Our Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Food Associate Lisa Troland has been baking this dessert "on demand" for years. It's light (in texture) and rich at the same time.

By The Good Housekeeping Test KitchenPublished: Mar 17, 2015

Brian Hagiwara

Yields:

Cook Time:

1 hr 15 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs

Cal/Serv:

310

Jump to recipe

The flavor of pumpkin pie in a creamy cheesecake — the secret is it's baked in a water bath. Our pumpkin cheesecake is light (in texture) and rich at the same time. Quite possibly our best cheesecake recipe yet!

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Ingredients

Crumb Crust:

1 cup
graham-cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp.
butter, melted
2 Tbsp.
sugar

Pumpkin Cheescake Filling:

2
8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups
granulated sugar
1
15-oz. can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin-pie mix)
3/4 cup
sour cream
2 Tbsp.
bourbon or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tsp.
ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp.
ground allspice
1/4 tsp.
salt
4
large eggs

Sour-Cream Topping:

1 1/3 cups
sour cream
3 Tbsp.
granulated sugar
1 tsp.
vanilla extract

Sugared Cranberries:

1/2 cup
granulated sugar
3 Tbsp.
light corn syrup
1/2 cup
cranberries

Directions

1. Step 1Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 9" by 3" springform pan, with fork, stir graham-cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter, and stir until moistened. With hand, press mixture onto bottom of pan. Tightly wrap outside of pan with heavy-duty foil to prevent leakage when baking in water bath later. Bake crust 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
2. Step 2Prepare Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling: In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth; slowly beat in sugar until blended, about 1 minute, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, beat in pumpkin, sour cream, bourbon or vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
3. Step 3Pour pumpkin mixture into crust and place in large roasting pan. Place pan on oven rack. Carefully pour enough boiling water into pan to come 1 inch up side of springform pan. Bake cheesecake until center barely jiggles, 1 hour.
4. Step 4Meanwhile, prepare Sour-Cream Topping: In small bowl, with wire whisk, beat sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until blended. Remove pan from oven, and spread sour-cream mixture evenly over top of cheesecake. Return to oven and bake 7 minutes longer.
5. Step 5Remove cheesecake from water bath to wire rack; discard foil. With small knife, loosen cheesecake from side of pan to help prevent cracking during cooling. Cool cheesecake completely. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake at least 6 hours or overnight, until well chilled.
6. Step 6While cheesecake cools, prepare Sugared Cranberries: Place 1/2 cup sugar on a sheet of waxed paper. In small saucepan, heat corn syrup to boiling. Add cranberries; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. With slotted spoon or two forks, transfer cranberries onto sugar and roll until coated. Let dry.
7. Step 7When ready to serve cheesecake, remove side of pan. Garnish with sugared cranberries.