Smoked Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cheesecakes are fantastic year-round desserts. They’re cool and creamy, perfect for warmer months. Throw a little citrus in there, and you’ve got a beautiful summer dessert. They’re also rich and decadent, perfect for a colder month.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of crushed graham crackers (roughly 14 full sheets)
- ½ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 cups cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla
- 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
Cheesecakes are fantastic year-round desserts. They’re cool and creamy, perfect for warmer months. Throw a little citrus in there, and you’ve got a beautiful summer dessert. They’re also rich and decadent, perfect for a colder month.
During the colder months, pumpkin is a perfect flavor pairing. You can make a pumpkin cheesecake for a holiday dinner or just for something different to enjoy. If you really want to add some flair, you can smoke your cheesecake, too.
Here’s my recipe for a smoked pumpkin cheesecake.
Equipment:
Mixer
Mixing bowls
Springform pan
Smoker (I used my Masterbuilt Gravity Series 600)
Oven (yes, you’ll use your oven briefly)
Measuring cups and spoons
Spatula
Aluminum roasting pan
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Preheat smoker to 350°F.
Crush your graham crackers and add them to a mixing bowl.
Add melted butter, brown sugar, and salt to the crushed graham crackers. Mix well.
Grease the springform pan and press the graham cracker mixture evenly into the pan.
Bake the graham cracker crust for three minutes, then remove and let cool.
Add softened cream cheese, vanilla, and brown sugar to the mixer and beat on medium-low until well mixed.
Add sour cream and mix thoroughly.
Add can of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and mix thoroughly.
Add one egg and mix, repeating until all four eggs are mixed thoroughly with no clumps left in the batter.
Pour cheesecake batter over the crust in the springform pan.
Fill aluminum foil pan with enough water to come up two inches and put on the preheated smoker.
Place cheesecake on rack above roasting pan and smoke for two hours, checking doneness after one and a half hours with a toothpick.
Once the cheesecake has set fully along the edges and only the center is jiggly, remove from the smoker. Remove the sides of the springform pan and let the cheesecake cool.
Cover cheesecake and put in the fridge for at least four hours.
Slice and serve!
Optional:
Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and additional cinnamon to amp the cinnamon flavor
