Pumpkin Cheesecake

Our pumpkin cheesecake is rich, super creamy, and velvety smooth. It's the perfect holiday dessert, but why limit to such a short season?

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesecake recipes, pumpkin cheesecake recipes, pumpkin dessert recipes, pumpkin desserts

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 15

Servings servings

Calories 776kcal

Author Kathleen

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
Spray the inside of a 9 or 10-inch springform, generously, with baker's nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together the gingersnap crumbs (1 1/2 cups), melted butter (5 tablespoons), and sugar (1/4 cup) until evenly combined.
Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared springform pan. Press crumbs on the bottom and 1 inch up the sides.
Bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire wrack.
Wrap the springform pan with one large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, covering the underside of the springform and extending all the way to the top so there are no seams on the bottom or sides of the pan. Repeat with a second sheet of foil.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese (4 8-ounce packages), heavy cream (1/3 cup), sugar (1 1/4 cup), cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon), ginger (1/4 teaspoon), and nutmeg (1/8 teaspoon) using an electric mixer until smooth.
Add pumpkin (1 can) and beat until smooth.
Add eggs (3) and vanilla (1 tablespoon); beat just until incorporated. Pour into cooled crust.
Set springform into a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden and the center is set, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven. Hold the oven door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cheesecake to cool slowly in open door oven for 60 minutes.
Remove from roasting pan. Run a butter knife around the edge of the springform pan. Gently open springform buckle. Cool completely on the wire rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Remove the springform ring and serve.

Crush It! To crush the ginger snap cookies, I crush them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or food processor. You are looking for a fine crumb, little pieces of cookie are okay, just not too large.
Keep It Even! To press the crust into the pan, make sure the crust mixture is not too thick in the corners of the pan. You want a uniform thickness on both the bottom and sides of the pan.
Gotta Be Soft: Make sure the cream cheese is really soft (full at room temperature), or the filling may have little white specks of cream cheese.
Extra Wide ONLY: Purchase the extra-wide heavy-duty foil to cover the bottom of your springform pan. No amount of seaming together two smaller pieces of foil will keep the water out. Trust me, I’ve tried.
Pour It: When pouring water into the roasting pan, put the springform pan in the roast pan and into the oven first. You can pull the rack out just a few inches.
- When ready to pour the water into the roasting pan, use a measuring cup or something that pours easily, making sure no water gets into the cheesecake.
- Feel free to push the springform pan to the far side, pour, then reposition the springform pan back to the center of the roasting pan again.
- Gently push the rack back and bake! If this seems like a lot of instruction, it’s just pretty intuitive and simple. I just want to make sure you get the perfect cheesecake!