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Sugar, and Spice, and Everything Pumpkin

If you don’t love pumpkin pie, but you do love pumpkin, here are some options for you, from chef and cookbook author Priscilla Martel of Chester, the owner of All About Food. All take advantage of the canned pumpkin available this time of year, along with warm seasonal spices including cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. As with most area chefs, Martel opts for the canned pumpkin, since many of our local varieties of pumpkins, while they can be tasty stuffed and baked, are not ideal when it comes to making baked goods.

Both cheesecake recipes make good use of nuts, including hazelnuts and almonds.

“Pumpkin and hazelnuts’ bold flavors stand up well in this tangy cheesecake,” she says of the Spiced Pumpkin and Hazelnut Swirl Cheesecake. “These are sophisticated flavors best reserved for the adults at the Thanksgiving table. Don’t swirl the fillings together if you like a surprise layer of nuttiness on the bottom.”

In the Spiced Pumpkin and Almond Swirl Cheesecake, she says, “almonds add a little sweet surprise to this creamy pumpkin cheesecake. This dessert is based on a classic cheesecake batter.”

She uses Love’n Bake Almond Paste, available online at King Arthur Flour and amazon.com, grating the paste so that it blends easily into the filling. “And pumpkin purée flavors the remaining batter. The two fillings are swirled together in the pan to create a marble effect. Not only does the almond paste give a textural element to part of the filling, it adds a sweetness that contrasts with the tang of pumpkin and spices. The candied almonds are a nice compliment although you could just as easily serve this with a few chopped cranberries.”

Do you have a seasonal or holiday recipe you’d like to share with our readers? Let me know at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com.

Spiced Pumpkin and Almond Swirl Cheesecake

Serves: 12 to 16

For the Crust:

5 oz. graham crackers about 9 cookies, crumbled

¼ cup granulated sugar

6 Tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

Three 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

One 15-ounce can pumpkin purée, (not pie filling)

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¾ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cloves

½ cup Love’n Bake® Almond Paste, grated

Candied Sliced Almonds for garnish

For the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Combine the graham crackers and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the cookies are finely ground. Drizzle with the melted butter then blend until the crumbs are moistened and stick together. Press the crumbs into the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake until the crust is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.

For the filling:

1. Place the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in the bowl of a mixer fitted with its paddle. Blend on medium speed until smooth, scraping often. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla.

2. Transfer 2 cups of the filling into a separate bowl.

3. Blend the pumpkin purée and the spices into the remaining filling. Pour the pumpkin filling into the prepared crust.

4. Stir the grated Love’n Bake® Almond Paste Paste into the reserved cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula.

5. Pour the almond filling on top of the pumpkin filling. Or use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the almond filling. Gently swirl a knife through the fillings in a figure eight pattern without touching the crust.

6. Bake the cheesecake until lightly puffed and browned, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check after 1 hour. The center will jiggle slightly when the pan is gently shaken.

7. Cool the cheesecake it its pan on a wire rack until completely cool. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Cover loosely with plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the sides from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Cut into slivers using a knife that has been heated in hot water. Garnish with Candied Sliced Almonds or fresh cranberries. Serving the cheesecake at room temperature will improve its flavor.

Spiced Pumpkin and Hazelnut Swirl Cheesecake

For the Crust:

4 oz. graham crackers about 9 cookies, crumbled

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée, (not pie filling)

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¾ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 cup American Almond Hazelnut Praline Paste

For the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Combine the graham crackers and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until cookies are finely ground. Drizzle with the melted butter then blend until the crumbs are moistened and stick together. Press the crumbs into the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake until the crust is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.

For the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with its paddle. Beat at medium speed until smooth, scraping often. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla.

3. Transfer 1 cup of the filling into a separate bowl and beat the pumpkin purée and the spices into the remaining filling until smooth.

4. Stir the American Almond Hazelnut Praline Paste into the reserved cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula.

5. Scrape the hazelnut filling into the bottom of the prepared crust. Pour the pumpkin filling on top. Gently swirl a soup spoon through the fillings in a figure eight pattern without touching the crust.

6. Bake the cheesecake until lightly puffed, about 12 minutes. Reduce heat to 225ºF and bake until the cake is lightly browned and mostly firm in the center, about 1 hour more. (The center will jiggle slightly when the pan is gently shaken.)

7. Cool the cheesecake it its pan on a wire rack until completely cool. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Cover loosely with plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the sides from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Cut into slivers using a knife that has been heated in hot water. Serving the cheesecake at room temperature will improve its flavor.

Candied Sliced Almonds

1 egg white

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup sliced natural almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. Whip the egg white and sugar in a small bowl until foamy. Stir in the almonds until they are well coated.

3. Spread the coated almonds out in an even layer on the baking sheet.

4. Cook, stirring them every 5 minutes until the almonds are lightly toasted, approximately 15 to 18 minutes.

5. Cool completely before using. Stored in an airtight container, the almonds will keep for a week.