This Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Goes a Step Beyond Your Typical Pumpkin Pie
Celebrate National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day with this decadent pairing of pumpkin and chocolate that will leave your guests begging for more.
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When choosing fresh pumpkins for baking, it’s difficult to tell from the hard outer shell how it will be on the inside, so it’s best to choose by weight. Pick a blemish-free pumpkin that feels heavy in hand. This is also true for choosing any type of winter squash, including acorn, butternut, and delicata.
Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 11/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
- 4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 1 11/2-lb. sugar pumpkin, halved and seeded (or 1 15-oz. can of pumpkin)
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 2 8-oz. pkg. Neufchâtel cheese, softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup flour
- 11/2 Tbs. ground ginger
- 11/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place pumpkin halves cut side down on baking sheet. Bake 45 to 55 minutes. Cool, scoop flesh from shell and mash. You should have 11/2 cups mashed pumpkin.
- To make crust: Coat 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press into prepared pan, and bake 10 minutes at 350˚F.
- To make cheesecake: Melt chocolate in bowl in microwave on medium power, stirring every 30 seconds to heat evenly. Set aside. Blend cottage cheese in food processor 3 minutes, until smooth. Add Neufchâtel cheese, brown sugar, eggs, and flour, and process until smooth. Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg, and process 1 minute, or until smooth.
- Whisk 1 cup cream cheese batter into melted chocolate. Pour remaining batter into crust. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto batter, and swirl with knife.
- Bake cheesecake 11/2 hours, or until top is firm and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely on wire rack, then chill well before unmolding and serving.
Nutrition Information
- Calories 218
- Carbohydrate Content 27 g
- Cholesterol Content 15 mg
- Fat Content 11 g
- Fiber Content 4 g
- Protein Content 7 g
- Saturated Fat Content 3 g
- Sodium Content 353 mg
- Sugar Content 12 g