It’s too late for you to make this for Thanksgiving dessert, but I wanted to share it with you anyway, in case you have any leftover pumpkin and culinary gumption. Because it’s super tasty! It’s made with two of my favorite things: pumpkin and marshmallows. MARSHMALLOWS! If that’s not making you scramble to click “print this recipe” I don’t know what will.
The topping is especially great, not only because it’s yummy, but also because it covers up any unsightly cracks and crevices on the top of the cheesecake, which are sure to result if you’re like me and suck at making cheesecake.
I divided the recipe into three sections, in order of what you need to make first. The cheesecake needs to chill overnight, so you’d need to make the crust and the cheesecake a day before, and then the topping a couple hours before (it needs to chill for an hour to set).
Oh, and I guess I used the wrong size pan or something, because I had some leftover batter. This had two important consequences: 1. The cheesecake’s baking time was about 20 minutes shorter than expected, and 2. I got to make mini-cheesecakes! (I’ll explain more about the mini-cheesecakes at the bottom of the post.)
Recipe: Gingersnap crust
From Bon Appetit magazine, November 2008
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 9 ounces)
- 1 cup pecans (about 3½ ounces)
- ¼ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch-high sides with nonstick spray.
- Grind cookie crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and ginger in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; using on/off turns, process to blend.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan; press onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan.
- Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
Recipe: Pumpkin cheesecake
From Bon Appetit magazine, November 2008
- 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
- 5 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in pumpkin.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate each addition.
- Add flour, spices, and salt; beat just to blend.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. (p.s. The cheesecake won’t really be bright yellow like in that photo down there. I am a horrible photographer.)
- Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill cheesecake uncovered in pan overnight.
Recipe: Marshmallow-sour cream topping
From Bon Appetit magazine, November 2008
- 2 cups mini marshmallows or large marshmallows cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- Stir marshmallows and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Cool marshmallow mixture to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Add sour cream to marshmallow mixture; fold gently just to blend. (When I did this, the result was a little … lumpy. So I poured it into the bowl of my stand mixer and whisked it for a little bit, until it was smooth.)
- Pour topping over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving a half-inch uncovered around edges. Chill to set topping, at least 1 hour.
For the mini-cheesecakes: I made some extra crust (just guessed on the ingredient amounts) and used a teaspoon to press the crumbs into these star-shaped foil baking cups that I stocked up on a few years ago. I can’t find them on Reynolds’ Web site — maybe they don’t make them anymore? — but they have a bunch of other fun foil baking cups.
Anyway, I poured the extra batter in the cups and baked them for … oh … maybe 30 minutes? Not helpful, I know. I just stuck them in the oven with the bigger cheesecake that was in the middle of its baking time, and kept an eye on them.
After they cooled and chilled, I gave them each a dollop of the marshmallow-sour cream topping and also a toasted pecan, because I loooove toppings and garnishes. It was all I could do to stop myself from drizzling them with some leftover caramel or sprinkling cinnamon sugar on them.
Cute, right?
OK, I just got gifted with one of the minis and it was super cute! and super delicious! For something chock full of pumpkin, gingersnaps, and marshmallows, it is still solidly cheesecakey so don’t be afraid that it will taste like a pumpkin pie.