This scrumptious, Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake will make a great addition to any holiday entertaining menu. The baked, pecan topping adds the perfect bit of crispiness to the smooth texture of the pumpkin spice flavored cheesecake.
This is legitimately, the best pumpkin dessert I’ve ever made or had. I’m not a huge pumpkin pie fan unless, it is smothered with a plethora of whipped cream. The texture and taste just don’t quite do it for me. Rejoice, a great pumpkin cheesecake recipe has just found its way to my arsenal of must-make holiday desserts.
Cheesecakes are a fickle creatures indeed. To bathe or not to bathe, that is the question. In this case, not to bathe. The beauty of the pecan topping is that crack doesn’t kill. You are seeing round 2 of experimentation gone right with this particular recipe. My initial attempt tasted delicious, but lacked the necessary density to hold the weight of the pecan topping without a cavernous center. I headed back to test mode and added a bit of flour and took care not to over-beat the eggs.
This dreamy recipe is creamy, but not too creamy. Basically, this Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake has the perfect texture in my book. I don’t want to feel like I’m eating a block of cream cheese or a piece of sponge cake if you know what I mean.
Lessons learned from past failures::
Ah yes, there have been numerous cheesecake failures in my various attempts throughout the years. Here are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way:
- Take care to really butter the bottom and sides of your spring-form pan to avoid a sticky mess.
- DO NOT over beat those eggs. Add 1 egg at a time and beat until just incorporated.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight before attempting to remove it from the pan.
- Run a warm knife around the edges of the pan before removing it. I hate when the sides stick!
- DO NOT attempt to use cream cheese that hasn’t reached room temperature. It WILL result in a clumpy mess that lacks the necessary smoothness of a good cheesecake.
- Add a bit of flour to your cheesecake if you prefer it a bit more dense.
- If you aren’t going to do a topping, cook your cheesecake in a bath to avoid cracking on top.
- If cracking occurs (the worst), add a whipped cream cheese topping to disguise it or a pecan topping like this one.
MORE TO LOVE:
-
- Apple French Toast Casserole
-
- Blueberry Pancake Bites
-
- Candy Cane Crescent Roll Breakfast Pastry
-
- Easy Fruit Pizza
-
- Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
-
- Chocolate Cherry Cookies
-
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Martini
This Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake has a crispy, baked pecan topping that pairs perfectly with the creamy texture of the pumpkin spice flavored cheesecake.
- 24 oz. cream cheese; softened to room temperature
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 c. pumpkin
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 3 tbsp. flour; sifted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. pecans; chopped
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 4 tbsp. softened butter
- 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 6 tbsp. butter; melted
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Firmly press crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch spring-form pan. Bake the crust for 6 minutes and remove from the oven.
-
Beat the cream cheese until fluffy; beat in sugars, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.
-
Add the eggs 1 at a time; lightly beat until just combined. Lightly beat in the pumpkin and then, the flour. Don't over-beat!
-
Pour the cheese mixture into the prepared crust. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Begin preparing pecan topping around 10 minutes before timer goes off.
-
Prepare the topping by combining the pecans, brown sugar and butter. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
-
Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in with the door closed for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cover cheesecake and refrigerate in the pan overnight.