Dessert Party Recipes: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Whipped Cream

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Whipped Cream

I believe my oven woes have been well documented, so I was determined to make a cheesecake when I went home over the holidays. When we decided to add a second cheesecake to the menu, I asked for some suggestions and my brother wanted Pumpkin. I made this cheesecake the previous year for Thanksgiving; it's a great Paula Deen recipe. I thought adding a fresh bourbon whipped cream would enhance the flavor. Unfortunately, I failed to try the cheesecake with the whipped cream because I don't really like pumpkin flavor.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick salted butter, melted

Filling:

3 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sourcream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For Crust:
Combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon
Add melted butter
Press into 9-in. springform pan

For Filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth
Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar & spices
Add flour and vanilla
Beat together until well combined
Pour mixture into crust

Bake for one hour. Remove for oven and let sit for 15 mins.*

*Once the cheesecake has finished baking I like to turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for an hour with the door ajar to prevent cracking.

BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon

Procedure:

Whip cream and sugar until stiff peaks form
Fold in bourbon

Award Winning Cheesecake

Yup, you read that right, I have an award winning cheesecake! Granted, it was an elementary recipe contest among the employees where I work, but I won nonetheless.

Award Winning Andes Mint Cheesecake

I was hoping I would win, especially since there was a $100 prize, but I tried to prepare myself for defeat. When my name was called I was so excited I started screaming with joy and jumping up and down (in 4-inch heels...). I don't think my coworkers were prepared for my jubilation.

I Won!!!

In other news, I am home for the holidays until Dec. 30th. My mom is hosting a dessert open house for some of our friends and neighbors so there is quite a lot of baking to be done. At last count, there were 6 or 7 desserts planned. I think I will feature each one of the desserts and the recipes over the next couple weeks or so (I am not dedicated enough to write a post everyday) so I can provide some new content, pictures and recipes! So keep reading. And I hope everyone's Christmas was as great as mine!!

The Cheesecake Conclusion

I know everyone has been holding their breath with anticipation waiting to hear how the cheesecake finally turned out after approximately two and one half hours of baking. You will notice this post lacks any photo evidence of baking. The final presentation was not very pretty, but the taste was wonderful. I actually tried something a little different this time for my cheesecake. Instead of 32 oz. of cream cheese I substituted mascarpone cheese for 8 oz. of the cream cheese. The recipe I used has been adapted from Joy of Cooking, a must have for any cook or baker.

Graham Cracker Crumb Crust:

4 tblspn unsalted butter
1 c graham cracker crumbs

Cheesecake Filling:

24 oz cream cheese
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/3 c sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c sour cream
2 tspn vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine butter and graham cracker crumbs. Coat bottom of springform pan evenly.

In a large bowl mix cream cheese and mascarpone. Gradually add sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in remaining ingredients until incorporated.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes (or in my case 120-180 minutes...) Cheesecake should be set, but jiggle slightly in center. Turn oven off and let cool in oven for an hour. Let cool completely before removing from pan. Refrigerate overnight.

I prefer to bake my cheesecakes in a water bath. Once the cheesecake filling has been poured into the springform, place the pan onto a sheet of heavy aluminum foil and fold up the sides of the pan. Place in a large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water so it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform.

I would love to try this again, but in a more reliable oven. Maybe for a Christmas dessert?

Love/Hate Relationship

I am a very tired baker right now. And I am currently in the hate phase of my love/hate relationship with my oven.

Now that school is winding down, and two of three projects have been successfully completed and turned in, I have started to focus my energies on recreational baking and trying out new recipes. Tonight I am currently making a vanilla cheesecake which has been in my crappy apartment oven for about two hours. For those of you who don't know, a cheesecake typically takes 55-60 minutes to bake. I am sure a sensible person would ask why I insist on making cheesecakes when I know my oven takes about three times longer to bake them than it should (this is the 2nd cheesecake attempt), but I am headstrong and would scoff at any such person. So instead I am sitting on my couch waiting for a cheesecake that may never finish baking, completely exhausted. And I have an early class tomorrow.

Maybe at a later date I will share some pictures, but I can tell you now it is definitely not a pretty looking cake, but I do believe it will be quite tasty.

Sooo Good...

I have fallen behind a little bit in the blogging lately, mostly because I have been doing a lot of baking - at home and in the bakeshop. At least there is lots to share.

Several months ago Jacque requested an Andes Mint Cheesecake for her birthday and because she is such a great friend I was happy to oblige. Her birthday was a couple weeks ago, but she has been traveling a lot recently so this past weekend was the perfect opportunity to bake it.

Andes Mint Cheesecake

Andes Mint Presentation

This is the second time I have baked the Andes Mint cheesecake and I was pretty pleased with the outcome. The oven I used was not the best and caused some issues with baking time, but it all worked out eventually. I did get a little more creative with the presentation this time and even made some fresh whipped cream for the cake. I think it looks pretty darn cute.

Monday and Tuesday in the bakeshop I was back to baking breads - quick and yeast. Monday we prepped our yeast dough for Tuesday class. Both doughs were made using a Sponge Method which basically increases the fermentation process, adding more flavor to the final product. After our doughs were done, we made our quick breads: Irish Soda Bread and Popovers (the pic below is kinda blurry).

L: Irish Soda Bread, R: Popovers

On Tuesday, we came in ready to bake some bread after our dough had the chance to ferment overnight. We made French bread again, but as I mentioned above, we used a different mixing method. I really can't say enough about have fresh, homemade French baguettes.

French bread

The second dough we made was the rich sweet dough which we used to make cinnamon rolls. I can't even tell you how delicious they were. We made a honey pan glaze for the bottom of the pan that melted as the rolls baked to give some added flavor; we made a clear glaze to give the rolls some extra sheen; and we made the flat icing to drizzle over the rolls to add both color and flavor. I am usually on top of taking pictures of everything, but I was so excited about the cinnamon rolls I totally forgot about taking a pic until I had it all bagged up. I'm thinking this recipe might make an appearance in North Carolina over the holidays.

Cinnamon Rolls