Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Bourbon Sauce

This recipe has a pecan crust.  It is easy to make and turns out great, but if you need to avoid nuts for any reason, a traditional graham cracker or gingersnap cheesecake crust will be a perfectly good substitute.  Any time I cook with Bourbon, I always put in a little extra, so I usually put in more than what is called for in this recipe, but then again, I like Bourbon.  A lot.  This sauce totally kicks, and makes more than you will need for the cheesecake.  It stores well, and goes great with vanilla ice cream.  The spices in this cheesecake are virtually identical to a traditional Pumpkin Pie.  However, I have had several people who claim to hate Pumpkin Pie say they love this.

Cheesecake Tips

• I recommend cooking all cheesecakes in a water bath.
• To avoid overbeating, ensure that all ingredients are at room temp.
• For the cleanest cuts, dip the blade of the knife in hot water and wipe between cuts.

 

Ingredients

For Crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and well chopped, (but not gorund, or chopped too fine)
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons unslated butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon (if you don’t grind your own cinnamon, you are not allowed to make this recipe – sorry)

For the Filling

• (3) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temp.
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 4 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (spend the extra time hunting down the whole milk yogurt, it makes a difference)
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of salt

For the Sauce

1 Cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons Bourbon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 9″ springform pan, sides included.
3. Mix all crust ingredients until the mixture sticks together.
4. Press mixture onto the bottom of the pan evenly.
5. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. 
6. Cool completely.
7. While the crust is ccoking/cooling, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl until smooth.
8. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next egg.
9. Mix in the pumpkin, yogurt, flour, vanilla, spices, and salt. 
10. Pour into pan.
11. Bake until outer 3 inches puff slightly and the center is softly set.  (It should still jiggle a little) – About 75 minutes.
12. Cool in a fresh cold water bath for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate in pan until cold, 4 hours or overnight.

For the Sauce

1. Bring sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a boil, whicking until the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce heat to medium; boil 1 minute without stirring.  Remove from heat, and stir in bourbon.
3. Cool, stirring occasionally.

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