Goat Cheese Pumpkin Cheesecake

Goat Cheese Pumpkin Cheesecake

As a recent member of the Blogging Fifty group, I'm sharing this Goat Cheese Pumpkin Cheesecake with the Fifty and Fab blog hop! What is so special about being fifty? For starters, we are still alive! Just kidding...kind of. In my early teens, I thought being 50 is SO old and people shouldn't live past it. Oh my, have I changed my mind in a hurry when I turned 50! LOL.

Why do we think we are fabulous? We are the super generation. We are caretakers for our kids, grandchildren, AND our elderly parents while still working full-time. Even though our stamina is declining we are constantly challenging ourselves and striving to go beyond our full potentials. What’s not fabulous about that?

So, what does a cheesecake have to do with being fifty?

If you are following my little blog you probably know that I dislike hate baking. I hate measuring with all my heart and yet, the older I get the more I bake. I was always intimidated by cheesecakes; however, I like love to eat them. It would be easy to buy a cheesecake and call it a day.

But no! I might as well sit in a rocking chair all day long and knit. That's not how this grandma rocks. Sure, I know how to knit too but I'm not going down without learning how to make a cheesecake if it's the last thing I do! But it doesn't end with mastering the cheesecake. New challenges are awaiting me and I'm ready to tackle.

Turning fifty is not something you look forward to. But you can still make it fun. Find out how I celebrated it in this post. I know so many people who are 50+ and fabulous. They go parachuting, zip-lining, or bungee-jumping, you name it. I’m not that ambitious, thank you very much. But they also craft and create and inspire!

At my age, you don't believe that, at midnight, your pumpkin can turn into anything else but a cheesecake. Yet, you don't give up creating your fairy-tale. This goat cheese pumpkin cheesecake represents the can-do attitude many get in the autumn of their lives. Autumn, goat, pumpkin - get it? Here's to all of us Fifty and Fab!!!

Ingredients:

• vanilla wafers
• pecans
• brown sugar
• ground cloves
• ground nutmeg
• ground ginger
• ground cinnamon
• salt
• butter
• goat cheese
• granulated sugar
• cream cheese 
• eggs
• pumpkin puree
• sour cream
• vanilla extract

Roasted pears (optional):

• pear (Bosc or Bartlett)
• pure maple syrup

How to make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, pulse cookies and pecans until finely ground (it makes about 2 cups). Add sugar, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt and butter; pulse until combined.
3. Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden and set. Cool completely before filling.
4. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer set on low speed, beat together the goat cheese and sugar. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time mixing on low speed after each is added. Combine the remaining ingredients and continue to beat until the mixture is very smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan; the center should be still soft. Cool to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Roasted pears (optional):

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Slice pear lengthwise ⅛-inch thick (I used a mandoline slicer, but a knife works well too).
3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat with cooking spray. Arrange pear slices in a single layer on sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Roast until pears are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and heat the broiler. Brush pears with remaining syrup and broil until browned in spots, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool.
4. Arrange pear slices, overlapping slightly, on cheesecake.

Goat Cheese Pumpkin Cheesecake

Discover a hint of earthy and nutty flavor in this luscious Goat Cheese Pumpkin Cheesecake with roasted pears and find out why is fabulous to be fifty.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Resting Time: 5 hours 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 707kcal

Author: Jas

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 oz. about 46 vanilla wafers
• ▢ 2 oz. pecans
• ▢ 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 1 pinch ground cloves
• ▢ 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 5 tablespoon butter melted
• ▢ 6 oz. crumbled goat cheese
• ▢ 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 16 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ▢ 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Roasted pears (optional):

• ▢ 1 large pear Bosc or Bartlett
• ▢ 4 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor, pulse cookies and pecans until finely ground (it makes about 2 cups). Add sugar, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and butter; pulse until combined.
• Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden and set. Cool completely before filling.
• Meanwhile, with an electric mixer set on low speed, beat together the goat cheese and sugar. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time mixing on low speed after each is added. Combine the remaining ingredients and continue to beat until the mixture is very smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan; the center should be still soft.  Cool to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Roasted pears (optional):

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Slice pear lengthwise ⅛-inch thick (I used a mandoline slicer, but a knife works well too).
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat with cooking spray. Arrange pear slices in a single layer on sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Roast until pears are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and heat the broiler. Brush pears with remaining syrup and broil until browned in spots, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool.
• Arrange pear slices, overlapping slightly, on cheesecake.

Expert Tips

You could also use graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers to make the crust.

Nutrition

Calories: 707kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 610mg | Potassium: 311mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 6328IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 2mg

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