Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake



Well, Fall is certainly in the air and on the Internet. Pumpkin recipes are swirling around throughout the blogosphere. It's really a shame that pumpkin is relegated to such a brief window of time. We race to eat pumpkin bars, muffins, and pies until we burst and then pumpkin is tossed aside for the rest of the year. There is just something soothing and comforting about pumpkin as it ushers in the holiday season.

This year at the pumpkin patch, my daughter was interviewed by the local news. She was so excited to tell them about the big pumpkins she was picking.

All right, lets get down to the business at hand. If you haven't made the gluten free graham crackers that I gave you the recipe for this Summer; shame on you it's not too late. Oh, before I forget, I must give proper credit here. My wife made this cheesecake and took most of the pictures. I did help a little to make it and I've helped a lot to eat it.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
2-1/2 cups GF graham cracker crumbs
2 tsp cinnamon
8 Tbs butter (1 stick softened)
Filling:
24 ounces cream cheese (3-8oz packages, softened)
1-3/4 cup pumpkin (1-15oz can Libby's Pure Pumpkin)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 Tbs cornstarch
1-1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Topping:
2 cups sour cream (16oz, room temp)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes. Add topping and bake 5 more minutes. Allow to cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. After reading the post, my wife wanted to make sure it was clear that you leave the ring on the spring form pan until the cheesecake has cooled completely. Here is where I really helped. I pulsed the graham crackers in the food processor to make crumbs. Phew!!! I'm exhausted, my wife took over from here.
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and melted butter. Press the mixture firmly in the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. It is also helpful to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper first.Mix together the pumpkin puree and cream cheese. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and evaporated milk. Next, add the cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg; combine thoroughly. Pour the filling in to the pan over the crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until the edges are set but the center moves slightly.While the cheesecake is baking, combine sour cream, sugar, and vanilla for the topping. After the cheesecake has baked for 55-60 minutes, remove it from the oven and spread the topping on evenly. Return the cheesecake to the oven for 5 more minutes to set the topping. Remove and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, place the cheesecake in the refrigerator and chill for several hours or overnight to help set the filling. Finally, slice a piece of rich, creamy pumpkin cheesecake. I can't help myself, I had to top it off with a little whipped cream. It's not a necessary step, but hey, how can you go wrong with whipped cream on pumpkin? Enjoy over and over and over again!!!

26 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, that looks terrific. Jes (celiac girl) doesn't like cheesecake, but I may just have to go gluten-free and try this one out for myself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mmmm. I love the idea of a pumpkin cheesecake. It looks wonderful! I agree. It's a shame we don't use these pumpkin recipes year round.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks delicious! I love the idea of a topping on the cheesecake (I've never done that before)! Definitely agree about the pumpkin recipes - we need to incorporate them throughout the year =D.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! This looks divine. I've made something similar with butternut squash, but it's been a long time since I've made a cheesecake. I may end up being inspired.

    I STILL haven't made your graham crackers, but I intend to. This recipe will give me further motivation. I love graham cracker crust, but haven't had it in too long.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It came out fantastic! Love her talking to the news!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks incredible! And I need to give your graham cracker recipe a try. Thanks for posting the link.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your cheesecake is stunning! Great job :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fabulous! Clearly you guys make a good team! :-) I bet this would be great with a ginger snap crust, too. That's what I usually use. I make the ginger snaps, but the packaged ones work, too.

    How cool that your daughter was interviewed on TV while visiting the pumpkin patch!

    Shirley

    ReplyDelete
  9. I made and it was great! Even my fiance and neighbors love it and they usually hate all my GF free food. I did it with a ginger snap crust though since I couldn't find GF graham crackers and didn't have time to make them. Thanks for the recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for participating Brian! Be sure to check my blog to see the round-up. Your cheesecake looks good :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. This looks so professional, I could totally see this in a restaurant!! I will need to make some of those GF graham crackers to try this out!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a beautiful, and I am sure welcome, addition to a special menu.

    You all look like a good team.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This Cheesecake is FABULOUS!! I actually altered by using gluten free pecan shortbread cookies, with raw pecans to make the crust. Purchased the cookies at Fred Meyers in the Nature Food dept. and added the nuts to bulk it up a bit. It was a delicious addition to a very tasty recipe. Just and Idea!!! Thanks for the recipe..

    ReplyDelete
  14. When I had to go gluten free I thought that I would miss my trip to Barnes and Noble for a good book and a slice of pumpkin cheese cake from the Starbucks within. I made this cheesecake for Mother's Day and was delighted to find every bit as good, if not better than what I was previously eaten. My husband, who does not care for cheesecake, loved it so much that I am making another for him to share at work this Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  15. can i substitute the evaporated milk with coconut milk?

    ReplyDelete
  16. I don't see why you couldn't swap with coconut milk. I've never tried it but I think it could work. Let me know how it turns out. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I recently went gluten-free and this is my first GF Thanksgiving. After perusing other cheesecake recipes many say that you shouldn't put the topping on the cheesecake until it's completely cooled. But in this recipe it says to place the topping on, then continue cooking for 5 minutes. Are there any issues with this??

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have not had any issues with putting the topping on and baking for 5 minutes. The cheesecake comes out perfectly delicious and creamy.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I made this cheesecake last year, and have one in the oven right now. It might be the best part of our GF Thanksgiving! I used Kinnikinnick gingersnaps for the crust, and they are so tasty. Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks Jeanna. My wife just made one of these and I barely have the willpower to wait until tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is the BEST! So simple to make and it turned out perfect. I will try to make the homemade grams next time though as store bought are so expensive. This is the best gluten-free thing I have ever tasted or made. Thank you. BTW, I did sub. some of the sugar with stevia (to help my mom out with sugar problems) and it was still perfect. I was so proud and it was beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I made these graham crackers several weeks ago and made smores with them. OMG!!! I saved the edges and uneven pieces to use for a crust to make sweet potato cheesecake instead of pumpkin. It was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is wonderful. I'm lazy and didn't want to go to the trouble of making the graham crackers so made a crust of chopped pecans. Made it extra rich.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Brian, I'm making this again this year. It's just so good, and so easy. I'm going to use Mi-Del cinnamon cookies for the crust this time. Have a great holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Going to make this later today for turkey day. I'll let you know how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hello Brian, I made this cheesecake and it is divine. No complaints how this turned out. I even made a side of pecan caramel topping to go with it. I used butter, brown sugar and pecans melted in a sauce pan. This is a keeper for sure..Thank you

    ReplyDelete

 
ss_blog_claim=48f73641ec8d8c4161bdd940ed323b1d