Thanksgiving isn’t the only time we get to enjoy the flavors of pumpkin and those yummy spices that always accompany pumpkin desserts. The holidays offer so many occasions to entertain, but that’s not the only time we want dessert! Here’s a simple Pumpkin Cheesecake made with a gluten free graham cracker crust (Schar makes it) and a small amount of G-F all purpose flour added to the batter. So…give it a try, not just now at holiday time, but all year through.
Crust: 1 cup Crushed Gluten Free Graham Crackers (Schar’s Honey Grahams) 2 tbsp Butter or substitute of choice ( softened)
2 bars (8 oz.each) Cream Cheese- room temperature 3/4 cup Sugar 2 tbsp All Purpose Gluten-Free flour (Bob’s Red Mill, Arrowhead, King Arthur are all fine.) ½ cup canned Pumpkin Puree 2 lg Eggs ½ teas G-F Pure Vanilla Extract ( Imitation is NOT gluten free) ¾ teas. Ground Cinnamon 1/8 teas. Ground Nutmeg ¼ teas Salt
Of course, have the cream cheese and eggs and butter at room temp. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. I recently bought these neat little formed bakers’ cardboard containers that are oven proof to 400 degrees and make baking a pleasure. They’re sold in the craft stores in this area such as A.C.Moore or Michael’s in the baking section. By the way, thanks to all of those baking TV shows, that section has grown immensely.
If you’re not using that type of container, use a small spring form pan and grease lightly.
Ok, let’s get started: To crush the crackers, use a mini grinder or blender and crush. Remove to a bowl and add the softened butter ( or substitute). Blend until well combined.
In a second, large bowl place the cream cheese & sugar and mix until combined. We don’t want to overbeat this batter, so stop when combined. Now, add the flour and again, just combine. Add pumpkin puree, spices, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time and just mix until well incorporated.
Pour into the pan which already has our crust and smooth the top with the side of a spatula. Put pan or cardboard “pans” on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. DO NOT OPEN DOOR. AT the end of 45 minutes, leave the cake in the oven for about 1 ½ hours, without opening the door at all. That’s important if you want to avoid the cake from cracking on top.
When cool, get set to smooth on a topping. In a smaller bowl, beat the sour cream and sugar and vanilla on low speed for a minute. With a spatula smooth over the top of the cheesecake. Bake for 10 minutes which lets it “set”, and then remove from oven and allow to cool completely, before refrigerating with a cover. Voila! Enjoy your Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sour Cream Icing.
