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Slice of pumpkin swirl cheesecake with bite removed on white plate.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Cooling/Chilling Time:: 6 hours
Total Time: 7 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups (170-175 g) graham cracker crumbs, 12 to 13 rectangle crackers
  • 3 tablespoons (37 g) brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted

Cheesecake:

  • 3 (8-ounce) packages (680 g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup (160 g) full-fat sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large (150 g) eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
  • 1 ¼ cups (285 g) canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

White Chocolate Mousse Topping:

  • 4 ounces (113 g) white chocolate (NOT almond bark or white chocolate chips) - see note
  • 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (242 g) heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons (15 g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Place an oven rack in the center of the oven with another oven rack several inches below. Place a 9X13-inch pan on the bottom rack and fill with several inches of water. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with foil (to prevent butter leaking out while baking).
  • For the crust, in a medium bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Toss to combine. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press this mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Set aside.
  • For the cheesecake batter, with a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened cream cheese and sugar. Mix until well-combined and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add the lightly beaten eggs and mix until just combined. Don't over mix at this step or too much air can be incorporated into the batter causing it to crack while baking (a few cracks are ok since it's covered in a topping, but it still helps to minimize the cracks, if possible).
  • Measure out 2 cups of the cheesecake batter (about 285 g) into a medium bowl. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, and mix together until evenly combined (again, try not to over mix).
  • Spread half of the plain cheesecake batter evenly over the graham cracker crust.
  • Spoon about 2 cups of the pumpkin batter over the cheesecake layer (reserve at least 1 cup of the pumpkin batter for later) and spread evenly.
  • Spread the remaining plain cheesecake batter over the top of the pumpkin cheesecake layer.
  • Dollop the remaining pumpkin cheesecake batter across the top. Use a knife to swirl the layers together - making sure the knife gets all the way to the crust (without gouging the crust).
  • Bake the cheesecake on the middle rack (with the pan of hot water below) for 60-70 minutes until the edges are set and the middle 2-inches of the cheesecake is still slightly jiggly. Add time as needed. It's ok if the cheesecake has cracked a bit - it will be covered by topping.
  • Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let cool completely in the pan.
  • For the white chocolate mousse topping, in a medium bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 1-minute increments at 50% power until melted and smooth. Don't over heat.
  • Add the softened cream cheese and mix with a handheld electric mixer until well-combined (alternately, you can scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix). Let the mixture cool until room temperature. If the mixture or the bowl is warm, the cream may not thicken in the next step.
  • Add the heavy cream (see note), powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing until the mixture is thick with soft peaks.
  • Spread the topping evenly over the cheesecake. Loosely cover the cheesecake and refrigerate until fully chilled, 6 to 8 hours.

Notes

Pan size: this cheesecake can be made in a 10-inch springform pan (the layers will all be a bit thinner). 
White chocolate: use actual white chocolate (not almond bark or white chocolate chips) for the best melting. Most grocery stores carry the Ghirardelli brand of white chocolate bar (in a 4-ounce size) in the baking aisle. That's what I use for this recipe. 
Heavy cream: if the heavy cream you are using is less than 40% milkfat, it's best to whip the cream with the powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a separate bowl to sturdy, soft peaks and fold it into the white chocolate mixture (the Darigold heavy cream from Costco will work fine being mixed directly into the white chocolate mixture).