I’ve always thought pumpkin cheesecake sounded delicious and considered making it for Thanksgiving, but ended up going with the more traditional pumpkin or pecan pie. This year, it was a no-brainer, given the relative ease of making it low carb. I took a recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book as my guide, although I modified more than just the sweetener. The carb-filled graham cracker crust had to go, so I replaced it with ground pecans and almonds. The filling called for 3 bricks of cream cheese, and I cut this back to 2, and reduced the other ingredients accordingly. I am glad I did, as the final result was big enough and filling enough as it was. But I did use their trick of drying the pumpkin puree between paper towels to reduce moisture and make the whole cake less mushy.
I dressed up the final product with toasted pecans and a caramel bourbon glaze made with erythritol. The thing to know here is that while erythritol will caramelize nicely when hot, it will start to harden back up quickly as it cools. You aren’t going to get a nice, soft caramel sauce here. You need to pour it onto the cake while it is still quite hot, and let it cool and harden. If it hardens while still in the pan, just heat it back up again and add a little more cream or liquid to get it soft again.
My whole Thanksgiving meal was a resounding success, even with my low carb changes. My son asked for seconds of only the stuffing made with my low carb quick bread! And I got some of the lowest post-meal blood sugar readings that I’ve had in a while – after Thanksgiving dinner, the ultimate in over-the-top feasts. Okay, so I ran a 5k turkey trot in the morning, which likely helped, but I know that my planning ahead so that I could indulge played a huge part. With Christmas, my favourite holiday, looming ahead, it’s a relief to know that I can find ways to indulge as much as the next person without going too far off track and putting my health at risk.
Now, if someone can just tell me how to release my cheesecakes from the bottom of the spring-form pan so that I can put them on pretty serving dishes, I would be forever in your debt!
Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake with Spiced Pecan Crust
Crust:
¾ cup pecans
½ cup almonds
1 ½ teaspoon granulated erythritol or xylitol
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
4 tablespoon butter, melted plus extra for brushing pan
Filling:
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 lb cream cheese, softened
½ cup erythritol
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
25 drops stevia extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon bourbon
3 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
Topping:
24 pecan halves, toasted
2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon granulated erythritol
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grind pecans and almonds in a food processor until they resemble a coarse meal. Pour into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and stir in sweetener and spices until combined. Pour melted butter over and stir until thoroughly combined, then press mixture firmly and evenly into bottom of pan.
Bake until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool until pan isn’t too hot to touch, and then wrap outside of pan with two sheets of heavy duty foil. Set in a large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
For the filling, line a baking sheet with a tea towel and then two layers of paper towel. Spread pumpkin puree out evenly on paper towel and then top with two more layers of paper towel. Press until top layer is saturated with moisture. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in erythritol and spices until incorporated. Beat in dried pumpkin puree, stevia, vanilla and bourbon. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat in heavy cream. Scrape down beaters and sides of bowl as needed.
Brush inside of springform pan with extra melted butter, being careful not to disturb baked crust. Pour filling over crust. Set the whole roasting pan with cheesecake inside on the middle oven rack and pour boiling water into roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake cheesecake until set, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Let cheesecake cool in roasting pan for 45 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further, running a sharp knife round edges of cake every hour or so. Remove sides of pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator about three hours.
For the topping, place toasted pecans around edges of cake. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in erythritol and raise heat to medium. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, until light amber in colour, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in cream, vanilla and bourbon. Mixture will bubble and froth. Stir vigorously and place back over heat, stirring continuously until all ingredients are combined.
Remove from heat and cool until just beginning to thicken, then pour over chilled cake, allowing it to drip down sides. If it begins to harden up, place back on heat and add a splash of cream and stir, then pour over cake.
Serves 12. 18g total carbs per serving, but only 7g if you subtract erythritol.
Bear says
This may have already been covered.. however to get my cheesecakes to release from pan and put on decorative plating, here’s what I do that works… I wrap the bottom of springform pan in heavy foil before placing into ring.. then wrap outer ring as instructed.. after finished and chilled appropriately I remove the ring and can then use foil to slide cheesecake off bottom of pan.. if necessary can actually turn cheesecake over onto flat plate, remove the foil, place decorative plate on top and flip back over leaving just the cheesecake on decorative plate if needed to finish with glazes or toppings.. hope this helps..
BOBBIE'S KITCHEN says
TO RELEASE CHEESECAKES FROM THE BOTTOM PAN.
LIGHTLY BUTTER BOTTOM OF CHEESECAKE PAN. CUT A PIECE OF PARCHMENT PAPER TO SIZE & PRESS ON THE PAN. LIGHTLY BUTTER THE PARCHMENT & CONTINUE WITH THE RECIPE. THE CAKE RELEASES EASILY FROM THE PAN. YOU JUST SLIDE A THIN METAL SPATCHULA UNDER TO HELP LOOSEN IF NEEDED.
Dody Denman says
I am wanting to make this cheesecake for Thanksgiving, but have a question. When I first glanced at the recipe and photo, I imagined a soft, caramel type topping. While reading today you state the topping will harder. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep it soft? Different sweetener? Another recipe for caramel? Thank you.
Carolyn says
This is a very old recipe but I have an updated caramel that stays soft and is amazing. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/the-best-low-carb-caramel-sauce/
karen says
I made this for a dinner yesterday and it was absolutely delicious!
