Hi there, pumpkin cheesecake recipe with crunchy caramel walnuts. As promised, I’ve been looking into pumpkin recipes that are not only great in the fall and winter during the classic pumpkin season, but also taste really delicious in the warmer months. Although especially walnuts and speculoos are often associated with Christmas, I find that you can also use these ingredients throughout the rest of the year. I love pumpkin and use it in every shape and color for cooking, however, I must confess that the very versatile Hokkaido pumpkin is probably the most frequent guest in my kitchen. I also used this delicious pumpkin for my pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche. The result is a delicious pumpkin cheesecake with a creamy texture and a lovely crunchy walnut topping.
Pumpkin cheesecake recipe with crunchy caramel walnuts
American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts Many varieties of pumpkin were introduced to Japan from Portugal in the 16th century. From Nagasaki, they spread throughout Japan and new varieties continued to appear. In the 19th century, American pumpkin varieties also found their way to Japan, most notably the Hubbard pumpkin variety. Over time, this variety gave rise to the Hokkaido pumpkin in Japan, which was initially known there as Uchiki kuri or Utsugi-akagawa-amaguri-kabocha. This name includes not only the origin of the cultivator “Utsugi”, but is composed of several words that translate as red skin, sweet chestnut, and pumpkin. This is basically the perfect description for the orange-to-red pumpkin, which is particularly known for its nutty flavor.
The Hokkaido pumpkin has experienced a real renaissance in recent years and is more popular than ever. This is not only due to its versatility, but also to many healthy ingredients such as potassium, antioxidants, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. American style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts For this delicious recipe, I came up with an unbeatable combination of pumpkin, cheesecake, dulce de leche, candied walnuts, and speculoos. The cheesecake is a bit time-consuming and not a recipe that is baked on the side, but you will be rewarded for every second of work
time with this heavenly pumpkin cheesecake.
American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts However, if you know ahead of time that you are a little short on time, you can prepare the pumpkin purée the day before or even several days before to save some time when preparing the cheesecake. The pumpkin purée must cool completely, and that just takes a little time. I therefore almost always prepare the pumpkin a day or two before and keep it tightly sealed in a large screw-top jar or other container until baking. You can do the same with homemade pumpkin spice mix. The various ingredients for it are crushed together in a mortar and can then be stored airtight in a spice jar or similar. The delicious pumpkin spice can also be used wonderfully for cookies or other pastries. American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts You should factor in enough time for the cooling of the cheesecake – at least a few hours. I will usually bake the delicious pumpkin cheesecake in the afternoon and then let it cool first to room temperature and then overnight in the refrigerator. This will result in the perfect
consistency.
American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts At this point, I also want you to have the opportunity to learn from my little baking disasters to save you from minor mishaps. When I baked the pumpkin cheesecake for the last time, I wanted to take pictures of it outside to put them on my blog. This resulted in the caramelized walnuts becoming very hard both outside in the cool afternoon air and then cooling in the refrigerator, and I ended up having to cut the cake with an electric knife to avoid ruining it when I sliced it. I therefore explicitly recommend caramelizing the walnuts
just before serving and adding them to the cheesecake to avoid a too-stiff crust. Of course, or convenience, you can still use an electric knife if you have one handy.
Pumpkin cheesecake Recipe with crunchy walnut topping
American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts Dulce de Leche is a type of milk caramel that is very popular in South and Central America. I usually make mine from scratch and keep a few jars in stock at home. You can also buy it ready-made in large supermarkets. If you want to make some of the delicious caramel in a hurry, you can boil down the contents of a can of sweetened condensed milk with some vanilla sugar in the microwave until the mixture is thick and creamy. You will need to keep stirring and watching the caramel, as it will boil over very quickly.
Here’s a recipe tip for you
Roasted Pumpkin from the oven
American-style cheesecake with pumpkin dulce de leche and crunchy caramel walnuts The delicious topping made of gelatin, cream cheese, and pumpkin purée is spread on the edge of the cheesecake with a piping bag. It’s easiest this way, and you can then add the caramelized walnuts to the center of the pumpkin cheesecake and decorate everything with some caramel sauce.
