Pumpkin Cheesecake

We have a new holiday favorite in our house. I made a pumpkin pie, and my daughter made a pumpkin cheesecake. I'm afraid that the pie tasted rather ordinary in comparison to the cheesecake. I think we have a new holiday dessert.  This was a New York-style cheesecake, tall, dense, and very decadent. A nine-inch New York cheesecake makes about 16 servings, so this is also a great dessert for a large gathering. Sorry, no photos as we ate the whole thing!

Cheesecake tips --

• New York cheesecake recipes often call for a water bath. A water bath helps the cheesecake bake evenly, which minimizes cracking. Wrap the springform pan in foil before filling, then set in water bath for baking. The foil prevents water from seeping through to the cake when baking in a springform pan placed in water.
• If you bake until all but the very center 2 inches are firm, but center is still a tiny bit jiggly, the cake will continue setting as it cools. Shut off the oven, crack the door open, and allow the cheesecake to sit in the cooling oven for 30 minutes. The texture will even and it will be creamy throughout.
• To prevent lumps, use room temp cream cheese, not cold.
• Allow to cool before removing the springform ring. Run a knife all around, then undo the latch on the side of pan.
• Cheesecakes freeze well, if ungarnished. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temp (70 degrees F) for 30 minutes before serving.
• Cream cheese goes on sale in November and December. You can freeze cream cheese, then use for baking cheesecake later in the year. For this cake, we used cream cheese that had been in the freezer for over a year. Still creamy and delicious.