Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Gluten free Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake became one of our favorite desserts for Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving several years ago. We started craving it so much, I even made it for Passover one year (you can make it crustless).
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake… mmm… good!
This Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake takes everything you love about pumpkin pie and cheesecake and puts it together. The spices elevate the flavor in an unexpected way. The creaminess makes it so rich, it tastes sinful. Making the cheesecake mixture begins with beating the cream cheese, adding the eggs in one at a time until it is well combined. The remaining ingredients go in and once it is combined well, it is ready to be poured onto the crust.
Speaking of the Crust
I use Kinnikinnick brand gluten free graham style crumbs for the crust. They taste just like your regular graham cracker crumbs and make a fantastic crust that doesn’t get soggy. It is Kosher, dairy free, nut free, soy free and sesame free. You can make this without a crust for Passover, just make sure to line the bottom and sides of your pan with parchment for easy and clean release after baking.
The recipe is for an 8 or 9 inch round spring form pan. If you’d like to use a 9×13 rectangular pan as I did in the pictures, simply double the recipe for the crust. The amount of filling does not need to be doubled. It will still fill your 9×13 pan very well!
To make the crust, put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Slowly add the melted butter until it resembles wet sand. Press into the bottom of your lined pan and bake.
Go Nuts! Or Not?
I added the candied nuts for a bit of texture since the crust is only on the bottom. And they taste delicious! If you would like to make this tree nut free, you could omit the candied nuts and add more crust up the sides for the texture.
More Gluten Free Desserts
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Cider Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Spiced Chocolate Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Caramel Apple Bars
- Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Cherry Cream Pie
- Ginger Apple Pie
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust for 8″ or 9″ spring form, double recipe for 9×13
- 1 cup Gluten Free graham cracker crumbs ((I use Kinnikinnick))
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ stick butter (melted)
Filling:
- 4 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese (room temp)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp Salt
Candied Pecan garnish (optional)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- salt to taste
Instructions
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stir in the butter a little at a time until the mixture resembles damp sand. You may not need all of the butter.
- Then press inside the bottom of your 8 or 9 inch spring form pan or a parchment lined 9×13 pan (you will need to double the crust recipe for this size pan). Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well combined.
- Add eggs 1 at a time.
- Add remaining ingredients and beat until combined. You will likely need to scrape the sides of the bowl several times.
- Pour into cooled crust.
- If using a spring form pan, wrap the pan in a layer of aluminum foil (this will help to prevent water from leaking into the cake & soaking the crust). Place your cheesecake inside a larger pan. Fill the larger pan with water until it comes halfway up the cheesecake pan. Loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil so it doesn’t brown. Bake until slightly puffed and just barely set, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Let it cool overnight in the refrigerator.
- Remove the cheesecake from the pan by carefully running a knife around the outside before releasing the spring form or pulling the cake out of the pan by the parchment paper. You can use a cake wire or dental floss in a sawing motion to cut the cake into even slices or use a very clean knife for each slice.
- Garnish with whipped cream and candied pecans (directions below). Enjoy!
Candied Pecans:
- Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, add the pecans and remaining ingredients.
- Stir continuously until sugar crystals dissolve and mixture bubbles. Be sure that the heat doesn’t get too high and burn the sugar or pecans.
- Pour onto a sheet of parchment paper and let cool until ready to use. Try not to let your family eat them all before you can decorate the cheesecake with them;-) These can be made ahead and stored in your fridge or freezer.
