The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (325 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Those who suffer from pumpkin pie ennui embrace pumpkin cheesecake as “a nice change,” but the expectations are low. Undoubtedly, pumpkin cheesecake can be good in its own right, though it rarely is. Textures run the gamut from dry and dense to wet, soft, and mousselike. Flavors veer from far too cheesy and tangy to pungently overspiced to totally bland. We wanted a creamy, velvety smooth pumpkin cheesecake that tasted of sweet, earthy pumpkin as well as tangy cream cheese; that struck a harmonious spicy chord; and, of course, that had a crisp, buttery, cookie-crumb crust. For a cookie crust that complemented the earthy, warm flavors of pumpkin, we spiced up a graham cracker crust with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. For a smooth and creamy texture, we blotted canned pumpkin puree with paper towels to remove excess moisture—this solved the sogginess issue. For dairy, we liked heavy cream, not sour cream, for added richness. We also preferred white sugar to brown, which tended to overpower the pumpkin flavor. Whole eggs, vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and a moderate blend of spices rounded out our cake. And for a smooth, velvety texture, we baked the cheesecake in a water bath in a moderate oven.

SERVES 12 TO 16

Make sure to buy unsweetened canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is preseasoned and sweetened. This cheesecake is good on its own, but the
BROWN SUGAR WHIPPED CREAM
is a great addition. When cutting the cake, have a pitcher of hot tap water nearby; dipping the blade of the knife into the water and wiping it clean with a kitchen towel after each cut helps make neat slices.

CRUST

FILLING

1. FOR THE CRUST:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse crackers, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in food processor until crackers are finely ground, about 15 pulses. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle with melted butter, and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Empty crumbs into 9-inch springform pan and, using bottom of ramekin or dry measuring cup, press crumbs firmly and evenly into pan bottom, keeping sides as clean as possible. Bake crust until fragrant and browned around edges, about 15 minutes. Let crust cool completely on wire rack, about 30 minutes. When cool, wrap outside of pan with two 18-inch square pieces heavy-duty aluminum foil and set springform pan in roasting pan. Bring kettle of water to boil.

2. FOR THE FILLING:
Whisk sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt in small bowl; set aside. Line baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Spread pumpkin on paper towels in roughly even layer and pat puree with several layers of paper towels to wick away moisture.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cream cheese on medium speed until broken up and slightly softened, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl, then beat in sugar mixture in 3 additions on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl after each addition. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat on medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; scrape down bowl. Reduce speed to medium-low, add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add heavy cream, and beat until combined, about 45 seconds. Give filling final stir by hand.

4.
Being careful not to disturb baked crust, brush inside of pan with melted butter. Pour filling into prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come about halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake cake until center is slightly wobbly when pan is shaken and cake registers 150 degrees, about 1¹⁄
₂
hours. Set roasting pan on wire rack then run paring knife around cake. Let cake cool in roasting pan until water is just warm, about 45 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, discard foil, and set on wire rack; continue to let cool until barely warm, about 3 hours. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.

5.
To unmold cheesecake, wrap hot kitchen towel around pan and let stand for 1 minute. Remove sides of pan. Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Let cheesecake sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. (Cake can be made up to 3 days in advance; however, the crust will begin to lose its crispness after only 1 day.)

Reducing graham crackers to 5 whole crackers, process ¹⁄
₂
cup chopped pecans with crackers and reduce butter to 4 tablespoons. In filling, omit lemon juice, reduce vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon, and add ¹⁄
₄
cup bourbon along with heavy cream.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Though just a basic sponge cake that is filled, rolled, and dusted with powdered sugar, a jelly roll cake becomes complicated when it resists assuming its characteristic shape, cracks, or becomes soggy and squat. But when done right, a perfect jelly roll cake is an impressive looking, surefire crowd pleaser. We wanted a simple version that avoided all these problems and was reliably uncomplicated to make. We settled quickly on marrying a foolproof sponge cake recipe with our seedless jam of choice. The real key—and where we focused our attention—was in the assembly. Baking the cake until it was just barely done was critical; otherwise it cracked when rolled. For the neatest-looking spiral we rolled the just-baked cake up around a clean kitchen towel into a snug log and let it cool. After unrolling the cooled cake, we spread it with a thin layer of jam using an offset spatula, then rerolled it, this time gently pulling the towel away from the cake. Cut into thick slices and dusted with powdered sugar, our cake looked picture perfect and tasted every bit as good as it looked.

See “ASSEMBLING A JELLY ROLL CAKE” illustrations that follow recipe.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Any flavor of seedless jam will work here; for an added treat, sprinkle 2 cups fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or sliced strawberries over the jam before rolling up the cake.

1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, then flour sheet. Grease second large sheet of parchment and set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

2.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip eggs on medium-high speed and gradually add granulated sugar and then vanilla, about 1 minute. Continue to whip mixture until very thick and voluminous, 4 to 8 minutes. Sift flour mixture over egg mixture and fold in with rubber spatula until just incorporated.

3.
Scrape batter into prepared baking sheet and spread out to even layer. Bake cake until it feels firm and springs back when touched, 12 to 17 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Lay clean kitchen towel on work surface.

4.
Immediately run knife around edge of cake, then flip hot cake out onto towel. Peel off and discard parchment baked on bottom of cake. Starting from 1 short end of cake, roll cake and towel snugly into log and let cool, seam side down, for 15 minutes.

5.
Gently unroll cake. Spread jam over cake, leaving ¹⁄
₂
-inch border at edges. Reroll cake gently but snugly around jam, leaving towel behind as you roll. Trim ends of cake, transfer cake to serving platter, and let cake cool completely, about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.