Discover this Silky Autumn Cheesecake featuring Crunchy Maple Pecans

Velvety, spiced and not overly sugary, this delightful dessert captures autumnal comfort. I avoid prepared pumpkin – it lacks depth and flavor – so I prefer baking your own pumpkin. Baking brings out the inherent sugars while evaporating excess moisture, yielding a rich, tasty base which adds genuine complexity. Golden nut brittle provides the final flourish: toasty, flavorful and providing a textural contrast against the velvety texture.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Pecan Brittle

To make the pumpkin base, dice a medium squash, peeled and seeded into cubes, bake, lightly covered, at 200C (180C fan) until tender without browning. Blend until smooth.

Prep a brief 10 minutes
Cook 1 hour 45 minutes
Cool 60 minutes
Chill at least 6 hours
Serves about 10 people

Base Ingredients

• 200g ginger nut biscuits
• 70g unsalted butter, liquefied, with more for the tin
• a pinch of salt

For the Filling

• 500g cream cheese
• 150g caster sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• squash mash (prepared earlier)
• 2 tsp cornflour
• aromatic cinnamon
• ginger powder
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• 2 large eggs, not cold
• tangy cream
• vanilla

Crunchy Finish

• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• sugar
• 90g pecans, coarsely cut
• sea salt flakes
• heavy cream

Heat the oven at a moderate heat then butter the entire interior using a cake tin. In a food processor the cookies into crumbs, then tip into a container. Mix in the salty butter, stir coating the crumbs. Transfer to the buttered container, even it out, heat until set, set aside to cool.

Lower the heat to a lower temp. In the meantime, add the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest into a mixer bowl, then beat using the paddle at a gentle pace until well blended. Mix in the puree, thickener, and seasonings, and beat gently until incorporated. Mix in eggs separately, incorporating fully one by one, next include the tangy cream and flavoring, and beat until smooth.

Scoop the spiced cream on to the prepared crust even the surface with a tool. Give it a gentle shake on the counter to remove bubbles, then cook the cheesecake on the middle rack until set until the edges are set and a soft center. Stop baking, crack the door open and leave the cheesecake to cool for an hour. After cooling, refrigerate for 6+ hours (or longer), until firm.

While waiting, make the pecan brittle (ahead of time). Heat the oven to a high temperature and prepare a baking sheet using liner. Stir together the ingredients over heat mixing gently until dissolved. Mix the nuts and salt, take off the stove and scrape into the lined tray. Cook for 8 minutes, until golden and bubbly, then remove and leave to cool. Once the brittle is completely hard, cut roughly and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Release the dessert from the pan move to a plate. Whisk the cream until fluffy, then add over the center leaving a 3-4cm border. Add the crunchy bits on top, then serve with extra pecan brittle alongside.