This Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is one that folks have been asking about for years and now, I’m sharing it with all of you! Truth be told, my friend and fellow Dame d’Escoffier, Deirdre Michalski, asked for a great Thanksgiving dessert to feature on a blog for Visit Newport Beach, so I had to give her one of my favorites! Enjoy the recipe below and be sure to read Deirdre’s blog post in its entirety HERE.

CHEF CATHY PAVLOS’S PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Ingredients for the Filling:
1 lb Cream Cheese
1 cup Sour Cream
1 15oz Can Pure Pumpkin (I like Libbey’s)
3 Large Cage Free Eggs
2 tbl Whole Milk
1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbl All Purpose Flour
7/8 cup Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 1⁄4 tsp Ground Ginger
1 1⁄4 tsp Ground Allspice
1 1⁄4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1⁄2 tbl Sea Salt

Ingredients For the Crust:
2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1⁄4 cup Granulated Sugar
Pinch Sea Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush a 10-inch spring-form pan with some of the melted butter—or spray it out with pan spray. Stir the remaining butter into the Graham Cracker crumbs, add 1/4 cup sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake this shell in the oven until it is set– about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the shell on a rack, then wrap the outside of the spring-form pan with foil and place into a shallow roasting pan. Bring a medium pot of water to a simmer.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, with a mixer until smooth. Add 7/8 cup of sugar and beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the milk, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, flour, 1⁄2 tbl sea salt and all the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven and pour the simmering water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the foil lined spring-form pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still a little loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door a crack to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool it on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover it and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

You can garnish each slice with house-made whipped cream and candied Pecans.