Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake With Heavy Whipping Cream

This easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe has a light and creamy filling with all your favorite fall spices, and lots of pumpkin flavor in a crunchy graham cracker crust all topped with dollops of whipped cream. It's the perfect dessert for thanksgiving, the holidays and any fall day!

My pumpkin cheesecake recipe is a family favorite that's baked on repeat as soon as the weather starts getting cool and crisp. Its full of fall flavors and just melts in your mouth. If you're intimidated by the thought of making a pumpkin cheesecake, then don't be! Getting the perfect no-crack bake is easier than you think and gives this pumpkin cheesecake a wonderfully delicate texture! If you're in the mood to try some more delicious pumpkin desserts, then try my creamy pumpkin pie, melt in your mouth pumpkin bars, or my delicious mini pumpkin pies.

What You'll Need for this Recipe

Ingredients to make pumpkin cheesecake on a marble counter.

Cream Cheese: Make sure it's room temperature before using.

Spices: I used all my favorite fall spices including allspice and cardamom but you can adjust as desired or just use 1 1/2 teaspoons of pre-made pumpkin spice.

Graham Crackers: You can definitely use another cookie for the bake. I love gingersnaps, and Biscoff cookies with this pumpkin cheesecake.

How to make pumpkin cheesecake

Two photos showing a graham cracker crust being made for a pumpkin cheesecake base.

1. Crush the Graham crackers in a bag then add to a large bowl along with the sugar and cinnamon a large bowl. Drizzle melted butter over and mix until combined. You can of course make this in your food processor if you'd like to.

4. Dump mixture into your springform pan and press down with a glass or measuring cup. You can see in the photo that I've wrapped my pan in a few layers of foil do keep it dry in the water bath later. Bake at 350F (NOT in a water bath) for 10-15 minutes or until slightly darkened and fragrant.

Brown sugar being added to cream cheese and then mixed until smooth when making pumpkin cheesecake filling.

3. Add the room temperature cream cheese to your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and cream for a few seconds then add the sour cream, salt and granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix on medium high until Completely smooth. Remember to scrape the bowl down at some point. You want a nice silky mixture before the rest of the ingredients go in. *This batter can also be made in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer.

4. Add the eggs in one at a time while mixing. Scrape the bowl down and mix until incorporated then add the pumpkin puree, flour and spices and mix. Scrape down and mix one more time until you have a homogenous mixture.

pumpkin cheesecake batter getting poured into a springform pan and then dollops of whipped cream being added

5. Pour the batter into your springform pan and place the prepared springform pan into a large roasting pan. Add an inch or so of very hot water to the roasting pan and bake at 300F for about an hour. Leave the cheesecake in the oven after you turn it off. you can crack the door open after 20 minutes or so. Your goal is to slowly cool the cake so it doesn't crack.

6. Once the cake has set you can remove the springform pan and transfer to a serving plate. Decorate with dollops of whipped cream. I used an 869 piping tip but any star tip will have a similar look.

A pumpkin cheesecake with dollops of whipped cream at the edge.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

Start off with room temperature cream cheese. Leave it out the night before or heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds at 50% power. If the cream cheese is too firm the batter will not be smooth.
Beat the cream cheese and sugars until completely smooth.
Bake in a water bath and leave that oven closed for an hour after turning off and before removing. Slow and steady wins the race for a nice smooth un-cracked cheesecake.
Try not to open the oven, the rush of cold air into the oven will not be good for your delicate cake.
Don't be frightened if your cheesecake seems underdone after an hour of baking, it will firm up.
When you wrap the cheesecake up have a piece of paper towel under the plastic or foil. This will absorb condensation and your surface will be unmarred by water droplets.

A pumpkin cheesecake on a cake stand with a piece removed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does pumpkin cheesecake last?

Your pumpkin cheesecake will last up to five days in the refrigerator. You can wrap well and freeze for up to three months.

Does it need to be refrigerated?

Because of its high dairy content, pumpkin cheesecake should be stored in a refrigerator. I would not recommend leaving it out for more than two hours.

What can I use instead of Graham crackers?

