Please, please don’t roll your eyes. I know cheesecake isn’t the most exciting or novel dessert, certainly not as exciting as a macaron or a Zumbo creation but allow me to plead my case. The first time I tried this was at my recent Halloween party where my guest Queen Viv, a fantastic cook, brought this cheesecake over. We were stuffed to the gills with all sorts of “horrific” foods yet someone piped up that there was a cheesecake in the kitchen and that they wanted to try a slice (ok that was me). And a few of us were cut small slender slices of this pale orange hued cheesecake and sank our teeth (or in the case of some, fangs) into this delicate and airily light cheesecake.
Soon after hearing our moans and requests for seconds, suddenly everyone else was getting a slice and enjoying it thoroughly. There was a hint of cinnamon and a touch of lemon to the pumpkin flavoured cheesecake which was not too pumpkiny but just right.
It is from Nigella’s Feast, a book that I have fallen in love with all over again after disliking it for years as the first 7 items I tried from there were either average or a disaster. The only issue with this recipe is that it makes a little too much filling for the crust even with my modification (her original recipe calls for 750g of cream cheese!). Nigella says to push the crumbs onto the base of a 19cms diameter springform tin but I found that that way, the base was incredibly thick so I pushed the crumbs up to the side. You could either do the same as I did and then bake the remaining into cupcakes (I had an extra packet of biscuits so I just made more of the base) or bake it in a ramekin for a pot of pudding. Or you could bake it in a 23cms diameter springform and just press the crumbs into the base and that way you won’t have any leftover. It all depends what you want and have in the cupboard really.
I cooked mine for the requisite time but found that was too long, I think after 1 hour 20 minutes check it to see whether it’s done and you will get the correctly hued cheesecake shade. Don’t let the water bath turn you off but if you just can’t deal with it, you don’t need to. Queen Viv’s plate was too large to fit into a baking tray so she baked it as it was and it was perfectly light. And with the cheesecake itself, this light, dreamy confection, do I rest my case Your Honour.
Pumpkin cheesecake
- 250g packet of digestive biscuits
- 140g butter at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 425g can of pumpkin filling or fresh cooked pumpkin, well drained
- 500g cream cheese
- 200g caster sugar
- 6 eggs
- Lemon zest from 1/2 a lemon
1. Line the base of a 19cms or 23cms diameter springform tin with baking paper (see note above)
2. In a food processor, blitz the biscuits and cinnamon until crumb like and then add in the butter until it resembles damp sand. Press into the base and sides of a 19cms springform tin or just the base of a 23cms springform tin. Place in fridge.
3. Wash and dry food processor and preheat oven to 160c. Put on a full kettle of water to boil. Process pumpkin and cream cheese together scraping down the sides of the processor when necessary (you may have to do this in two lots depending on how big your processor is). Add sugar and process and then crack each egg down the funnel and process until combined. Lastly add lemon zest.
4. Take out springform tin with biscuit base from the fridge. Wrap two layers of clingfilm around the base and sides to form a barrier to stop the water getting through the springform join. Then using two sheets of strong foil reinforce this.
5. In a deep baking dish sit the quadruple reinforced springform tin and pour the cheesecake filling onto the base. Lastly pour boiling water around the springform tin carefully avoiding the cake so that it is 1/3 or 1/2way filled up to the side with water. Bake for 1 hour and 20 or 30 (or even 40) minutes. Test with a skewer and once done, remove from the water bath and take off the foil (the clingfilm will have melted away).
6. Cool and then place in the fridge overnight. Don’t taste it warm from the oven as this, like all cheesecakes, comes into its own when cold.
Adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson
This is also my entry for Mansi’s Fun n Food Vegetarian Thanksgiving event! 
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35 Comments | Add your own
ooh that looks tasty! Was just reading about pumpkin pie on Smitten Kitchen (http://tinyurl.com/6yeusk) and today am baking onion tart http://tinyurl.com/5tn3cr
I really like the idea of having extra left over, I think it would be a great time for you to send it my way!
The cake looks delicious!
Just a question – did I miss when you put in the cinnamon? Does it go in the base or the filling batter?
I can imagine this to be sweet and creamy goodness. I think i have had something similar to this and it was definitely definitely memorable.
Yuuummmm I am rolling my eyes with delight! Cheesecakes are aweesommee. I should post up mine for your comp but it is quite ugly…
This looks delish! Might have to ask for a food processor for Christmas so I can make this!
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Sydney this year. This would make a wonderful addition to our dinner! Pumpkin pie is traditional, but I think I would prefer this!
Ooo I’m definitely going to try this one:) I’m a big fan of a good pumpkin pie, and I adore cheesecake, so imagine I’ll be drooling over this too.
Yum! This cheesecake looks wonderful, and I am soooo sad that I cannot have a slcie (unless I make it myself
).
You *must* try pumpkin and creamcheese and sticky rice flour! Before you blanch, give it some thought! The textures are really surprising and the flavours go surprisingly well together. I’m sure the idea of pumpkin and creamcheese was a little hard to swallow at first when you met the cheesecake.
The sticky one I mentioned above takes only a few minutes to whip up but it’s absolutely marvelous with a bit of sugar sprinkled on top. I tried it in Korea at one of the oh-so-pricey-but-perfectly-chic-and-delicious bakeries and I had to try and replicate it!
