I have not tried to hide my deep and abiding feelings for pie. I love it with all my heart.
Now, some people might say that cheesecake is not a pie but those people would be wrong.
It has a crust.
It has a filling.
You cut it in wedges.
Clearly, it is pie.
I made three pies on Thanksgiving, of which this masterpiece was one. I promised to share the recipe, went out of town, then forgot. But today, the memory of that cake pie floated up in my mind, urging me to share it with the world.
Who am I to deny a true love’s request, and the chance to show off my torch wielding skills?
Pumpkin Cheesecake Brûlée
Author: Heidi Schulz, modified from this recipe
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Pie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Sweet, spicy, creamy, and crunchy. Dessert perfection.
Ingredients
- 35 gingersnap cookies
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons white sugar (for brûlée top)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375*F.
- Place cookies, pecans, and pumpkin pie spice, and 1 teaspoon sugar in food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs.
- Drizzle in melted butter. Pulse until combined.
- Press mixture into bottom and up sides of 9" pie dish.
- Bake crust at 375*F for 6-8 minutes.
- Cool crust before filling.
- Cool oven to 325* F.
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and blend until smooth. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread it into bottom of crust; set aside.
- Add remaining ingredients (excluding the sugar you are reserving for the brûlée) to the batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
- Bake at 325*F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
- Just before serving, sprinkle pie with remaining sugar and, using a kitchen torch, brûlée until sugar is melted and dark brown.
(Alternately, you may brûlée under your oven's broiler. Place rack as close to the broiler as possible. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, rotating them frequently so that they broil evenly. Take them out when they are golden brown and bubbling.)
As a pie novice, pumpkin lover and pyromaniac I’m grateful for these painstaking instructions. Love the 15 min prep time too.
I’m so glad. Enjoy!