I love gingersnaps, Biscoff, digestive biscuits, or even pretzels. Just use a similar amount in grams. You can also throw toasted pecans or walnuts into the mix for added crunch which will pair nicely with the flavors of your pumpkin cheesecake.

How do you keep it from getting soggy if you bake it in a water bath?

The key is to use extra wide foil to wrap the base of the springform pan. If you cant get ahold of that then I recommend buying a disposable foil baking dish to wrap tightly against the pan. Trim the excess and you can reuse it over and over when making cheesecakes.

If you've tried this pumpkin cheesecake recipe then don't forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

A light and creamy pumpkin cheesecake with all your favorite fall spices and a crunchy graham cracker crust. Getting the perfect no crack bake is easier than you think!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

cooling time 12 hours

Total Time 13 hours 10 minutes

Servings 10 people

Calories 584 kcal

▢
10" springform pan
▢
Roasting pan
▢
Foil

For the Crust

▢ 13 Graham Crackers 200g
▢ 4 tbsp unsalted butter 56g, melted
▢ 1/4 cup sugar 24g
▢ 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1g

For the Cheesecake

▢ 2 pounds cream cheese 1.13kg, room temperature, 4 packages
▢ 1/2 tsp salt
▢ 1 cup sugar 200g
▢ 3/4 cup brown sugar 150g
▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract 10mL
▢ 5 eggs large, room temperature
▢ 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
▢ 1 cup pumpkin purée 225g
▢ 3/4 cup sour cream
▢ 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 2g
▢ 1/4 tsp nutmeg freshly grated if possible
▢ 1/4 pinch ginger
▢ 1/4 tsp allspice optional
▢ 1/4 tsp cardamom optional

For the Crust:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Add Graham crackers to your food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces. Add sugar and cinnamon then pulse until mixed in completely. Pour in melted butter while pulsing processor. Remove blades and use a spatula to mix butter in completely. See post above for instructions on making this without a processor or stand mixer.
Transfer mixture to your springform pan and press into a flat layer using a measuring cup or glass. bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until fragrant and a darker golden color. Remove from oven, set aside and reduce oven temperature to 300F.
Once cooled, wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in two layers of foil. The best foil to use is the extra wide type so water can't seep into your cake while baking.

For the Filling

Add Room Temperature cream cheese to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and mix at medium speed to cream.
Add both sugars and the salt to the bowl and mix on medium until creamy. Scrape bowl down and mix until completely homogenous.
Add eggs and yolks one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next. Scrape the bowl down and mix a few seconds more until smooth.
Once your eggs are incorporated sprinkle in the four, add the pumpkin puree, sour cream, spices, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated and scrape the bowl down one last time. I sometimes will take a whisk to the batter just to make sure there are no unmixed bits hiding in the bowl.
Pour the batter into the foil-wrapped 10 inch springform pan. The batter will not rice much at all during this low and slow bake so you can fill it up past 2/3rds. If you're using an 8" pan then you will have some extra batter for individual/mini cheesecakes.
Place springform pan into a large roasting pan. Fill with very hot or boiling water a little over an inch deep and transfer to oven.
Bake for about 60 minutes or until cake is set but center is wobbly. Turn oven off but leave door closed and allow cake to rest for an additional hour in the oven. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature then cover with a towel or paper towel and chill overnight. You can enjoy the cheesecake after a few hours of chilling but it's MUCH easier to cut if you've chilled it overnight.
Run a knife around edge of cake before releasing from pan. You can garnish the cake with dollops of whipped cream or enjoy plain.

Start off with really room temperature cream cheese. Leave it out the night before or zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds at 50% power. If the cream cheese is too firm the batter will not be smooth.
Beat the cream cheese and sugars until completely smooth.
Bake in a water bath and leave that oven closed for an hour after turning off and before removing. Slow and steady wins the race for a nice smooth uncracked cheesecake.
Try not to open the oven, the rush of cold air into the oven will not be good for your delicate cake.
Don't be frightened if your cheesecake seems underdone after an hour of baking, it will firm up.
When you wrap the cheesecake up Have a piece of paper towel under the plastic or foil. This will absorb condensation and your surface will be unmarred by water droplets.

*Nutrition Disclaimer

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Source: https://preppykitchen.com/pumpkin-swirl-cheesecake/