Pumpkin Cheesecake ~ Disneyland Resort ~ My Take

As a huge pumpkin fan, I was happy to see the Disney Parks Blog publish six great pumpkin recipes from Disneyland. This is one of those, and it's a big winner. Available seasonally at many locations, such as Jolly Holiday Bakery Café and French Market, it's always best eaten in the park, but if you want a flavorful taste from your favorite spot, but aren't able to make it there, this recipe will fit the bill.

Crust Ingredients
1 1/2cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup melted butter

Cheesecake Filling
3 (8ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
5-ounce can evaporated milk
chocolate syrup, for drizzling

Crust
In a bowl, combine crushed graham cracker, sugar and ginger. Melt the butter and stir into mixture. Spray bottom and sides of a 9"springform pan. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan using your hands. Place pan on a large piece of foil and wrap tightly up sides and around pan

Cheesecake Filling
Preheat oven to 325. Beat cream cheese, brown sugar and granulated sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment ( I don't have a paddle attachment, so just used the regular beaters). Scrape down sides of bowl.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
 Add pumpkin mixture to cream cheese mixture, beating until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add evaporated milk, mixing well.

Slowly pour cheesecake filling onto crust mixture in prepared pan. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Place foil wrapped pan inside a larger roasting pan. Place on center rack and carefully add enough hot water to reach halfway up sides of springform pan.
Bake 1 hour, or until center moves only slightly when shaken. Turn oven off and crack open oven door. Allow to cool inside oven for 1 hour, then remove pan from water bath and cool on wire rack. Cover top of pan with foil and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Wrapping foil around springform pan prevents from the water bath from getting into the cheesecake. The slow cooling inside the oven prevents cheesecake top from cracking.

My take: This was a softer cheesecake than you traditionally see. I may have added a bit too much evaporated milk since I only had a full size can and guessed. Allowing it to cool in the over worked like a champ! Not a bit of cracking on the top. My springform pan is 10" so the cheesecake was a bit 'flatter' than I'd like. Next time, I'll prebake the crust a bit to set it so it stays crisper, as I found the crust a tad soggy. This is just a nitpick...this is a great full pumpkin flavor cheesecake.