Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Once again, I apologize for not updating my blog more often, but the semester is almost over and I will soon have more posts up.  I have many I want to post, but I just haven't had the time, I'm making the time now because this one is just too good to wait.  I usually bake my Pumpkin Pound Cake for my aunt's annual Thanksgiving dinner, but this year I wanted to be different.  I decided I wanted to bake a cheesecake, I got the idea from out of all places, The Cheesecake Factory.  I know every year in the fall they have a pumpkin cheesecake on their menu, so I went onto epicurious.com and found a few recipes there.  I decided to use Bon Appetit's October 2002 recipe.  It came out great, and it was a real hit at Thanksgiving. 

You will need a springform pan and a roasting pan.  Make sure the springform pan is at least 9", the recipe calls for a 10" one, but I used a 9" and it just fit all the ingredients. 

For the crust you'll need:

• 9 whole graham crackers (about 4 ounces), broken
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

For the filling you'll need:

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2  cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

First position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Wrap double layer of heavy duty foil around outside of springform pan.  Combine graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon in processor, blend until graham crackers are very finely ground.

Drizzle butter over.  Using on/off turns, blend until crumbs begin to stick together.  Press crumbs onto bottom (not sides) of springform pan.

Bake until crust is slightly golden, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling.  Maintain oven temperature.

Now, onto the filling.  Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Add pumpkin and remaining 7 ingredients.  Beat just until blended.

Pour filling into prepared crust.  Place springform pan in a large roasting pan.  Add enough water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.

Bake cheesecake until slightly puffed and softly set and top in golden, about 1 1/2 hours.  Transform springform pan to rack and cool.  Cover and refrigerate cake overnight.

Using a knife, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake.  Release pan sides.  Cut and serve, and enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

Yes, that's my homework under my dessert.

Let's make this clear, this isn't a cheese cake, this is a cake with cream cheese in it.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it came out very tasty and filling.  It was very chocolaty, not very moist, but still very good.  I baked this last weekend when I should have been doing my homework.  I had a huge craving for chocolate though, so I took a break from my accounting studies. 

Here's what you'll need:
2 cups hazelnut flour
2 cups almond flour
2 1/2 cups Stevia Extract in the Raw or 1 1/4 cups New Roots Stevia Sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup salted butter melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid stevia

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a Bundt pan entirely with butter and place it in the freezer.

In a large bowl, combine the hazelnut flour, almond flour, stevia, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and whisk until well mixed.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and liquid stevia and mix with an electric mixer at medium-low speed.

Add the flour mixture one or two cups at a time, and mix at medium-low speed until it makes a smooth, thick, pourable batter. 

Remove your prepared pan from the freezer, then dust the entire inner surface with almond, pecan, or coconut flour (I used coconut because I have a lot more of it than the other two).  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and jiggle it to evenly distribute the batter into every nook and cranny.

Bake for 30 minutes, then gently rotate and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cake is springy when pressed in the center and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.  Let the cool for at least 20 more minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!