Discover this Creamy Autumn Cheesecake featuring Crunchy Maple Pecans
Smooth, flavorful and perfectly sweetened, this delightful dessert is a celebration of harvest warmth. I’m not a fan of tinned pumpkin – the taste is bland and thin – so I prefer to roast some butternut or Kent squash. Roasting enhances the sweet flavor removing extra liquid, yielding a deep, aromatic mash which adds genuine complexity. Golden nut brittle provides the final flourish: toasty, flavorful and providing a textural contrast to offset the smooth filling.
Autumn Cheesecake with Maple Pecan Brittle
To make 200g pumpkin puree, dice fresh pumpkin pieces in sections, bake, loosely covered, in a hot oven cooked through but not colored. Puree in a high-speed blender.
Prep a brief 10 minutes
Cook 1 hour 45 minutes
Cool 1 hr
Chill overnight
Serves 8-10
Crumb Crust
- 200g ginger nut biscuits
- 70g unsalted butter, melted, and some for coating
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
For the Filling
- 500g cream cheese
- fine sugar
- orange zest
- 200g pumpkin puree (see introduction)
- 2 tsp cornflour
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ginger powder
- nutmeg
- clove spice
- room-temperature eggs, not cold
- 100ml soured cream
- vanilla
For the Maple Pecan Brittle Topping
- maple sweetener
- sugar
- nut pieces, coarsely cut
- 1 large pinch flaky sea salt
- 150ml double cream
Heat the oven at a moderate heat coat the entire interior with a springform pan. Pulse the cookies to fine crumbs, place in a container. Mix in the butter and salt, combine coating the crumbs. Tip into the prepared pan, even it out, bake for 10 minutes, then remove and leave to cool.
Turn down the heat to a lower temp. In the meantime, put the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer, whip using the paddle at a gentle pace until smooth and creamy. Incorporate the puree, thickener, and seasonings, then mix at low speed until incorporated. Add the eggs individually, beating in well after each one, then add the soured cream and vanilla, mix until combined.
Transfer the cheesecake mixture onto the set base and smooth the top with a small spatula. Lightly tap the pan on a worktop to dispel any air bubbles, then bake the dessert in the middle of the oven until set until the edges are set with a jiggly middle. Stop baking, crack the door open and leave the cheesecake to cool for one hour. When cooled, refrigerate for 6+ hours (or longer), until fully chilled.
Meanwhile, make the pecan brittle (in advance). Set the oven to a high temperature and prepare a baking sheet with parchment. Mix the ingredients in a small saucepan mixing gently until dissolved. Stir in the chopped pecans, take off the stove transfer to the sheet. Cook for 8 minutes, until crisp, then remove and leave to cool. When fully hardened, chop into irregular pieces keeping in an airtight container frozen.
Open the cake from its tin and transfer to a platter. Whip the cream until fluffy, then add on top of the cake leaving a 3-4cm border. Scatter most of the pecan brittle across the surface, offering more on the side.
