A Spooky Pumpkin Cheesecake

Like every year on Halloween, I like to bake something for the occasion. Halloween celebrations are becoming more ingrained within the Spanish cultural landscape and I don't mind it at all! I think it's a fun way to express our dark side in a totally benign manner.  

I have made cookies, cakes, muffins and more for Halloween. This year I went for a cheesecake, my soft spot in the dessert world! What's a pumpkin cheesecake like? Extra creamy and full of the wonderful pumpkin pie spice flavors; you really can't ask for more! 

Like all recipes that have a substantial amount of spices, the flavor is always better the following day, so do take the effort of preparing the cheesecake one day before serving. Let your imagination go wild and surprise your guests, your friends or your family with this perfect end for a gorylicious Halloween dinner party. 

Let´s start baking.

For the crust you need: (18 cm spring-form pan; serves 6-8 people)

• 100 g digestive cookies
• 25 g melted butter
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Place the cookies in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin until you have a coarse powder. Place the pulverized cookies in the spring-form pan, add the melted butter and sugar, mix well then press the mixture to cover the bottom and the sides of the pan. Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) for 8 to 10 min. Leave to cool.

For the filling you need:

• 600 g cream-cheese at room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 
• 100 g sour cream (or thick yogurt,)
• 130 g sugar (70 g brown sugar and 60 g granulated)
• 120 g  pumpkin purée (mine is homemade)
• 1 tbsp flour or cornstarch
• dash of salt
• 1 to 2  tsp of pumpkin spices, adjust the quantity to your liking (I used: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise, allspice, fresh and powdered ginger and a bit of cardamom)
• 1/2 tsp of bourbon (optional)

In the mixer bowl, add the cheese and mix on a low speed with the paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the sugar, sour cream, spices, salt, pumpkin purée and flour and mix again until well blended and no lumps are visible. Add the eggs one by one and keep mixing on a low speed. Finally add the bourbon mix for a bit. 

Pour the batter in the pan, and bake in a preheated oven (150 to 160 C). 

Usually it's customary to wrap the spring-form pan with aluminum foil and place it in another pan filled with warm water and then bake for the required time; that is one hour to one hour and a half (oven-dependent) for a pan of this size.  This bain-marie method of cooking is needed to bake your cake at a gentler heat to avoid surface cracks.

What I did is different though. I put in the middle layer of the oven a pan and filled it with warm water then placed the cheesecake pan over a cookie sheet and put both over the pan. This created  a steamy environment in my oven and allowed the cheesecake to cook all the way through while retaining a smooth creamy texture and most importantly with no surface cracks whatsoever.

After one hour, turn off your oven, shake the tray, make sure the middle is still wiggly and leave the oven door cracked open for another half an hour to an hour. 

Let it cool completely before you put it in the fridge overnight. 

Before serving decorate the cheesecake to your liking. I added some crushed digestive cookies, and decorated a sugar cookie following this tutorial to resemble a tombstone. I also added some royal icing spiders and pine nuts as maggots for that extra graveyard feel. 

And there you have it: a gory but delicious dessert for your Halloween party!

For other Halloween recipes click here, here, here and here

Plum and Pecan Frangipane Galette

Summer lingered in Madrid this year. Day temperatures did not drop below 28 C until just recently. I really missed the cool autumn weather and now that it is finally here, it's time to enjoy some comfort food. 

For the first autumnal recipe, I used a fruit that is nearing the end of its season: a variety of colorful sweet and tart plums. 

This recipe is pretty basic and it calls for a flaky buttery crust, a sweet and nutty frangipane filling and tangy colorful plums rosettes. To make things more interesting, I added a comforting touch of cardamom to the crust and spiced up the frangipane with some ginger. Moreover, instead of using almonds like it's customary with frangipane, I used pecans. 

I did not know how the mix would turn out but it was really smooth, delicious, and the spice level was just right for that extra heart-warming sensation. 

For 4 to 6 persons, you need:

 Ingredients for the crust:

• 175 pastry flour
• 100 very cold butter
• 25 g powdered sugar and 25 g vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 45 ml cold vodka or kirsh (or just ice water)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

In the food processor, mix flour, sugar and salt, pulse for few seconds to combine, add the butter and pulse again to get a sandy mixture. Slowly add the vodka; at first one tablespoon then one teaspoon at a time. Each flour has a different absorption capacity, so be careful not to get a soggy dough.

Once the dough forms a ball, drop the mixture on the working surface and just gather it. Do not over work it. Wrap it in plastic and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

For the frangipane:

• 50 g soft butter
• 50 g sugar (I used 10 g maple sugar and 40 g castor sugar. You can use brown sugar if you wish)
• 1 small egg
• 60 g ground pecans (lightly toasted)
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Mix the sugar and the salt with the butter, add the egg and whisk until well combined.  Add the pecans and ginger and mix well again. 

For the topping you need:

• 400 g of plums
• milk to brush the edges
• sugar to sprinkle

Assembly

Roll the dough to about 6 mm thick and 25 cm in diameter. Fold the edges to make them about a cm higher. If you don't want a free form shape, you can use a tart tin.

Spread the frangipane over the dough. You can use the whole quantity or adjust the amount to your liking. 

Arrange the plums on top of the frangipane. If you are patient enough, you can form rosettes with  sliced plums, if not, just half or quarter the plums and arrange them on top. 

Brush the edges with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 25 to 30 min, or until the frangipane is almost set in the middle.

Set it aside to cool. 

Served alone or with a scoop of creme fraiche, this is a delicious galette that you will be happy to share with friends or to enjoy by yourself, especially when the weather is getting chilly.