I bought pumpkin on the weekend and prepared a puree, in hopes of making pumpkin pie this week. (I know I haven’t yet shared that recipe with you and will some day.) For some reason, I can bake pies, even though I now have to do pumpkin pie without the benefit of Libby’s canned pumpkin.
But baking. Oooohhh baking. How I dread it. And for some ridiculous reason, I got it into my head this morning that I would bake a pumpkin cheesecake. Not only that, but I was going to layer the cheesecake. Silly girl. Trix are for kids!
Amazing that I have a ton of baking supplies. I have had a spring pan for as long as I can remember. Still-in-the-box- brand-spanking-new! Last year I bought a cake decorating kit! It’s almost as big as my tackle box, and my only plan is to use it for deviled eggs! But I digress . . .
First, I sat at my laptop perusing recipes. Then off I went to the local bakkal for cigarettes. No, the recipes did not call for them, but I was sure I would need them. At the bakkal, I saw they had Pinar’s Beyaz, one of the closest substitutions for my beloved Philadelphia Cream Cheese. (Most Turkish recipes use labne, but I have friends who swear by Pinar’s Beyaz, and I tasted one which was really good.) I already had some at home, but I bought two times more, just in case. I ended up needed all of it!
Back at home, I pulled out my old friend, The Joy of Cooking and read the “about cheesecake” section. So now I knew everything I needed to know. I decided to follow my friend’s recipe at Far From the Sticks for the most part and The Joy of Cooking‘s recipe for New York Cheesecake. I don’t know how I planned to follow two recipes, but that was the gameplan. The recipes were pretty similar.
After creaming the cheese, I only added two eggs before I realized I skipped over the sugar. Ugh! My research told me that if there were any lumps of cheese, they would not blend after adding eggs. They did not.
I finished the batter and poured half into the pre-baked cookie shell. I then added pumpkin and spices to the other half. I was sooooo proud of myself when I thought of pouring the pumpkin batter over the back of a spoon so that the two layers would not mix. (Yep, I did a very short stint as a bartender and that is how one makes a proper Black & Tan!)
The pumpkin layer had tons of tiny bubbles. I did what I could, but I couldn’t get rid of them. Now, I knew for sure that my cake was going to crack. (Not that I care if it tastes good. But still it would be nice if it were a mystery until it cooled.)
Into the oven on high heat for 8-10 minutes. No way! I checked it after 6 minutes and it had already browned half of the top of the cake. I keep forgetting that the d@$n oven does not bake evenly! (I am queen of sauté – on TOP of the stove!)
Rats! Went back and checked both recipes and BOTH call for a small amount of heavy cream! I knew that. I read the recipes several times before I started, and yet …
The temperature is now greatly reduced and I am keeping a close eye on it. If by some snowball’s chance in hell this thing works out, or at least tastes yummy, I’ll share the recipe I created! LOL.
Oh wait, I forgot to grease the sides of the pan!!! I wish I knew how to curse like a Brit!
OCTOBER 2017 UPDATE: Guess I can bake now. Check this out!
Adventures in Ankara 
How did it turn out? I hate my Turkish oven. Even though I like gas stoves the best, I would definitely settle for my glass-top electric stove that I had for years. What I think is funny is that I have a stove, a gas stove, but the oven is electric! And not a good electric oven!
It’s still cooling. One hour in the oven with the door open. Then it will rest for a few hours at room temperature. I hate my oven too, mostly because it is too small. I can’t fit two pies at once, God forbid a turkey! I brought a bunch of cookie sheets from the States, all are too big! It’s also gas stove and electric oven. But I think my last one in the States was also. The browning of one side quickly is a relatively new development. The oven is only four years old. Grrrrrr. I would never in a million years use an electric stove top though. I had one once in a rental home. That became a deal breaker when renting, electric stove, can’t do it! Of course, in Turkey, nothing comes with a rental. What a shock that was!
Im sure it will tastes great, always when I think its all gone wrong it turns out ok. What I hate is decorating cakes and biscuits etc always goes terribly wrong. Looking forward to seeing your results x
Thanks Kerry! I’m not opposed to eating it straight out of the pan with a spoon if I have to! 🙂
Awwww…C’mon if you can do chemistry you can bake. And you do. Sorry about the oven, glad it didn’t stop you 🙂
I hear you Carol. But that part of my brain just seems to be stuck!
Silly girl, why didn’t you ask me for my recipe? 🙂
Here’s my :
Turkish-NY-style Cheesecake Recipe
To make a pumpkin one, add these ingredients to the base recipe above:
6 oz. (170 g.) pumpkin puree
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (muscat)
1 tsp. cloves (karanfil)
2 tsp. allspice (yenibahar)
You’re the best Joy! I forgot the krema, do you think that made a big difference? The cake was not set. I put it back in for 40 minutes, and same thing. I had more pumpkin puree than your recipe, and possibly too wet. Hmmmm.
Hmmm…probably just too much liquid so you would either have needed a bit more flour or eggs or both to help bind the ingredients all together. 🙂
I’ve just got a brand new oven and it also is hotter on one side.
Good luck with that!!