Pumpkin pie and it's cousin, pumpkin cheesecake, are frequent choices for holiday baking. We love the delicate flavors and soft texture of these desserts, and our guests expect to see at least one of them at Thanksgiving dinner. But baking the same dessert can get boring over the years. Sometimes you want to showcase your baking skills with a dessert that's not only delicious, but a visual treat as well. This recipe for Triple Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake stacks three complementary tastes and colors in one delicious dessert.
Instructions
1. Prepare your ingredients. Set out the cream cheese well in advance. Cream cheese should be at room temperature before use to avoid lumps in your cheesecake.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. Prepare the plain cheesecake batter. In a medium mixing bowl, combine both packages of room temperature cream cheese, 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract using a hand mixer . Blend until the mixture is smooth. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Remove 1 cup of the plain cheesecake batter and spread evenly into the bottom of the graham cracker crust.
4. Prepare the pumpkin cheesecake batter. Add 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg to the remaining plain cheesecake batter. Stir gently until well blended. Pour pumpkin cheesecake batter over plain batter in pie crust.
5. Prepare the pumpkin pie batter. In a second mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 can (approximately 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp.) sweetened condensed milk, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ground ginger and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Pour pumpkin pie batter over pumpkin cheesecake batter in pie crust.
6. Bake your triple layer pumpkin cheesecake in the 325 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The center should still be soft with the edges firmer. The center will firm up as it cools off. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely, then place it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.
Tags: cheesecake batter, , plain cheesecake batter, pumpkin , batter crust
