I wouldn't call myself a big pumpkin fan, but every Thanksgiving I start to yearn for a slice of pumpkin pie, with ample whipped cream. Something about pumpkin creeps me out a little. Maybe it's its close connection in my mind to squash or any other gourd. Their textures are a little too much for me to handle, but pureed pumpkin... I can handle it once or twice a year in the Fall. Don't you think it seems a little sacrilegious or un-American to harbor any negative feelings toward pumpkin? I'm working on finding other recipes that use it to a lesser extent.
For the last few years I've become a pretty big fan of cheesecake and over the last year I've tested my baking skills by making a few. It really feels like an accomplishment to successfully bake a cheese cake. Call me crazy, but there is something empowering about a crack-free cake slipping out of its springform pan that just makes one feel capable.
When I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake, my heart went pitter patter. I tested it out last night to bring into my office, and...well...something (or several things) went terribly wrong, so today I have no cheesecake to share with my coworkers. Like I said, I've made cheesecakes before and they were success stories. I think several things went wrong. I think I over-whipped the batter. I think I opened the hot oven once or twice and shouldn't have. I think I shouldn't have set it in a water bath while baking, even though that is a standard cheesecake procedure (I think that the pumpkin puree provides enough moisutre?). I think my springform pan malfunctioned. In the end, I had a gooey cheesecake that had a wet crust and a center that was barely cooked. Two and a half hours of loving work, down the drain. Look at this disaster:
What a mess. I vow that this ruin will not be the end of my cheesecake baking aspirations. I shall try again and overcome. I've baked them before and will bake them once more! I plan on making it again tomorrow for my lovely family to be devoured as one of this Thursday's many desserts, this time altering a few of the pitfalls I ran into last night. Justice will prevail and I will not concede defeat to this monster. Mark my words, after I eat my turkey on Thursday, I will bite into a delicious piece of pumpkin cheesecake, put a feather in my cap, sit back, and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Pumpkin + Cheesecake
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Oh nos! That sucks, babe. Lo siento. But better luck next time!!
The end of your post sounds a bit like a presidential speech, perhaps State of the Union in a bad year. We SHALL overcome and defeat the axis of evil cheesecake ruining forces. Our fight shall NOT be in vain!~
Oh NO! What a bummer. I will definitely e-mail you my recipe. It's good enough that I e-mailed an ex-boyfriend's mother four years after our breakup to tell her I couldn't go through life without the recipe. Also, if you're looking for good pumpkin recipes to sample, try roasting baby pumpkins while they're still in season. They're extremely healthy and yummy! Ina Garten has a great recipe that uses applesauce in the pumpkins. Try serving alongside her Perfect Roast Chicken or Cornish Hens. Mmmmmm!
Poor dearie. Was it able to be saved in its rough form as maybe a trifle or something?
It kind of looks like you've got cherries falling out of there. I have never baked a cheesecake before, and I'm kind of scared to. But you will make a pumpkin cheesecake! I believe in you! And, here's a yummy pumpkin coffee cake recipe I made a few weeks ago. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9935?section
http://www.geocities.com/naelany/Recipes.html
I've got a pumpkin cheesecake recipe (tried and true) on my webpage. If you're up for another go at one, may I suggest that one? It's worked every time I've made it and is yummmmmmmy.
Seriously, every time I read your posts, I'm thinking, "yes! Yes! I totally know what you are talking about". Only recently have I started taking bites of pumpkin pie. I still can't eat a whole piece. It's a texture thing, I think. And it's cruel punishment of always being served with Cool Whip when I was a kid (gross! That's a whole other story about how I 'thought' I didn't like whipped cream - yeah, that's right - I didn't know it was DIFFERENT. Oh the humanity!)
Pumpkin cheesecake on the other hand, well let me pull up a chair!
Did you see my cheesecake post? You should try that recipe too, it's delish. And any cracks are covered up by the sour cream glaze. Yummy.
Oh dear! It sounded so promising as well! I am in love with those felt slippers and will be on the look out for felt on the weekend.
Sorry I haven't been in contact lately, i have just finished up with my final prac teaching (yep! Im a real teacher now) but it did involve a lot of extra written work so hence the no contact.
But i want to say a big thank you for your email about the machine quilting - I went out and purchased a walking foot and lets just say I wont be looking back! While I admit I need practice, I did make a wall hanging quilt for my Grandmothers 80th birthday and it turned out pretty darn good.
Keep in touch, Sam xoxox
You're welcome! I hope it works out for you, and that you like it lol.
Thanks. The quilt is about done now. My part in it is, at least. Tomorrow I get to see the finished product ^_^
Pumpkin pie was something of a sacred item in my household. My mom made fabulous pumpkin pie, and in more recent years used to spoil my big brother rotten by making one especially for him! (That unfairness started when he got a pumpkin pie as his special hiding present one year, and the injustice rooted and grew from there.) All this to say that as far as I'm concerned, it is God's will that we eat pumpkin pie, with ample (or more than ample) whipped topping of our choice. It is even better if we can share in this sacred rite with friends and family of our choice. Hope your cheesecake makes it into your family tradition of sacred stuff! Happy Thanksgiving!
I have complete faith in your abilities.
I am so hoping your next venture in the cheesemaking world is all you hope it to be! Now, as a girl who throws an annual pumpkin party every year (with people asking in August what the date is set for) - I would like you to know the many virtues of the glamorous gourd. But I won't go on and on here...Perhpas you'll have to venture down south one of these years and sample all things pumpkin! Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheesecake is tricky. It goes along with things like jello which I cannot make for the life of me. Try again and again...pumpkin and cheesecake is a combination worth repeating!!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Yes, I totally agree...although I have yet to bake a perfect cheesecake, mine always have a crack in the middle...which is why they are always topped with lots of melted chocolate!
Julie
Post a Comment