Robin McMahan says
I just wanted to let you know that I made this cheesecake for our family Christmas gathering. I had made other pumpkin cheesecakes before, but never this one. All I can say is that everyone who ate it said it was to die for. We just loved it. I had to add a bit of extra nuts to the crust because it initially was not enough, so I increased by half. Not sure if I had initially measured wrong or what. Anyway, next time I would probably add a little more sweetener to the crust. But honestly, this was SO wonderful. Also, my hubby gave me your dessert book this year. Last year I got the big book and now the dessert book. Yum! And, as always, Thanks for all you do for the low carb/keto lifestyle!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Ann says
Never mind my question about erythritol. I should have read ALL the comments first!
Carolyn says
🙂
Ann says
I cannot bear the taste of stevia. Can I just add more erythritol and omit the stevia drops?
Sheri says
Can’t wait to bake this for Thanksgiving, your recipies are always delicious. I have a question about the stevia as I know it can be a bit bitter when cooked. Can I substitute the stevia for another sweetener like erythritol and if so how much?
Carolyn says
Use about 1/4 cup more erythritol.
Soren Schreiber-Katz says
How to get them to release- 1) spray with cooking spray, 2) line with parchment round (one you cut yourself or amazon has pre-made ones), 3) spray again. Voila! easy release!
Lourdes says
Thank you for this recipe. It’s delicious! I make it every thanksgiving
Tilde Glyman says
Don’t know if anyone ever answered your question of how to get the cheesecake off the bottom of the springform pan. It’s quite simple really, just cut a layer of parchment paper to fit your base and lay that in before pressing in the crust. When the cake has cooled, it should be quite easy to transfer to a plate.
Amy Farmer says
Can I ask why you use both erythritol and stevia? Is it to reduce the carb count? Could you use Truvia in place of the stevia drops? I’m not a fan of straight stevia so I was thinking of doing all erythritol….but I don’t want too high a carb count. Would Truvia do the trick? Thanks!
Carolyn says
I don’t really use Truvia much- are you talking about the baking blend? You can use all erythritol here, though.
Amy Farmer says
No, I was meaning just the packets of granulated Truvia. It has a better taste than stevia. But erythritol is the best. Does it increase the carb count? Thanks for your help!
Amy Farmer says
Also, can you give me a rough idea of how much erythritol to use in place of the 25 drops of stevia please?
Denise says
Me again!
Well, it cracked like crazy. Could it also be that I should have turned the heat down at some point?
25 drops of stevia left a bit of an aftertaste. Could I just use a cup of erythritol and/or fewer drops of stevia?
Carolyn says
Sounds like your oven runs hot, maybe? Also did you put the pan of water in with it?
Tilde Glyman says
When cooling off cheesecakes, turn the oven off, open the door about halfway, and allow the cheesecake to cool as the oven cools down. Your top will/should not crack. Taking it straight out of the oven and into the comparatively cold atmosphere of your kitchen will cause it to cool too quickly which is why you get cracks.
Denise says
HI Carolyn
I can’t believe that after 5 years no one caught that the salt isn’t mentioned in the instructions!
I just put this in the oven – my first ever cheesecake!
All the best for the holiday season!
Denise
Donna says
Just made this for tomorrow. Batter tasted delicious. Can’t wait to serve this tomorrow.
Carolyn says
Hope you love it!
Doris says
You said you reduced the cream cheese to two (2) but in the recipe you said one (1) package cream cheese. Whic is correct to use. One or two blocks cream cheese. This is concerning the Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake.
Carolyn says
No, it says “1 POUND cream cheese” in the ingredients…which is 2 8-ounce packages.
Hanna says
I do not quite understand the part with drying the pumpkin purée…do I put baking sheet, then cotton tea towel and then kitchen towel? And more layers of it? Sorry confused …want to try this for Christmas thank you!!
Carolyn says
Spread a few layers of paper towel on a cotton tea towel, then spread the pumpkin puree on it, then top with more paper towel to blot it.
Marnie says
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner – it was a huge hit! A few oddities – my topping/frosting began to smoke before it boiled, and then almost turned to hard candy in the saucepan, this could be because I’m at high altitude, so I’d go by color rather than by boil in the future (it still worked out). I think it was ready when it turned brown. Also, make sure to read the whole article. I just got all the ingredients, and not the instructions until it was go time, and had to make my husband run out for a disposable roaster pan for the water bath halfway through. Also, the pumpkin drying this is really weird, and was pretty scary for me as a first timer, but it works. I was quite dubious, especially that I would get paper towel crumblies in the cheesecake, but it all went flawlessly. I am not a cook, and I’ve only made a cheesecake once, so I was pretty shocked that this turned out so great. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Sheryl says
Marnie – I made this as well this Thanksgiving and my topping did the exact same as yours. It smoked and really never boiled. It became hard in the pan, like you mentioned and it was dark. But I was still able to pour it and it tasted great. I used swerve brand sweetener and wonder if that was the reason.
Jan Phillips says
Too many comments to read through to see if someone answered your question about releasing your cake from the pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper cut to the size of your pan.
Amanda says
There is a lot of controversy as to whether or not distilled alcohols that are grain based are gluten free or not. As it stands though, the general consensus is that bourbon is not safe for people that are Celiac/gluten intolerant. Even corn whiskey is only mostly corn based. It still has some combo of wheat, barley and rye as well. If you are trying to stick to a gluten free diet, I highly recommend omitting the bourbon.
Laura F. says
Can I substitute anything (non-alcoholic) for the bourbon in this recipe?
Carolyn says
You can just leave it out altogether!