Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Sugar Bourbon Cream

Ahh, the perils of hosting Thanksgiving dinner. This year, my family hosted 10 people at my parents’ house and my mom magically figured out how to fit all of us around the dining room table. We had the usual slight conflict in the kitchen (sorry for yelling at you, Ariel; you’re a great tater-tot shaper) and last-minute menu changes (the aforementioned tots, sweet potato style!).

But pretty much no matter the circumstances--who hosts, how many guests, so on and so forth--the dessert table is top notch at our family & friends Thanksgiving celebrations. The lower photo on the right? That's the Thanksgiving dessert table, 2009 edition.

This year, my mom graciously asked me early on what I’d like to make for dessert so I’d have “dibs” on whatever it was. The brown sugar cheesecake with bourbon caramel sauce from two years ago still sticks in my mind as extraordinarily tasty, but I wasn’t going to settle for a repeat dessert. Luckily, America’s Test Kitchen came to the rescue, as they often do, with a timely e-mail containing a video for spiced pumpkin cheesecake with brown sugar bourbon cream. (I had to lift my chin off the floor, too.)

As you know if you’ve read any of my previous posts, I trust America’s Test Kitchen & Cook’s Illustrated to provide perfect recipes that don’t need any adaptation. This holds true here with one exception--I swapped the graham cracker crust for a gingersnap crust. Let it be known that Trader Joe’s triple ginger cookies are INSANE. They have little bits of crystallized ginger in them which magically stayed nearly whole even after I decimated the cookies in the food processor. It also doesn’t hurt to save a few of the cookies and crumble them on top of the decadent whipped topping. DO NOT skip the step where you remove excess liquid from the pumpkin puree; it’s essential to maintaining a fluffly, not dense, cheesecake filling.

Now, what to do with the leftover brown sugar bourbon cream...

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen via The Curvy Carrot.

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake (12-16 servings).

Ingredients
Crust
5 ounces gingersnap cookies
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) of cream cheese, cut into 1-inch chunks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream

Brown Sugar Bourbon Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons bourbon

Preparation
Crust:
1. Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Place the gingersnap cookies, sugar and spices in a food processor and process until evenly and finely ground, about fifteen 2-second pulses.
4. Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl, drizzle with melted butter and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened.
5. Turn the crumbs into the springform pan and spread into an even layer, pressing into the pan with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
6. Bake until fragrant and browned around the edges, 15-20 minutes.
7. Cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes. When cool, wrap the outside of the pan with two (or three) layers of aluminum foil; set the springform pan in a roasting pan.

Cheesecake
1. Bring about 4 quarts water to a simmer in a stockpot.
2. For the filling, whisk the sugar, spices and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Line a baking sheet with a triple layer of paper towels. Spread the pumpkin on the towels and cover with three more layers of towels. Press firmly until the towels are saturated. 

4. To free the pumpkin, peel back the top layer of towels and discard. Grasp the bottom towels and fold the pumpkin in half; peel back the towels. Repeat and flip the pumpkin onto the baking sheet; discard the towels.
5. Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. Scrape the beater and bowl well with a rubber spatula.
6. Add 1/3 of the sugar mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute; scrape the bowl and repeat with remaining sugar mixture in two additions.
7. Add the pumpkin, vanilla extract and lemon juice and beat at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; scrape the bowl.
8. Add 3 of the eggs and beat at medium-low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute; scrape the bowl. Add the remaining 2 eggs and beat at medium-low speed until incorporated, about 45 seconds; scrape the bowl.
9. Add the heavy cream and beat at low speed until combined, about 45 seconds.
10. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and give a final stir by hand.
11. Pour the filling into the springform pan (in the roasting pan) and smooth the surface; set the roasting pan in the oven and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

12. Bake until the center of the cake is slightly wobbly when shaken, about 1 1/2 hours.
13. Set the roasting pan on a wire rack and cool until the water is just warm, about 45 minutes.
14. Remove the springform pan from the water bath, discard the foil, and set on a wire rack; run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the sides of the cake and let cool for at least three hours.
15. Wrap the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

Brown Sugar Bourbon Cream
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the heavy cream, sour cream, brown sugar and salt until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve the cheesecake, at least 4 or up to 24 hours, stirring once or twice during chilling to ensure that the sugar dissolves.
2. When ready to serve the cheesecake, add the bourbon and beat the mixture at medium speed until small bubbles form around the edges, about 40 seconds; increase the speed to high and continue to beat until fluffy and doubled in volume, about 1 minute longer.
3. Spoon the cream onto individual slices of cheesecake.