Pumpkin Cheesecake: Paula Deen, #24 of Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers

This week we're up to #24 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Paula Deen, cook, tv show host, restaurateur, and author of five cookbooks. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time.  Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

What better recipe to make in honor of the diva of all things buttery, gooey and cheesy than cheesecake?  Paula Deen the personality inspires strong feelings; you're either charmed by her southern twang and her butter-lovin' shtick or can't stand it.  I'm ok with it.  I find her genuine and easy to watch.  Her life story is inspiring.  She dealt with the death of both parents and an early divorce while she was still quite young.  She suffered panic attacks that kept her housebound, and found solace in cooking for her family. After a second divorce she was forced to find a way to bring in income and she started a catering company called The Bag Lady.  She cooked meals in her home and her sons delivered them.  She eventually opened a restaurant, The Lady and Sons, which is now a Savannah Georgia institution.  This led to cookbooks and successful  tv shows, all based on her down home personality and classic approach to southern cooking.
 

That said, her heavy Southern cooking style is not mine, and I've never been tempted to try her recipes.  This will be my first. Although I've made cheesecakes in the past, I've always kind of  thought of them as involved projects.  They aren't part of my usual repertoire.  But this experience has changed my mind.  If you have the pan and you think to pick up the cream cheese and sour cream, cheesecake is easier than most desserts. 

But I'll tell you the real reason I chose to make Paula's Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Not because I love pumpkin, not because it's perfect for the holidays, and not even because I can pop the whole thing in the freezer and pull it out when I need it.  No, here's the real reason I chose to make cheesecake this week...

my new KitchenAid mixer!  Aint she a beaut?  I don't want to brag, but while she was whirling away at the cream cheese I was pouring myself a cup of coffee. While she incorporated the eggs, I checked my email.  And as she folded in the pumpkin and sour cream I spread some cherry jam on my toast.

 

Of course I did have to mix up the graham cracker crumbs, pour the batter into the pan, and pop it into the oven.  Sheeesh, cheesecake is a lot of work,

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Cheesecake  
Set oven to 350
Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Notes:
* The recipe is unclear about where to spread the crumbs.  In the video, here, Paula just dumps the crumbs in the bottom of the pan and presses them in.  But when she is cutting the finished cake, there are crumbs up the side. (I hate when they tell you to do one thing, and then show you a finished product that is clearly done a different way)  If you want crumbs up the sides as well, you will need more crumbs. I used almost double the recipe, but as you can see my crust was a little heavy.
 
* This cake, like many cheesecakes, cracks after it's baked.  Mine developed a cavernous crack.  Paula's recipe never mentions the possibility of cracking, even though many of the online reviewers reported the problem.  I think that's a major flaw since most people would be most likely making this cheesecake as an occasion dessert.  You'd want to know if it was  going to have a huge unsightly gash in the middle of it.  So, my point is, if you want to make this cheesecake, be prepared to glaze the top with something to hide the crack.  I used sweetened sour cream, ( 1 cup sour cream whisked with 1/4 cup powdered sugar) but I also think a chocolate ganache would be delicious.

I garnished the top of the cake with sugared cranberries.  The lovely Marina at Yummy Mummy made some charming hor d'oeuvres with edible sugared cranberries.  Mine are just decorative, and I'll show you how to make them in tomorrow's post.

Apart from the cosmetic issue, this cheesecake was delicious and creamy.  I'm glad I made it and realized that cheesecake isn't all that complicated.  I recommend this for your holiday table.  Thanks, Paula!


Be sure to check out these other bloggers who are joining me in this exploration of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food---Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things