Great Grandma Ruthie's Pumpkin Cheesecake, Obviously.

(Bottom to top) Graham cracker crust, cheesecake layer, pumpkin layer, maple spiced whipped cream

This recipe comes from my girlfriend's great grandmother Ruthie. Initially I set out to make a plain cheesecake but was talked in to trying this instead. Since it was right around Thanksgiving, pumpkin flavor was in season. Sooo, why not?

There were many firsts for me on this one. I had never used a springform pan, nor had I used a hot water bath for cooking. I had never made a graham cracker crust, cheesecake or flavored whipped cream. What could go wrong? With my trusty pal the Internet by my side, I was ready to give it a shot.

[Grandma Ruthie's] Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie (as transcribed in the recipe book). With my notes included.

Makes 1 pie

Preheat oven: 350F

Bake: 1hr 5mins (Both of mine took around 1hr 45mins. Keep in mind that this recipe was not written for a hot water bath cooking method though.)

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 1 package (8oz) cream cheese*

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

• 1 large egg

1. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth

2. Add egg and mix well

3. Spread on bottom of unbaked pastry shell**

*Research indicated I could add up to an additional 8oz (which I did) without having to alter the baking time. This results in a slightly denser cheesecake.

**I opted for a graham cracker crust instead.

Pumpkin Filling:

• 1 1/4 canned pumpkin filling

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1 Tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 Tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 Tsp nutmeg

• Dash of salt (I used 1/4 Tsp)

• 1 cup evaporated milk

• 2 large eggs - slightly beaten

1. Mix ALL pumpkin filling ingredients well in a bowl.

2. Using a ladle, gently place the pumpkin filling over the cream cheese mixture.

Note: Cross-referencing pumpkin pie spice ingredients with the recipe spices indicated that I could just use 2 Tsp of pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg (which I did).

(In my best Dr. Evil voice): "A slice for my homies."

[Not Grandma Ruthie's] Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs - finely ground*

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 6 Tbs unsalted butter - melted

• 1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon (optional - but is it really?)

*I used generic brand and was unable to distinguish from name brand.

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

2. Press the mixture firmly into the dish or pan.**

**With 2 different attempts under my belt, I can see that the amount of pressure applied during this step directly equates to how firm/loose the crust is at the end of the baking process. Seems so simple.

I was nervously cautious on my first crust, so I applied minimal pressure to be sure and it came out perfect, cut with a fork. On my second attempt I tried with much more pressure and the crust came out with almost a crisp or crunch to it, knife recommended. Both were very delicious, but very different.

I did a lot of researching regarding if I should or shouldn't pre-bake my graham cracker crust. In true internet fashion, I got a 50/50 split on yes/no answers. In the end I decided to take bits and pieces of information from various places and made my best-informed decision. I chose the following as my guideline.

Pre-bake: Not necessary if you're going to be using a filling that requires baking. No need to pre-bake the crust and then bake it again during the baking process of the pie. Consider pre-baking the crust if using it for a no-bake cheesecake. This will help maintain crust stability. Sounds weird right? Pre-bake for a no-bake...? If you pull a handful of "no-bake" recipes, you will likely see that they utilize a pre-baked or pre-made crust. Thus, YOU don't have to bake anything because THEY already baked it for you beforehand, before like as in, pre... pre-bake.

[Not Grandma Ruthie's] Spiced Maple Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup (8oz) heavy whipping cream

• 1-2 Tbs maple syrup

• 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 Tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon

• 4 Tbs powdered (confectioners) sugar

1. Place mixing bowl in the freezer for 15-30 minutes.*

2. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix until you get your desired consistency, usually referred to as "medium [stiffness] peaks".**

3. Scoop whipped cream on to the top of the CHILLED pumpkin layer and spread evenly.

*I've made this multiple times and have definitely noticed a difference when I chill the bowl. I don't see any difference in the taste or end result really, but it is a difference in the process itself. I find (verified through research) that a chilled mixing bowl helps keep the mixture cooler during the mixing process (mixing warms the mixture), thus reducing the amount of time to reach my desired consistency. In short, chilling the bowl reduces time/effort but does not affect the flavor.

**If using an electronic hand/stand mixer (like me) then start off at a med speed and increase to a med/high speed gradually. It took me around 7 minutes. If hand mixing (like I used to), it will depend on your arm strength and endurance, but you can expect to be mixing closer to 10 minutes. The key is continuous motion, aka NOT stopping for breaks.

Note: If having difficulty thickening up whipped cream, you can try adding powdered sugar 1 Tbs at a time or try adding 1 Tbs corn starch as a thickening agent. I have also had success with placing stubborn creams back into the freezer to chill out for a bit before resuming mixing.

Peak Stiffness Chart (as I understand it):

Insert a spoon into the whipped cream and pull the spoon out again. How did the [mountain] "peak" of whipped cream you just created react?

• Soft peak - Pretty much fell back down. The participation trophy of peaks. Try harder.

• Medium peak - Maintained its "peak" status with minimal slumping/settling. Noice!

• Stiff peak - Standing tall. No slumping. The Marine of peaks.

While most of the ingredients and mixings are pretty straight forward, it was some of the methods or steps that I found to be tricky. There were also some steps during the process that I could tell were worded in the recipe in such a shorthanded way that indicated experience not only with this recipe, but with baking in general. I imagine I will get to that point one day if I stick with this long enough.

Not bad for my first attempt.

Tricky bits:

• The entire springform pan experience really. It started with many failed attempts at lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper before locking it in the springform. It was a much snugger fit than anticipated and it caused me great frustration. Then there is the extraction/removal process.

• To foil wrap or not? I did one cake using each method and there were differences. Wrapping the pan in foil seemed to help keep the butter in the crust from melting out and also resulted in an overall easier extraction from the pan at the end. Steam factor?

• The stiff peaks of whipped cream. This is really one of those experience things, if you ask me. Search results primarily resulted in "when the peaks stand on their own" being the answer to "how long to mix my whipped cream". Then they talk about levels of "stiffness", good grief. It also took much longer to mix than anticipated. Also, a chilled mixing bowl? Mmkay. Now we're getting fancy. Trial and error are the key here.

• Are we done yet? Another one of those experience factors apply here. The toothpick test isn't perfect, but it'll do, pig. I also utilized the jiggle test. Tap the side of the pan, did it jiggle or ripple? Uhh, yessss. 5 more minutes then.

Overall, I enjoyed this entire experience. It's intriguing for me to investigate new things to cook and bake and fulfilling to take a bunch of ingredients and turn them into something that everyone loves. It's rewarding when you can honor the recipe of a loved one. It's even more rewarding when you can replicate it and even improve on it over time. It really begs the question, what next?