Oh, Pioneer Woman. You have lifted my spirits. You see, I was one of the chosen few who thought they were unable to make cheesecake. My first attempt at making a cheesecake was a disaster. It was a cookie dough cheesecake, with a traditional cheesecake base. I made my own cookie dough, and pushed it into the batter. I followed the directions to the letter, placing the cheesecake into the oven in my newly purchased ($30--jeez, freakin' expensive) spring form pan. After about 20 minutes of baking, I began to smell something sickeningly sweet and burning.
To my horror, upon opening the oven (keep in mind this is in a shitty electric stove in our shitty rental apartment a few years back before we bought our house), smoke unlike any other I had ever encountered began rolling out of the oven. It was a clear and sticky, clinging to everything it touched.
Naturally, the smoke detectors only sensed "smoke" and did not discriminate based on the fact that it was not the precise kind of smoke that came about from something burning, and began to sound loudly.
Cats are freaking out, I'm freaking out, ripping down the smoke detectors, while this cake from hell is smoldering in the backdrop. After things had calmed down, I inspected further to find the ENTIRE inner surface of the oven schmeared with the sticky smoke.
It's like I somehow discovered a magical formula to aerosolize food in the most unpleasant way possible.
This cheesecake was supposed to be a gift, so we had to stop at Cheesecake Factory and purchase a cake to replace it. The ultimate baker's fail.
Needless to say, I've never trusted another cheesecake recipe after that incident and have just stuck to the no-bake variety.
Until now. I bought a mini pumpkin cheesecake pan for $9.99 (TJ Maxx, another hero of mine) and each of the little cheesecake sections has a little pumpkin cutout at the bottom to push the finished product out after baking. Being too nervous to attempt a whole cheesecake, I decided to start small.
Better pictures later when there's some natural light available. I was too excited to wait!!!
Success. Major, major success. Delicious, sweet success. All because of
this recipe. I had so much batter I made 24 mini pumpkin cheesecakes and a small 8" cheesecake. I had to make some additional crust, but I have cheesecake out the wazoo now. And no sticky aerosolized film of death.
Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake
also known as: PW’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
Adapted by SweetTweets
Crust:
12 ounces storebought gingersnaps (I used Kroger Brand with great success)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Dash of salt (omitted)
Filling:
4 packages cream cheese (I used Neufchatel---1/3 less fat!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice (I used a sprinkling of cloves instead)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 jar caramel topping (I made my own with a 1/2 bag of Kraft caramels and 1/3 c. heavy cream, nuked, and stirred until creamy)
Extra chopped walnuts
Extra crushed gingersnaps
In a food processor, crush gingersnps. Add chopped walnuts, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt, and pulse (or mix) until thoroughly combined.
Press into bottom and sides of a pan of your choice. I used an 8" Fat Daddio's pan double lined with aluminum foil, and my super special mini pumpkin cheesecake pan. I put two level tablespooons of the crust into each of the little pumpkin sections, and pressed firmly! Chill for 20-30 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and spices and mix again. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 20 seconds between each addition. Add cream and mix until just combined.
Remove crust from fridge. Gently pour cheesecake filling in pan. Even out the top with a flat spatula if necessary.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes for the small pan, or 25-30 minutes for the individual pumpkin pan, or until no longer soupy. Cheesecake should still be somewhat jiggly, but set on top. Cool on counter for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, pour the desired amount of caramel topping over the top of the cheesecakes. You can smooth it flat, or drizzle, or make a cool spiderweb or something else artsy-fartsy, if you're in the mood. I poured and drizzled. Cover and chill cheesecake for another four hours or overnight.
Slice and savor! Sprinkle each slice with extra crushed gingersnaps and freakin' enjoy it like never before.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Oh, macarons. I hate you. I hate you so much. Almond meal expensive ($10.49 for a 16oz bag) and the likelihood that I will screw you up is high. I've never made macarons before, nor have I even tasted one, so the entire process was new to me. I had actually forgotten about the challenge, knowing that I would be disappointed with the results. Macarons are notoriously difficult to master, so I wasn't expecting them to turn out on my first try. However, I was kind of hoping I would. Just because I hate wasting food.
The almond flour was labeled "almond/meal." I believe this is the "meal" part as it would not fit thorugh the strainer holes! Damn you Bob and your shiny Red Mill!
