Category: Thanksgiving/Christmas

In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, mix the crackers, sugar, and melted butter together.  Press the whole into the bottom of a 10” springform pan.

I bake the crust at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes to firm up the crust and develop a toasty flavor to the Graham crackers. Once the crust is toasted to your preferences, remove it to cool, turn the oven to 250 degrees F, and start mixing the filling.

Start 1 quart of water to boil.

Paddle the cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer. I do not mix it on high as I do not prefer all the air that can mix in. Mix it just to make it smooth and soft. Add the brown sugar just to mix and then the spices and salt. Add one egg, allow to fully incorporate then the next, and mix until that, too, has been incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then mix in the pumpkin. This is just to mix it in and that’s it. Pour the filling onto the cooled Graham cracker base, place the pan into a cake pan large enough to hold it, and place that into a roasting pan.

Out of habit, I wrap my pan first with plastic wrap then with foil. What I forgot was that home foil is not as wide as restaurant foil! I'll be using the cake pan next time.

Update about protecting the springform pan. Those crockpot cooking bags are perfect for waterbaths and cheesecakes. They're huge, too. I have started using them and place the springform into the bag and fold the edges down far enough to be below the top of the pan, then tape the extra tight to the pan so it fits snuggly.

Cheesecake is a custard. Custards require special attention so the eggs don’t curdle and the cheesecake bakes but doesn’t turn granular. This takes time. We need time to sneak the heat into the cake and let the chemistry happen. Water baths allow for the slow transfer of heat. Put the roasting pan with the cheesecake into the oven, then add the boiling water, carefully, into the roasting pan. This allows you to make the water bath without risking burning yourself by moving a pan of boiling water into the oven. Pan, then water, is safer. If you prefer, you may place a clean kitchen towel flat and smooth under the cake pan to keep the cheesecake from sliding around. Bake for 1 hour and don’t peak.

After 1 hour, turn the oven off, open it for just a moment. Go ahead and look at it, but it doesn’t look done because it isn’t done. Close the door and set the timer for another hour. When that timer goes off, remove the roasting pan assemblage to a cooling rack on the counter for, you guessed it, another hour. After that hour is done, remove the cheesecake from the cake pan, place it in the refrigerator until tomorrow. Cover the cheesecake pan with plastic wrap. All that was to prevent the horror of finding a crack on top of the cheesecake. Not the end of the world, but a certain sign that the heat was too high or the cheesecake was overcooked. There is an easy fix. Read on.

Whether or not the cheesecake cracked, the sour cream topping makes a very nice addition for an extra layer, extra color, and an extra flavor.  If it is cracked, then it becomes a secret.