Bourbon Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake

Yield: Makes one 9-inch or 10-inch cheesecake (10 to 12 servings)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups gingersnaps, finely ground
2 tablespoons light- or dark-brown sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Caramel Sauce:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup warm cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla


Pecan Pralines:
1 cup whole pecan halves
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon (or less, to taste) white pepper
3 tablespoons egg whites

Filling:
1 1/2 cups solid-packed pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup caramel sauce
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons bourbon or dark rum
chopped pralines

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch or 10-
inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Combine
gingersnap crumbs and sugar in bowl. Mix in melted butter and stir
until crust holds together. Press crumbs onto the bottom of pan. Bake
crust 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
To make the caramel sauce: In a dry heavy saucepan, combine 1 3/4
cups sugar with corn syrup and hot water. Stir to blend and cook over
medium heat until melted. Cook sugar, swirling pan, until a deep
caramel.
Add warmed cream carefully, because caramel will splatter and bubble,
stirring occasionally, until caramel dissolves. Let boil about 1
minute without stirring and remove from heat.

Remove a little more than 1/2 cup of the caramel for the cheesecake
filling and set aside and allow to cool. Into the remaining caramel,
stir butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla and cool to room temperature. To
make the pralines: Place pecans in a small bowl. Combine brown sugar,
cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour egg whites over pecans and toss to
totally coat with egg whites.
Pour dry ingredients over pecans and stir to coat, being careful not
to break the pecans. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake in the 350-
degree oven until the sugar coating is dry, about 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove 12 perfect pecan halves
and coarsely chop the remainder.
To make the filling: Blend together pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg,
ginger, salt and 1/2 cup cooled caramel sauce.
In mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar on low speed until
smooth. Add cornstarch, vanilla and bourbon. Add pumpkin mixture to
cream-cheese mixture and beat just until combined and smooth. Fold in
chopped pralines. Pour mixture into pre-baked crust and bake 50
minutes to 55 minutes, or until cake is just set. Let cool 5 minutes.
Top with cooled caramel sauce, spreading evenly. Arrange pecan
pralines decoratively on top and chill cheesecake, covered,
overnight. Remove sides of pan.

Per serving: 679 calories; 9 grams protein; 41 grams fat; 21 grams
saturated fat; 74 grams carbohydrate; 2 grams fiber; 155 milligrams
cholesterol; 500 milligrams sodium
Diane Bukatman





contact

--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia D Hill at .
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/