Remy's Chocolate-Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

The crust

• 130 grams of thin chocolate cookies
• 2 Tbspn granulated sugar
• 5 Tbspn unsalted butter, melted slowly

The filling

• 500 grams of softened cream cheese
• 150 grams sugar
• 250 grams canned pure pumpkin purée
• 0.50 tspn ground cinnamon
• 0.50 tspn freshly grated nutmeg
• 0.25 tspn ground cloves (becareful with this and see if you enjoy the taste. It works really well with Pumpkin)
• 0.50 tspn vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 300 ml cream and 100 ml double cream
• 100 grams of bittersweet chocolate (60% to 70% cacao), finely chopped 70 grams for the cake and 30 grams for the whipped cream

For the whipped cream

• 250 ml double cream
• 75 ml sour cream or crème fraîche
• 1 Tbspn honey
• 0.50 tspn vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1How to make the crust. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. In a food processor, pulse the cookies and sugar until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until evenly moistened. Using your fingers, press the crumb mixture into the base and partway up the sides of a 20 cm springform pan. Use a flat-bottomed, straight-sided glass to further press and smooth the bottom and nudge the crumbs halfway up the sides.

2Fill and bake the cake. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Mix in the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the eggs, egg yolk, and the cream just until well combined. Set aside. Heat the remaining cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil; remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth and then whisk in 250 ml of the pumpkin batter. Pour the remaining pumpkin batter into the prepared crust. Drop 2-tablespoon dollops of the chocolate batter over the pumpkin batter. For the marbled look at right, work in one quadrant and use a wooden skewer or toothpick to continuously “write” capital cursive L’s, being careful not to go too deep and scrape the crust. Turn the pan to work in the next quadrant and continue swirling and turning until all quadrants are done. Pour 2 - 3 cm inch of boiling water into the baking pan. Bake until only the center of the cake jiggles when nudged, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes. Turn the heat off but leave the cake in the oven with the door a little bit open for another 45 minutes. Remove from the water bath and foil and run a thin, sharp knife around the edge of the cake. Cool completely on a rack. Cover the pan with plastic wrap (without letting it touch the cake) and chill for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.

3Make the whipped cream and serve. Whip the heavy cream, sour cream, honey, and vanilla to medium-soft peaks. Remove the side of the springform pan. Run a long, thin metal spatula under the bottom crust and carefully slide the cheesecake onto a flat serving plate. Use a knife warmed in hot water and wiped dry to cut the cake, wiping it clean and reheating it after every slice. Serve with the whipped cream.

Inspired by the recipe found here http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/chocolate-swirled-pumpkin-cheesecake