Illinois Pumpkin-Ginger Cheesecake

Is this cheesecake beautiful, or what! This smooth and creamy Illinois Pumpkin-Ginger Cheesecake is made just for you and all your holiday guests! Enjoy!

Illinois Pumpkin-Ginger Cheesecake

Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6-10

PREP TIME

30 mins

COOK TIME

1 hour 15 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

13⁄4 cups crushed ginger snap cookies

1⁄4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons cornstarch 1⁄4 cup water

1 teaspoon ground ginger 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

Filling:

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 cup granulated sugar

1⁄4 cup light-brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs, beaten

2⁄3 cup whipping cream

--TOPPING--

1 container (16 oz.) sour cream (regular, not lite)

1⁄3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350°. Get out your 9-inch or 10-inch spring-form pan and grease the bottom and the inside rim. Then, cover the outside bottom of the pan with some aluminum foil to prevent any leakage.

2. Get out a mixing bowl, and we’ll make the crust. Combine the crushed gingersnap cookies, sugar, and melted butter for a minute or so.

3. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom of the spring-form pan, and 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on the counter or a wire rack to cool.

4. Get out a large mixing bowl for the filling. Add the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugars, beaten eggs, and whipping cream. Beat together with your hand mixer on low speed until it’s nicely blended.

5. Add the cornstarch to the water and mix until blended. Add this to the cream-cheese mixture along with the ginger and cloves. Beat until well blended.

6. Pour the cream-cheese filling into the cooled crust in the spring-form pan. Get out a roasting pan that the spring-form pan will fit into. Add 1 inch of water to the roasting pan and then place the foiled spring-form pan into that. Bake the whole thing for 65-70 minutes or until the middle of the cake barely jiggles.

7. When the cheesecake is almost done, get out a little mixing bowl and whisk together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. When the cheesecake is done, remove it from the oven (leaving it in the bath), spread the sour cream topping over the top of the cheesecake, and place it back into the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Then, remove it from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

8. While the cake is cooling in the spring-form pan, run a knife (that you have warmed by running under hot water) around the edges of the cheesecake. Let the cake cool in the pan on the wire rack. Then, place the cheesecake (still in the spring-form pan) into the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

9. When ready to serve, release the cake from the spring-form pan. You can decorate it with candied orange slices and some thin gingersnap cookies, or ground gingersnap cookie crumbs.

NOTES

Candied orange slices (for decoration—you can buy ready-made at www.markethallfood.com ).