Pumpkin Souffléd Cheesecake

Tools Needed

·      Loaf pan or another deep oven safe pan

·      1 Rubber spatula

·      1 medium bowl

·      Food processor

·      Stand mixer

·      1 9-inch Springform pan, 2 inches deep

For the Chocolate Crust:

·      Crush the Graham Crackers in a food processor to make crumbs, add the salt and cocoa powder

·      Slowly stream in the melted butter until the mix holds its shape when you squeeze a handful of it together

·      Dump this into a lightly greased springform pan and press the crumbs into the base and up the sides of the pan. You can just use your fingers for this step but using a flat-bottomed glass with straight sides creates a better shape

·      Set aside

For the Pumpkin Filling:

·      Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs, set aside the egg whites (can be left at room temp)

·      In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the puree, brown sugar (set aside 1 T of this), vanilla, spice mix, salt, egg yolks, cream cheese and cream

·      Whip this mixture on medium high until it reaches ‘ribbon stage’ this means that when the whisk is lifted out of the mix, the batter that falls off the whisk leaves a trail in the batter that slowly disappears

·      Transfer this to another bowl and wash the mixer bowl and whisk well and wipe dry

·      Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C) and fill a loaf pan up halfway with water, place this in the lowest rack of the oven, and place a rack in the oven in the center

·      Whip the egg whites, reserved sugar, and cream of tartar to stiff peaks. This means that when the whisk is lifted out of the egg white it forms a peak that does not fall over on itself when held up

·      Fold the puree mix into the egg whites. First take a small amount of the whipped egg white and fold into the puree (this step starts to match the aeration of the two mixes and helps to not deflate the batter) and then Add about half of the puree to the egg whites and fold in about halfway where there are still streaks of the puree visible. Then add the rest of the puree mix to this and fold completely. Proper folding technique starts by scraping the sides of the bowl and scooping under the mix and bringing that to the top, turning the bowl to repeat this motion until just incorporated

·      Pour this immediately into the prepared crust and smooth out the top

·      Immediately place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes

·      Take out the loaf pan with water and close the oven door, lower the heat to 300 F (149 C) and bake for another 15 minutes

·      Turn off the oven, do not open the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes more

·       When ready to take the cheesecake out, place a plate upside down over the pan while it cools further on the counter (this step prevents cracking; if you don’t care about cracking, don’t bother with this)

For the Spice Mix:

I find this to be a better alternative to pumpkin pie spice, use it if you like it

·      Place all spices into a container with a lid, shake until incorporated and store in your spice cabinet