Today I’ve got a tasty new recipe for you that happens to be the final installment in our blogger #RealFoodHoliday progressive dinner series! I don’t know about you, but I’ve personally never been a fan of pumpkin pie (is anyone really?), but I do LOVE some pumpkin cheesecake. I think this is such a great update to the traditional dessert we’ve all seen year after year, and with the pecan crust you can easily accommodate any gluten-free guests you might be entertaining.
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#RealFoodHoliday
Before we dive into the recipe though, I’m excited to share what this whole holiday progressive dinner thing is all about. A few of us food bloggers thought it would be a fun idea to take turns sharing a different real food recipe that you could add to your holiday table this year. And since I happen to be the last one on the list, here is a little summary of what’s been featured so far:
- Deliciously Organic: Apricot Zingers
- Mama and Baby Love: Roasted Red Beet and Arugula Salad
- Simple Green Smoothies: Pumpkin Spice Green Smoothie
- Super Healthy Kids: Wild Rice Stuffing
- Keeper of the Home: Rustic Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Weelicious: Vegan Whipped Coconut Sweet Potatoes
- Once a Month Meals: Cranberry Maple Orange Pork Chops
- $5 Dinners: Rosemary Maple Glazed Turkey Breast
- Kitchen Stewardship: Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies
- 100 Days of Real Food: Pumpkin Cheesecake (This dessert recipe of course!) :)
- The Fresh 20: Apple Crumble
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crust
I've never been a fan of pumpkin pie, but I do LOVE pumpkin cheesecake. I think this is such a great update to the dessert we've all seen year after year.
Ingredients
For the Crust
For the Cheesecake Filling
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened, 2 - 8 ounce blocks
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, found in the baking aisle
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
For the Whipped Cream Topping
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a food processor, process the pecans and salt together to the consistency of coarse crumbs. You could also chop by hand. Mix in the softened butter until the crust mixture comes together.
- Using your fingers, press the pecan crust into the bottom and sides of a pie pan until it's in one even layer. It helps if you get your fingers wet first. Bake the crust by itself until it turns a rich brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. When it's done, remove it from the oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Add in the pumpkin pie spice and then one by one, add each of the eggs. Lastly, add the pumpkin puree and beat together just until mixed.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture into the baked pie crust and stick it in the oven on 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 and bake until the edges of the cheesecake are puffed and begin to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Put the pie in the fridge and let it cool completely for several hours before adding the whipped cream.
- To make the whipped cream, use an electric mixer to beat the cream and syrup together until fluffy. Use a pastry bag or cookie press with decorating tips to decorate the pie. See the picture just below for how I used the whipped cream to cover up some cracks in the surface! Garnish with chopped pecans if desired.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Hi, Lisa!! Just wanted to let you know that we made your lemon blueberry cheesecake from your cookbook today and it was TO DIE FOR!!! We put your homemade whipped cream and raspberries on top. I was in cheesecake heaven!!
Thanks for letting us know! Glad to hear you liked it. :) – Nicole
I was wondering if I can use a springform pan for this recipe?
Other readers have.
Happy Thanksgiving 100 Days Team! I’ve made this before and it is AMAZING! My deep pie dish that I used to use broke this year. Have you ever tried making this in a spring form cheesecake pan? Any tips for using a pan like that would be helpful as I only have shallow pie pans.
I’ve made it in a springform and it came out fine….a little messy when cut, but tasted delicious!
Please excuse me if this has been asked before. But, could I double the recipe and use a springform pan? Thank you for your help! :)
Hi,
I just baked in a 9″ springform pan and the base recipe works fine. No need to double IMO.
Best,
Corey
Hi. We’ve not tried doubling this. These threads might help: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20141011102836AAMvOPU and http://www.chowhound.com/post/double-cheesecake-recipe-533551.
Hi Emily. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.
Could I omit the crust and make it a crustless cheesecake?
Hmm, maybe m using a deeper pan, but my cheesecake has been in for at least twice the amount of time and is still not set. Smells yummy so I’m hoping that it still works out. Anyone else have this trouble?
I’ve made this for the past two Thanksgivings. The recipe gets rave reviews and guests appreciated the level of sweetness. Only change I made was to add a couple TBS coconut sugar in the crust. It was perfect!
Is it possible to make this a normal cheesecake?
One of my family members has a pumpkin allergy and
another one has a pecan allergy.
Is it possible to substitute the ingredients so it will be a normal cheesecake?
Thanks!
Hi Jenna. Lisa also has this recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/01/28/recipe-individual-cheesecakes/. Hope it helps.
This pumpkin cheesecake got amazing reviews at last night’s dinner party! I didn’t even make the whipped cream and it was delicious. I had a little extra filling, perhaps my pie dish is small, but i just baked the extra separately in a ramekin and my one year old gobbled it up! Her own personal, crust-less pumpkin cheesecake :-)
Is there another alternative for the crust? We have an allergy to all nuts.
Here is another possibility: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/01/28/recipe-individual-cheesecakes/. ~Amy
Made this for Thanksgiving and LOVED it!! It was light and delicious without being too sweet, heavy or overpowering. I baked it in a water bath, which prevented any cracking afterwards. Thanks for the recipe!
I loved that it didn’t have sugar, however, I heard from multiple Thanksgiving meal partakers that it wasn’t sweet enough and didn’t have enough pumpkin flavor. :(
I just made this the other day! It was absolutely delicious. I did have some trouble with the crust so I had to try again, but made sure they were crushed really good in the blender. Also, I didn’t bake it as long as it says because the first one was practically black when I pulled it out of the oven.
Anyway, I was able to make two pumpkin cheesecakes with this recipe. Everyone loved it!
I was excited to try this recipe for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed in it. The texture was fine (including the crust) but it just wasn’t sweet enough for me. It didn’t compare to pumpkin cheesecakes I’d made in the past (which used sugar, of course). I went back to compare recipes, and they all called for 1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar, as opposed to your 1/2 cup of maple syrup. As much as I love pure maple syrup, you would have to use it 1:1 to sweeten as much as sugar I guess.
To use the recipe as is, it would definitely require the (sweet) whipped cream topping; however, in my mind, a good cheesecake should be able to stand alone.
I made this in a springform pan, didn’t even bother with the whipped cream and it was amazing! Got rave reviews all around my Thanksgiving table
The filling was divine and amazing for having no white sugar. The crust get mixed reviews, but the filling made up for it.
This was a huge hit at our family Thanksgiving !!! My husband who does not like pecans said he even thought the pecan crust was good. My mother who doesn’t like pumpkin pie loved it and the pumpkin pie fans even gave rave reviews too. So thanks for making me look like a good cook tonight. :).
Good but had wayyyyy too many pecans. The pecans over powered the cheesecake.
I’m eating this right now and IT. IS. AMAZING!
Thanks for a super easy, fantastic recipe!