Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust - Sense & Edibility (2024)

Pumpkin Cheesecake is a creamy, New York-style custard with fresh pumpkin puree and warm fall spices. Its gingersnap crust adds more depth of flavor with its crunchy spiciness. This is the dessert your holiday table is pining for.

*This post is an update from the original article written in November 2020. Only the article isnew.*

What is a Pumpkin Cheesecake?

In its simplest form, cheesecake is a custard of cheese, like cream cheese, Neufchâtel, quark, or ricotta, eggs, and sugar, baked inside a cookie crust until set. Cheesecake is most often served cold. Depending on the region a cheesecake is from, you might find the addition of heavy cream. A New York-style cheesecake often incorporates heavy cream into the batter, making it a rich, dense dessert.

Pumpkin cheesecake is a cheesecake that contains pumpkin puree and spices like allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. This recipe adds more flavor by adding a gingersnap crust instead of the common graham cracker crust.

What Are the Ingredients In a Pumpkin Cheesecake?

Pumpkin cheesecake is made with room temperature cream cheese, solid pack pumpkin puree (or homemade), sugar, eggs, ground ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, or my pumpkin spice blend, kosher salt, cornstarch, heavy cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

To make gingersnap crust for cheesecake, you need crunchy gingersnap cookiecrumbs and melted unsalted butter.

You also need a 9-inch springform pan set inside a larger, 12 to 14-inch oven-safe pan for baking the pumpkin cheesecake. A stand or an electric hand mixer makes blending the cheesecake batter easy. You’ll also need a food processor for turning the gingersnap cookies into crumbs.

How Do I Make a Cheesecake Crust?

Most cheesecakes have a crust of some kind. Some are made with sponge cakes, like New York’s Junior’s cheesecakes. There are also crustless cheesecakes. Those should just be called baked custards, but I’m not the pastry police.The key to achieving the perfect crust for your pumpkin cheesecake is using the right ratio of melted butter to cookie crumbs.

Pulse the gingersnap cookies to a fine crumb using the metal blade attachment in your food processor.

Combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter in a bowl and mix them together. Squeeze the crumb mixture in your hand after mixing it. If the cheesecake crust mixture holds together in a firm clump, it’s ready to use in your cheesecake recipe. On the contrary, if the cheesecake crust falls apart when you release pressure, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter to bind it together. If the cheesecake crust mixture seeps butter when you squeeze it in your hand, add more gingersnap crumbs to soak up the excess fat.

Can I Replace the Gingersnaps With a Different Cookie?

You can use graham cracker crumbs, Biscoff cookie crumbs, vanilla or chocolate wafers, or animal crackers instead of gingersnap cookies for your cheesecake crust.

Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press your cheesecake crust into a 9″springform pan. As you press the bottom, press along the side of the pan to create a side crust.

Bake the cheesecake crust in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature, but don’t turn the oven off.

Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil once it’s cool enough to handle. Wrapping your springform pan in foil prevents water from seeping into the cheesecake pan as it bakes in the water bath.

How Do I Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Batter?

Bring 6 cups of water in a large pot up to a boil over medium-high heat before starting the cheesecake batter.

Use a whisk to combine the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, kosher salt, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pumpkin spice blend or chai spice blend are great to replace all of those spices, as well. Cornstarch gives pumpkin cheesecake that fluffy texture and body that are ideal in a cheesecake. You can replace the cornstarch with the same amount of all-purpose flour or leave it out.

In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or aKitchenAid stand mixer with a paddle attachment to blend the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste at low speed.

Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time once you achieve a smooth, well-blended mixture. Scrape down the bowl after each egg is incorporated to ensure the batter is evenly blended.

Mix in the mashed pumpkin and the heavy cream once the eggs are added. Finally, blend in the spice mixture just until incorporated. If you over-mix the batter at this stage, the cornstarch will make the pumpkin cheesecake gummy texture.

Is Baking Cheesecake In a Water Bath Necessary?

Baking cheesecakes in a water bath creates a consistent temperature for the custard to bake in. Without a water bath, or a bain-marie, the pumpkin cheesecake’s temperature will rise and fall with the oven as it clicks on and off to regulate its internal temperature. The oven’s fluctuating temperature is the main cause of cheesecake cracks, which is why baking your cheesecake in a water bath is essential.

