Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake

This is the second time I've made this recipe and both times it turned out great.  If you have ever made cheese cake you know that it can be hit and miss.  Just ask my sister who made one for my birthday a few weeks ago!  Even the same solid recipe used a second or third time can turn into a big flop.  But so far I've loved this recipe and I love the combination of cake and cheese cake together.  

The first time I made this Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake was for my mom's Birthday last year and we had intended on doing a picnic so I cut the cheesecake out with mason jars and stored it in the mini jars for our picnic!  Sadly my photos of it weren't great so I was excited to make it again and take a few photos. 

It's funny everytime I make this recipe, I feel like there isn't enough cake batter to make it look 'good' but then I cut into it and it's perfect.  Funny how that works!  

Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

CHEESECAKE

• 16 ounces (448g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) Organic Cane sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs

PUMPKIN CAKE

• 3/4 cup (180ml) coconut oil
• 1 cup (200g) coconut palm sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/3 cups (318g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)*
• 1 cup (125g) whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap aluminum foil on the bottom and tightly around the outside walls of the springform pan, as shown in photos on the How to Prevent Cheesecake Cracks page of Sally's Blog.  Set aside.

Make the cheesecake first. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed in a large bowl - about 3 full minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the greek yogurt, vanilla, and flour and beat until combined. On low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. Do not overmix the filling after you have added the eggs. Set aside.

Make the pumpkin cake. In a medium bowl, whisk the coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin together until combined and uniform in texture. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, other spices, and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until no large lumps remain. Avoid overmixing the pumpkin cake batter.

Spread 1 and 1/2 cups of the pumpkin cake batter over bottom of prepared pan. On top of the pumpkin batter, drop large spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining pumpkin cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter. It does not have to be neat and perfect. Do not swirl with a knife. Just plop it all down and pour the cheese cake batter into the pan!  Trust me. 

Place the springform pan into a large roasting pan and place into the oven. Fill with about 1 inch of hot water. The foil wrapped around the pan will prevent water from leaking inside. 

Bake for 65-75 minutes or until the center is almost set. If you find the edges are browning, loosely place aluminum foil on top of the cake as it bakes. Once done, turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight (preferred). Loosen the cheesecake from the rim of the pan and remove the rim.

On the Original recipe she also included a cream cheese icing but I felt that it wasn't likely necessary and because my mom and I both don't like super sweat desserts I figured we didn't need it and we didn't!  

MAKE AHEAD/FREEZE: This pumpkin cake cheesecake freezes well up to 2 months, covered tightly. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Thanksgiving Dessert!