It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Agh! I just read about a so-called canned pumpkin shortage last year. Nestle, which controls about 85% of canned pumpkin production, released an apology stating that, due to heavy rains in the Midwest, there would be less of a yield.

While no such similar warnings have come out this year, I have heard from many friends about their newly-formed obsession with anything pumpkin. Pumpkin latte, pumpkin beer, pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread and cookies, creamy pumpkin soup, pumpkin marmalade-- everything except good ole' pumpkin pie.

 So as not to miss out on one of my favorite treats of the fall, I plan to celebrate the Great Pumpkin this weekend by baking this decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake.

And, yes, the Sailor will have to take a day off from his diet to be the taste-tester. Oh bummer.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Sprinkle Bakes.

 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake

Yield: 9" cake, serves 8-10 Crust: 2/3 cup all purpose flour 2/3 cup almond flour 1 tsp. cinnamon 3 tbsp. sugar 4 tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a food processor, blend ingredients until mixture resembles coarse sand.  Press into the bottom (not up sides) of a 9-inch spring-form pan.  Bake 10 minutes.  Cool completely. Filling: 2- 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup white sugar divided 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 3 eggs 1 cup of canned pumpkin 2  tsp. ground allspice 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon 3 tsp. espresso powder, or Starbucks VIA instant coffee (for authenticity) Using an electric hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Mix eggs in one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Remove one cup of the mixture and transfer to another bowl.  Add the espresso powder to the 1 cup of filling and mix until coffee has dissolved and is uniform in color.  Set aside. Blend 1/4 cup of sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon and allspice into the remaining filling.  Pour the pumpkin mixture on top of the crust in the spring-form pan.  Top pumpkin mixture with the 1 cup coffee filling mixture. Bake for 55 minutes or until filling is set. The cheesecake will puff up in the middle a little bit as it bakes and then relax back down as it cools. Run a knife around the edge of the pan for easy un-molding.  Allow the cheesecake to cool before removing rim of spring-form pan.  Chill until ready to serve. Garnish: Whipped cream (1/2 cup heavy cream, 3 Tbsp fine white sugar, beat together with electric mixer) Cinnamon, nutmeg and powdered sugar for sprinkling 1 Cinnamon stick broken in half (decor only) Top cake with whipped cream, sprinkle with spices and powdered sugar.  Garnish with cinnamon sticks.