How Does It Take To Bake a Pumpkin Cheesecake?

Scrape the pumpkin cheesecake batter into the gingersnap crust.

Next, set the foil-wrapped, filled cheesecake pan into the larger pan. Make sure there’s at least two inches of clearance on the sides of the cheesecake pan so you have enough to pour the hot water into the outer pan without splashing the cheesecake batter. Using a bench scraper or wide spatula as a shield prevents water from splashing onto the cheesecake batter.

Carefully slide the larger pan into the hot oven. It takes 1 hour to bake a pumpkin cheesecake.

How Do I Keep My Cheesecake From Cracking?

Cooling freshly baked cheesecakes gradually in the oven, then on the countertop is great insurance in preventing surface cracks. Since sudden temperature changes, like being removed from a 350°F oven to a 72°F countertop, can cause a cheesecake to crack, it’s best to cool cheesecakes gradually in a vented oven. This gradual cooling of the pumpkin cheesecake allows the structure of the custard to set up slowly.

After the cheesecake is done baking, turn the oven off, then prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour. After an hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and the water bath.Remove the protective foil and allow the pumpkin cheesecake to cool to the touch on the countertop. This second, gradual cooling, acclimates the cheesecake to its surroundings to further strengthen the structure and prevent cracking. It also cools the cheesecake, so you don’t end up with condensation dripping from the plastic covering onto its surface after you wrap it for storage.

Cover the cheesecake pan with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator once it’s at room temperature. Chill cheesecakes for at least 6 hours or overnight to allow its structure to set up completely, resulting in perfect slices.

How Do I Top Pumpkin Cheesecake?

This pumpkin cheesecake doesn’t need a topping, but rosettes of whipped cream give it an air of festivity. This step is totally optional.

To make a fall-flavored whipped cream:

1. Mix heavy cream and maple extract in a mixing bowl. If you want to switch up the flavor, I recommend vanilla, maple, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice extract.
2. Begin whipping the cream at medium speed.
3. Once the beaters start to leave ribbons in the cream, start sprinkling in the granulated sugar.
4. After adding the sugar, increase the mixer’s speed to high and whip for 2-3 more minutes or until the cream is fluffy and stiff.

Garnish your chilled pumpkin cheesecake with rosettes of flavored whipped cream. Another great way to decorate your pumpkin cheesecake is with a generous spoonful of my Boozy Spiced Cranberry Sauce, a drizzle ofCajeta, orSpiced Toffee Sauce.

How Do I Serve Pumpkin Cheesecake?

Remove the springform collar from the cheesecake.

Slice the pumpkin cheesecake using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and shaken off to make the first cut. Re-dip the knife into the hot water, wipe it with a paper towel, and make another cut to create a slice. Dipping your knife in the water removes the excess cheesecake from the knife blade, giving you a clean slice of cheesecake.

Many people enjoy cheesecake with coffee, tea, or milk. Enjoy yours however you like.

How Do I Store Leftover Cheesecake?

Refrigerate pumpkin cheesecake until you’re ready to serve it. Store leftover pumpkin cheesecake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days after baking it.

Press a piece of plastic film or wax paper against the insides of a cut cheesecake to keep it from drying out in the refrigerator. Try to avoid keeping cheesecakes out at room temperature for extended periods. Because pumpkin cheesecake is a custard, it must be kept refrigerated to prevent foodborne illnesses.

Can You Freeze Pumpkin Cheesecake?

You can freeze cheesecake after you bake and cool it completely. To freeze pumpkin cheesecake:

1. Carefully remove it from the springform pan and wrap it well in 2 layers of plastic wrap.
2. Freeze the cheesecake for up to two months.
3. Thaw the cheesecake in a refrigerator for 12 hours (or overnight) before serving.

You’ll undoubtedly be the dessert hero for bringing this Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust to the dessert table this year. This creamy pumpkin dessert takes the flavor you love from the traditional pie and bakes it into a tart and sweet cheesecake. It’s like getting two amazing fall desserts in one bite.

Be sure to pin this pumpkin cheesecake recipe to your Thanksgiving or Holiday board and share it wit your friends and family.