I hope you enjoy reading, strolling through, and trying out my cooking and baking recipes!
Equipment
- 1 cutting board
- 1 paring knife
- 1 Spoon
- 1 bowl
- 1 large bowl
- 1 pot
- 1 quiche mold 24 – 26 cm or any square baking dish
Ingredients
- 350 g Hokkaido pumpkin puree 1 medium pumpkin
- 700 g cream cheese
- 3 eggs
- 150 g sugar
- 50 g cane sugar brown sugar
- 100 ml cream
- 2 tablespoons cornflour or cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons dulce de leche
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice heaped
- 0,5 tsp cinnamon
Speculoos base
- 200 g spiced speculoos
- 100 g butter
Sour cream topping
- 600 g sour cream (10% fat)
- 1,5 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 100 g sugar
Pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp allspice seeds whole
- 1 tsp clove whole
- 1 tsp cinnamon blossoms whole
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 3 tsp cinnamon powder
Decoration nuts, wreath and caramel
- 60 g walnut kernels
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1-2 tbsp. cream
- 1 tbsp. dulce de leche
- 1 tbsp. Hokkaido pumpkin puree heaped
- 2-3 tbsp. cream cheese
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp gelatine
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2 tbsp salted caramel sauce
Instructions
Pumpkin puree
- Cut the Hokkaido pumpkin with peel into equal-sized pieces. Remove the seeds and bake the pumpkin pieces at 160 degrees for about 40 minutes in a preheated oven. After about 30 minutes, cover the pumpkin pieces with baking paper to prevent them from browning.
- The pumpkin must then cool a little before it is ground in a blender or with a food processor. It is then stored in a sealed container until ready to bake.
Speculoos base
- The speculoos cookies are crushed in a blender while the butter is melted in the microwave. Then line an approximately 26 cm springform pan with baking paper and fill with the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan with a spoon and then bake for 10 minutes at 170 degrees in a preheated oven. The base should then cool slightly before covering with the cheesecake mixture.
Cheesecake filling
- Prepare all your needed ingredients. Weigh and measure them, too.
- Mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cornstarch and cream together very well. Then pour about half of the cream cheese mixture into another bowl and mix with 4 tablespoons of dulce de leche.
- The remaining half of the cream cheese mixture is mixed with a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin spice, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and 350 grams of the pumpkin puree until creamy.
- First, pour the cream cheese mixture with dulce de leche into the springform pan on top of the speculoos base.
- After pour the pumpkin flavoured cream cheese mixture on top of the first layer of cheesecake mixture and use a fork to spiralize both layers together. The cheesecake is then baked in a preheated oven at 175 degrees for about 55 minutes. It is important that you place a bowl of water on the bottom of the oven to give the cheesecake the desired consistency.
- Next, mix sour cream with sugar and vanilla extract until nice and creamy.
- About 10 minutes before the end of the baking time, take the cake out of the oven.
- Spread it with the sour cream mixture. Bake the cake for another 10 minutes. Before you finally take the cake out of the oven, you can test the texture with a wooden stick. The finished cheesecake should cool properly for at least a few hours – preferably overnight.
Decoration
- Mix cream cheese with heavy cream, powdered sugar, gelatin and a tablespoon of pumpkin puree.
- Cut the walnuts into smaller pieces. Melt butter and sugar in a pan. The chopped nuts are then caramelized with dulce de leche and a small amount of heavy cream for about 2 or 3 minutes. The mixture should not get too dark or too firm.
- Pour the pumpkin cream cheese mix into a piping bag and pipe a wreath on the edge of the cheesecake. Place the caramelized walnuts in the center of the pumpkin cheesecake.
- Decorate the cheesecake with some caramel sauce.
OMG it‘s seems to be very delicious. I‘ll try it this weekend
Hi Nicola, that makes me very happy, the cheesecake is super delicious if you have any questions about the recipe, I’ll be happy to answer them!