Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake
Put a "twist" in your dessert menu this Thanksgiving with a Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake resulting in a rich balance of chocolate and pumpkin. Pair this dessert recipe with Amarula Cream Liqueur or Sortilege Canadian Whisky & Maple Syrup.Ingredients
Serves 8 to 12
30 chocolate wafers, ground to yield 1½ cups (375 ml) crumbs
2 tbsp (30 ml) + 1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar, divided
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (1 ml) ground ginger
⅓ cup (75 ml) butter, melted
2 x 8 oz (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup (250 ml) canned pumpkin purée
¼ cup (60 ml) sour cream
¼ tsp (1 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (1 ml) ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp (0.5 ml) ground cloves
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground ginger
¼ cup (60 ml) all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
¾ cup (175 ml) + ⅓ cup (75 ml) whipping cream, divided
½ cup (125 ml) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and position oven rack in centre.
- In a medium bowl, mix together ground chocolate wafers, 2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar, cinnamon and ground ginger. Add melted butter and mix until combined.
- Grease bottom and sides of a 9-in (23 cm) springform pan. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and a little up sides of pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Reposition oven rack to lower third of oven and leave oven on.
- Place 2 x 18-in (45 cm) squares of heavy-duty foil, one on top of the other, with the top square rotated 90 degrees from bottom one. Place cooled springform pan with chocolate crumb base in centre of foil squares and wrap bottom and outside sides of pan with foil to create a waterproof barrier. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, whisk cream cheese until smooth and no lumps remain. Add 1 cup (250 ml) sugar, pumpkin purée, sour cream, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and flour. Beat over medium speed just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, using hand mixer, whisk together eggs and yolk, vanilla and ¾ cup (175 ml) whipping cream, until combined. Pour into cream cheese mixture and whisk together until smooth. Do not overbeat.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm ⅓ cup (75 ml) whipping cream until it starts to simmer.
- Place bittersweet chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour warm cream over chocolate and let it rest for 2 minutes to melt chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
- Combine 1 cup (250 ml) of pumpkin-cream cheese mixture with chocolate. Set aside.
- Pour remaining pumpkin-cream cheese mixture into prepared springform pan with chocolate crumb base. Spoon in dollops of chocolate mixture evenly on surface of pumpkin-cream cheese mixture. Drag a toothpick or knife through the dolloped chocolate across the surface to create swirls, without touching bottom of pan.
- Place pan in a larger roaster over a wire rack and pour boiling water in the roaster, up to about a third of the way up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. The centre of the cheesecake should jiggle when shaken slightly. Turn off oven, leaving cheesecake inside. Use a wooden spoon to wedge the oven door slightly ajar for 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and water bath. Discard outer foil barrier. Run a sharp knife, or narrow offset metal spatula along the inside edge of the springform pan to loosen sides of cheesecake. Cool completely in pan, on wire rack. Loosely cover the pan without touching the surface of the cheesecake and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to serve, run a thin knife, or narrow offset metal spatula, around the cheesecake again, before releasing the sides of the pan. Transfer to serving plate and serve.