Heeeelllllooo happy bakers!

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving or as I like to call it; Thanksgiving number one. Since I’m Canadian and my husband is American, we celebrate twice a year. That means at least twice a year I eat to the point I feel like my stomach is going to explode… and then I eat some more. I know I’m not alone on this. Why do we do it to ourselves? Every year I tell myself I’m going to eat a responsible amount and BAM I turn into a bear trying to get enough energy for hibernation.

I wanted to make something different and special for this weekend. Yes, I know pumpkin pie is normally the go-to Thanksgiving dessert but my family has never really been excited about it. This is also the first holiday we celebrate after my father passed away so we wanted to celebrate without really fully celebrating if that makes sense.

I was searching through the Disney Parks Blog for new recipes and I came across a pumpkin cheesecake and I knew it would be perfect. There isn’t one specific place they serve it in Disneyland. You can find it in numerous locations seasonally.

What I should have done at that moment was take a moment and make sure I had time and all the items to bake it. That would have been the smart thing to do. Of course, that is not what I did. As usual, I went full balls to the wind and that unsurprisingly gave me issues.

Let’s make the recipe and talk about how it should have gone. Afterward, I’ll let you know how it actually went for me.

Ingredients Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/3 cup butter melted

Ingredients Cheesecake Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 5-ounce can evaporate milk
• Chocolate syrup, for drizzling

Instructions Crust:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the crushed graham cracker, sugar, and ginger. Mix together well.
2. Mix in the melted butter and stir well.
3. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
4. Cover the outside side and bottom with plastic wrap and then tin foil.
5. Press the crushed graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan. It’s easiest to do it with your hands.

Instructions Cheesecake Filling:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Making sure to scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
3. Add one egg, and mix well. Add another egg and mix well again.
4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined.
5. Add in the pumpkin mixture to cream cheese mixture. Beat together well.
6. Mix in the evaporated milk and mix.
7. Carefully pour the cheesecake filling over the prepared crust.
8. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.
9. Place the Springform pan in a water bath. The water should go up halfway up the outside of the springform pan.
10. Bake for one hour. When baked the center will still move slightly when shaken.
11. After the hour, turn off the oven, open the door and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour.
12. Let cool on a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before covering to the top with foil. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set. It’s best to leave overnight.

Ok now that you know what should have happened, I’ll let you know how it actually went for me.

Firstly I didn’t look at how long this baby would take to make. I thought maybe 30 minutes to mix and 1 hour to bake. That’s the normal time for a cheesecake. Nooooooo not this thing. This fancy cheesecake needed eight thousand hours. Ok, that might be an exaggeration but it did take probably three hours from start to finish. Did I mention my whole family was waiting for me to leave the house while I was doing this? No? Well, they were. The words “20 more minutes” kept flowing out of my mouth at the same speed Donald Trump tweets. Fast and often.

Secondly, I make quite a few desserts that require a water bath. I didn’t think twice about it until I had prepared the cheesecake and went to put it in. There was just one big problem. The pan I normally use is a roasting pan. The same roasting pan that was currently holding a turkey. Well, F@#$. I then asked my husband to run to the store and pick me up a disposable one. That same husband who has now been waiting for two hours to leave. Goodness that man loves me because he went to the store for me. Why didn’t I go? Well, unlike Julia Child, I don’t bake in pearls and dress slacks. I was in an old ripped t-shirt, no bra and sports shorts. Yes, you read that right, I’m a real catch.

The last thing I realized was my gas oven must desperately need calibrating because I baked the cheesecake for an additional 30 minutes and it was still really soft in the middle after over 12 hours of chilling. Cheesecake is super tricky to bake sometimes, but I think the fault was in the oven and not the cooking time. Besides being a little loose in the middle, who isn’t really, the cheesecake tasted great.

Happy Thanksgiving Disney baking beauties!

Source: Disney Parks Blog

Printable Simple Recipe Click Here