It’s just small slabs of puff pastry with a dollop of fresh pumpkin pure, a generous layer of creamchease and a layer of sticky rice flour, all partially enclosed in another piece of puff pastry. You bake it at a high temp until the sticky rice is semi-transparent and it’s truly heaven!
Who on earth would ever say that a cheesecake isn’t exciting? A great cheesecake is always something to get excited over. And this, my dear, is a great cheesecake!
You did make a good case, though
Hi reemski-Sounds like a good weekend for baking!
How did the onion tart turn out?
Hi Cappucino-LOL it was pretty tasty although I resisted eating it as it was. Thankyou!
Hi Kitty-You’re absolutely right, I’ve amended the recipe. It’s in the crust
Hi Maria-It was so good, I love pumpkin in baked goods and this didn’t disappoint
Hi FFichiban-Hehe! Don’t be silly, I’m sure it’s fantastic!
Hi Kathy-Definitely! You could probably make this by hand with a hand mixer but a food processor makes it so easy
Hi Barbara-That’s great -in Australia we don’t really do Thanskgiving so if you do your own that will be the most rewarding way to celebrate it!
Hi Miss Honey-It’s amazing. I just had to make one for myself just out of pure greed
Hi Cakelaw-Hehe it’s really worth it but it’s hard to stop at one slice because it’s so light!
Hi M-Interesting!
I love pumpkin in all baked goods and desserts so I would definitely give this a go. It sounds a bit complicated though as I haven’t made any sticky rice flour items before, are they hard?
Hi Angela-Well I mean that a cheesecake is safe and not as exciting or exotic as a macaron or a more complicated dessert. But this one is, believe me!
Wait. What do you mean cheesecake isn’t the most exciting or novel dessert? It’s FABULOUS!
This version looks particularly tempting, and that top—it looks as if it’s been caramelized. Gorgeous! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it…
Hey Lorraine! thanks so much for this delicious entry! it looks amazing:)
oh look at that snazzy nail polish! fancy.
my only complaint (it’s a small one), is that i would have liked to see a slice of the cheesecake so that i could salivate over it a bit more.
Hi Sandie-Haha well it looks like there are some big cheesecake lovers out there
I’m so glad that you said that it looks caramelised-like I meant to make it that way because I didn’t
Hi Mansi-Thanks so much for hosting the event!
Hi the projectivist-hehe thanks, I love my nail polishes
I know, I should have taken a picture of one, it sliced so cleanly and so perfectly without any glugginess at all as it was so light. But alas I could not stand between hungry men and cheesecake! 
i’m not typically a fan of pumpkin flavor, but toss it into a cheesecake and there’s no way i could pass it up. nicely done!
Another great post! I’ve been looking for a good recipe for pumpkin cheesecake, so I’ll give this a try. Thanks.
This cheesecake really impressed me! But since I don’t like traditional American pumpkin pie too much.. I wonder if I’d like this?
I’m always amazed when recipes in cookbooks just seem ‘wrong’ once tested. Makes me shy-away from trying new things on guests that haven’t been road-tested! Do you always serve tried-and-proven recipes to guests? Or take a punt?
I feel there’s a big difference between tinned and freshly cooked pumpkin and have found American recipes insist on tinned. I tried to be defiant once and regretted it.. so did my sister. I would have thought tinned would have been the go for this recipe.. But what say you, after all this is from Nigella?
Forgot to mention in the Tiki party comment that I always watched Brady Bunch as a kid too and remember the Hawaii episodes fondly!
Hi grace-It’s pumpkiny but not overwhelmingly so. And it has cinnamon in the crust if that helps the case!
Hi Gfron1-This recipe is definitely a winner, if you make it please post back what you think of it
Hi Maria-Hmmmm well I’m not sure if you’d like this. it is different from pumpkin pie, more cheesy (ahaha that’s stating the obvious isn’t it).
I sometimes try new recipes which can really backfire-I made some lamb shanks from Nigella Express and they were awful and stringy and a bit of a disaster. So I think that tried and tested is more relaxing but I can’t help but try new things.
I think tinned is less “wet” but I don’t really know where to buy tinned pumpkin here. So provided you drain it well, I think fresh baked pumpkin is good. Nigella says that you can use either and I used fresh baked and it was great.
just made the cheesecakes – but instead of one large cheesecake I made individual ones in Texas Muffin tins (lined with silicon cake liners). Turned out well – cooked them for 50 mins (they were quite deep). Great cheesecake!
Hi claire-Oh great! So glad that you liked it, thanks for letting me know
This sounds perfect…was a fantastic alternative!
Hi My Sweet & Saucy-Thankyou so much!
Wow, that looks wonderful. I opted to buy one for this year’s thanksgiving…but maybe next year!
Hi gaga-Thankyou so much!
I don’t blame you, it’s much less stress to buy sometimes! 
cheesecake and pumpin,,,two of my faves,,in one! thanks!
Thanks for your inspirational write-up. I used a silicone baking pan which was a lot easier than the springform+wrapping. Fantastic result here: http://mikenbondi.blogspot.com/2011/12/cheesecake-citrouille-celeste.html
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