comes out of this...ech.

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 cup of sugar plus more for sprinkling on tops
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. Add milk and heavy cream to a saucepan. Split vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture along with the vanilla extract. Add cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

3. Place saucepan over medium and mix until it bubbles around the edges, but not boiling.

4. Remove from heat when it starts bubbling and let it cool. 

5. While cooling, mix egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until blended. When the milk mixture is cool,  slowly add a tablespoon at a time of the milk mixture to the egg mixture to temper the eggs. When  tempered, add the rest  of the milk mixture and mix thoroughly.

6. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until blended. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to get a smooth base and then fill 8oz ramekins with the mixture.

7. Set the filled ramekins in a water bath and place in the oven for 35-45 minutes until fim around the edges but still kind  of jiggly in  the center.

8. Remove ramekins from the water bath and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes and then place into the fridge to set for 4 hours up to overnight.

9. When ready to serve the crème brûlée, sprinkle sugar on top and torch or broil until the sugar hardens and caramelizes. Serve immediately!