Spice up your life with this easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe

It’s November 4th and It finally feels like fall. While it does mean shorter days with less sunshine, it compensates with a cold crisp air and golden leaves that tumble through the streets catching the tip of Olly’s nose. Maybe because I grew up in a climate that’s perpetually hot and sticky, summer is my least favorite of all the seasons. In contrast, fall comes with a sense of feeling reborn. When I was young, I eagerly anticipated the start of fall as it signified the start of a new school year, a fresh perspective on new beginnings, something that year after year still rings true through today. As the leaves fall, I feel renewed in every possible way. And as it specifically relates to food, it gets me excited to whip up something delicious with this season’s most delicious produce on offer, understandably starting with pumpkin.

In preparation for the annual gathering we put on for Thanksgiving, I have started to test out some new recipes. Preparing and cooking the traditional feast usually takes me an evening and a full day’s worth of time. While all the traditional fixtures like mom’s cornbread stuffing and sweet potato casserole will remain on the menu, I have been looking for a few recipes that will save me some time and came across this easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe, which takes minutes to prep and simply requires you to blend all your ingredients together! I’ve included a slightly tweaked and adapted version for those in the UK looking to make this delightful pie across the pond.

Pumpkin cheesecake recipe adapted for the UK

Ingredients

250 ml canned pumpkin puree (While I’ve had trouble finding canned pumpkin in previous years, I found it at the front of a large Waitrose being promoted along with all their other fall produce.)

250 g of Philadelphia cream cheese

125 ml cup of sugar

3 eggs

60 ml soured cream

A sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

15 g agave nectar syrup

Real cream for topping (optional)

Homemade Crust

80 ml melted butter

125 ml sugar

Graham cracker crumbs (you can get them online from Notting Hill’s American Food Store. Or, you can buy two packages of McVitie’s Ginger Nuts and crush them down in a blender.)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 176 C

Mix the melted butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs together. Press graham mix into a 9-inch pie pan

Filling

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust and leave ¼ in from the top for baking.

Bake for 45 minutes. Cool for about 4 hours in the fridge before serving. Top with real cream before serving.