Tag: cream cheese

Pumpkin Cheesecake – Giving Thanks for Cheap and Easy to Use Kitchen Gadgets

I’d rather eat vegan for a week than write a blog post on
why pumpkin cheesecakes crack, but I’m more than happy to explain how to get
that perfect, creamy-custardy, probably-won’t-crack doneness you all deserve.
Use a digital thermometer. Okay, that was a little anticlimactic, but it really
is that simple.

If you turn off the heat when the cheesecake’s internal temp
is between 155-160 F., and let it cool slowly in the warm oven, you should get
exactly what you see here. The reason a thermometer is so key, is that going
just by sight is hard to do. Even at 155 F., a cheesecake has a fairly jiggly
middle, and really does look undercooked. Many cooks get scared and leave it in
for a few more minutes, which can make all the difference.

This should take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Many
factors are involved, but a big one is the temperature of your cheese and eggs.
Mine were cold, which not only makes mixing harder, but also will increase
cooking time, as a room temp batter starts cooking sooner. So, to recap, use a
thermometer.

This recipe was adapted from one found on my friend Elise’s
blog, Simply Recipes. She’s one of my all-time favorites (food bloggers and
people), and I insist you head over there to check out her gorgeous version as
well. I (we) hope you give this easy pumpkin cheesecake a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 Pumpkin Cheesecake (10 slices)
For the crust:

2 cups gingersnap crumbs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 large egg yolk

Filling

4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temp

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (15-oz) cans pure pumpkin puree

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

1/4 cup all purpose flour

*Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until
internal temp is between 155-160 F. Let cool in warm oven, with door cracked.

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gordon ramsay cheesecake recipes

Giving Thanks

Michele and I had a very lovely Thanksgiving holiday with the family in Davis, CA. The food and company were wonderful, and as if that wasn’t enough, I also enjoyed a flood of viewers posting pictures of their successful Food Wishes’ recipes on Twitter and Instagram. I want to thank everyone who mentioned us this holiday, and I couldn’t be happier or more proud of all the beautiful food you created and shared. And while we’re on the subject, here are a few highlights from our meal. Enjoy!

Our handsome, free-range turkey was from Branigan’s Turkey Farm in Woodland, California, and it was amazing! I did the old, herb-butter under the skin trick, and it was one of the juiciest, most flavorful turkeys in recent memory.

I love to start the Thanksgiving meal with a small salad. This is a great way to get everyone to the table for toasts, grace, etc., and not have to worry about all the food getting cold. While the turkey rests, enjoy a nice pear, persimmon salad with goat cheese, pomegranate, and candied walnuts.

What’s Thanksgiving, but an elaborate excuse to eat lots of buttery mashed potatoes? These were fortified with cream cheese as family tradition dictates.

These incredibly tasty sweet potatoes were simply roasted with maple butter and topped with salty, crunchy, toasted pistachios. They were perfect.

I decided to eschew the usual green bean casserole for this new addition to the holiday side repertoire. The beans were tossed with copious amounts of roasted garlic, and then warmed in the oven after a crumbling of Point Reyes blue cheese. No one missed the casserole!

We finished with the pumpkin pie you saw posted a while back, and by the looks of my Twitter feed, so did many of you. I hope you had a great holiday, and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Special thanks to Peggy & Al, Nina & Tom, and Jennifer and Leanne for providing us with such an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for a new video tomorrow!

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters

When you need a “little” treat, these delicious pumpkin cheesecake shooters are the perfect sweet fix. Perfect to serve at Halloween party or to add to your Thanksgiving table!

I love the idea of serving bite sized desserts at a party, it’s perfectly portioned, and if there are other desserts on the table, it’s just the right amount. You can buy inexpensive shot glasses at the dollar store and if you are bringing a dessert to a party, you can even give the shot glasses to the host as a gift.

These can be made ahead and kept chilled until ready to serve. Of course, if you rather use larger glasses, you can make 8 servings and double the filling.

My whipped topping of choice is Truwhip, and I’m excited they just came out with a light version! I love that it contains all natural ingredients, no HFCS, hydrogenated oils, transfats or GMOs. ^[1]

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 shot glass* • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 2
Calories: 78 • Fat: 4.2 g • Carb: 11.6 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 1 g • Sugar: 7.5 g
Sodium: 16.5 mg

Ingredients:

3 (1.5 oz total) whole chocolate graham crackers
4 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp dark brown sugar, unpacked
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg1/4 tsp cinnamon
8 oz light whipped topping (I used Truwhip^[2] light)

Directions:

Crush graham crackers in a food processor. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Beat until well combined and creamy. Use a spatula to fold in 5 oz (1-1/2 cups) of the whipped topping; combine until no streaks remain. Place in a piping bag or ziplock bag with a corner snipped off.

To assemble: Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of each shot glass. Pipe a layer of pumpkin cheesecake onto the graham cracker crust (about 1 tbsp) followed by a layer of whipped topping. Repeat a second layer and finish with another sprinkle of crumbs. Insert small spoons and refrigerator until ready to serve.

*Each shot glass has 2 tbsp pumpkin cheesecake, 1 tbsp whipped topping, 1 tsp graham cracker crumbs total.

References

^{^} Truwhip (www.truwhip.com)
^{^} Truwhip (www.truwhip.com)