RECIPE: "DANGEROUS" PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Lord knows I don't need anymore cheesecake, or any other form of cake for that matter. So in the spirit of "letting go" I want to share my cheesecake recipe with you all. Well it's not really mine, it's based off of Emeril's recipe with a few tweaks here and there. Play around with it and see what happens...

















Crust Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups of Honeymaid Graham Cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup of ground pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of regular unsalted butter

Filling Ingredients:

• 24 oz. of softened cream cheese (3 x 8oz. packages)
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 14 oz. can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree

Kitchenware:

• Oven
• Mixing bowl
• 9-12 inch Springform pan
• Pestle and mortar AND/OR
• Electric chopper
• Shallow baking pan
• Wooden spoon

Steps:

1. Leave cream cheese out of refrigerator in order to bring it to room temperature. Trying to mix cold cheese is like churning asphalt.
   
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Start on crust by finely grinding graham crackers and pecans. It's a bit more work, but I like to use a pestle and mortar. You get more control over the fineness (or coarseness) of the ingredients, but you can always use an electric food chopper or coffee grinder if you want.
   
4. Mix the dry crumbs, pecans, and cinnamon in a bowl.
5. Melt butter in a microwave for about 1-1.5 minutes, depending on the power level of your microwave.
6. Stir butter into the bowl until the dry ingredients become evenly moist.
7. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and press down to an even thickness. The crust should climb up an inch or two up the side of the pan. I like to make a fist and push down with my knuckles and dorsal digits like a gorilla.
   
8. Put aside and work on filling.
9. In a large mixer bowl combine the softened cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. You can use an electric hand mixer or mix by hand. I burned out two hand mixers in a row making this cake so I now go with the latter method. It's harder on the elbows and you'll end up with small lumps of white unmixed cream cheese in the final product, but the taste is all the same. Mix and beat this until everything is combined and fluffy.
10. Now add the eggs and yolks all at once. Stir slowly until all combined.
    
11. Finally, fold in the heavy cream and pumpkin puree until evenly mixed (or you can mix halfway to make a sort of marbled effect).
12. Pour this mixture over the crust in pan until every last drop is out. I like to think that every little bit I can scrape out is another bite I can have later so I'm usually very thorough on this part. This mentality is also why I should be banned from eating cheesecake altogether.
13. Place the Springform pan onto the shallow baking pan or sheet and place in oven. This because the butter tends to seep through the Springform and can burn at the bottom of your oven. It also helps to evenly distribute the heat.
    
14. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. Also do a shake test. The center of the cake should appear almost set when you shake the pan. I once had to cook a cake for over an hour, but this all this depends on how often you open the oven and let the heat out.
    
15. Cool for 15-20 minutes.
16. Loosen the snapped sides and cool for another 30 minutes.
17. Then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
18. Serve liberally.
19. Smile.
20. Stop nagging your husband.