Pumpkin Hazelnut Cheesecake
A reinvention of pumpkin cheesecake. Hazelnuts in the crust + chocolate hazelnut spread between the crust and pumpkin for tasty pumpkin hazelnut cheesecake.
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Servings: 8 -12
Ingredients
To Start
- 15 ounces (1 3/4 cups) pureed pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pie filling)
For the Crust
- 8 (about 4.5 ounces) whole graham crackers
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
For the Cheesecake
- 14 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Hazelnuts
- Sea salt flakes
Instructions
To Start
- Spread the pumpkin puree on a couple of layers of paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture. Let drain for several hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch nonstick springform pan. Put a kettle on to heat up some water. You’ll need this for your water bath.
For the Crust
- Put the graham crackers, hazelnuts and brown sugar in a food processor fitted with the blade and pulse until the mixture becomes a fine crumb. Drizzle melted butter on top and pulse until just mixed and resembles wet sand. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared springform. Place the crust in the center of the oven for 10 minutes or until it starts to turn a little golden. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, spread the chocolate hazelnut spread over the crust, wrap the bottom of the springform pan in two layers of foil and set in the center of a roasting pan.
- Increase your oven temperature to 400 F.
For the Cheesecake
- Put the cream cheese and granulated sugar in an electric-stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low until smooth. A couple of notes here… First, if you don’t have an electric-stand mixer you can use your beautiful arms and a spatula to beat it into submission. Second, you don’t want to add too much air, at any point, into this creamy mixture. Too much air can make unsightly cracks on your cheesecake. Thus keep it to a low-speed beating as much as possible. Once the cream cheese is smooth, add the salt, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Scrape the pumpkin off of the paper towels and in with the cream cheese mixture. Mix until completely combined taking care to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl so that everything is incorporated (do this periodically). Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are completely blended before adding the next. Lastly, add in the cream and vanilla. If you have any rogue bits that are still in chunks, smash them against the bowl to smooth out or you can pass the mixture through a sieve to eradicate any chunks. Pour the mixture on top of the hazelnut spread and place the roasting pan in the center of the oven.
- Pour your boiling water in the roasting pan being careful not to get any water in the springform pan with your cheesecake. Fill to about 1 cm up the side of the cheesecake pan. Should be about 3 to 4 cups of water.
- Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the temperature to 250 F and bake for 1 hour more.
- When the timer goes off, turn the oven off and let the pumpkin hazelnut cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes, with the door open. Transfer to the counter to cool for several hours more. Once cool to the touch, wrap tightly and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, take the side of the springform pan off…you may need a knife to gently run along the side. Periodically clean the knife with a damp cloth to keep everything as clean and smooth as possible. Follow this advice when cutting slices. Garnish the top with raw hazelnuts + sea salt flakes.
Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo
A huge thank you to Diamond of California for sponsoring this post and giving me an excuse to make what are now my favorite breakfast buns! All content, ideas and views are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me in the kitchen!
Love this cheesecake but it takes WAY longer than an hour at 250. At least 45 minutes longer both times I’ve made it so far!
Hi Hilary!
Thank you for your comment—I’m so glad you like it!! I’m going to update this recipe before next holiday season and I will troubleshoot why that may be happening!! Happy holidays to you!! xox
I don’t know what I did wrong It was delicious but more like pudding. I followed this recipe to the T. Even changed the paper towels and let it continue to pull moisture out of pumpkin puree overnight. I had 8 oz bricks of cream cheese so I took off 2 oz. Should I have left it in the oven longer?
Hi Carol!
It sounds like it didn’t set…there are a couple of reasons why that would happen. First, may I ask what pumpkin you used (brand and type)? Did you start with the blast of heat for the first 15 minutes and then reduce for the remaining hour? Lastly, is there any chance your oven runs cool? If the pumpkin had too much moisture and/or the oven runs cool, you could end up with an undercooked/pudding-like cheesecake.
Next time, if there’s a lot of jiggle left in the cheesecake you might consider leaving it in the oven longer, keeping an eye on it so that it doesn’t over bake. ♥️
xox
Beautiful photos and yummy cakes….. Make me wanna eat all of them hihihihi
Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin and I did 15 minutes at 400° before I dropped it down to 250° for 1 hour. I haven’t had temp problems on my oven before. I didn’t use my convention, but maybe next time I do?
Hmm, it should have set. Libby’s is the best!!! I have this scheduled to make soon so that I can take fresh photos and add weight measurements. I’ll see if I can troubleshoot—I’ll add any updates and specifically respond to this thread if I uncover anything that might help! xo
Thank you Rebecca!
Ooooooh Becky this looks YUM! I am kinda scared of baked cheesecakes – I’ve only made one and the water bath leaked and it was sog central, but I think I need to get my big girl pants on and try again! xx
The leaking water bath is the WORST!!!!! You just need a really good springform and tightly wrap the crap out of it in foil…someone told me you could do a cheesecake in an Instant Pot and I was like, wait, what? Does that mean it wouldn’t have leak concerns??? …You need to revisit the cheesecake — they’re so much fun!! xoxo
Prettiest cheesecake ever! Love the hazelnut crust (can that be mandatory for all cheesecake from here on out?!) :)
Love this – all of your thanksgiving dessert options were beautiful and inspiring!! Can’t wait to see what else you create in the coming month…xoxox
Oh this cake looks simply awesome!
Thank you so much Natalie!! Happy Thanksgiving!! xoxo
As much as I love hosting, it’s nice once in awhile to sit back and relax! I’m sure this cheesecake will fly right off the table. It looks absolutely delicious Rebecca. I LOVE the added decadence with the chocolate hazelnut spread. Now that the stretchy pants are out, why not, right?! Hope you, Stella and Gavin, and your entire family have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! XO
Oh the stretchy pants are out for sure!!!! Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Mary Ann!!!! xoxo
OMG !!! Stunner as always! I am loving both your cheesecake recipes! I love that you used hazelnuts in your crust – such a beautiful rich texture it would provide I am sure! and your pictures are gorggggg!!! I love that last shot especially.
You’re so sweet — thank you Amisha!!!! I love putting nuts in this type of crust — it does add such nice texture and flavor. Happiest of Thanksgivings to you!!! xoxo
I’ve not made cheesecake in far too long.. doesn’t mean I’ve not been thinking about it, though. I looove how you’ve combined hazelnuts, brown sugar and pumpkin. Absolutely scrumptious Becca! Really I get it – relieved and crushed. Sitting on the couch sipping wine.. I’m SO with you! Rob, I and et al are going out to a farm to table local restaurant/bistro – I feel completely pampered over Thanksgiving because we just take a break from it all. A bit of a staycation if you will. I’ve come to look forward to it SO much (more than I used to due to years of hosting – burnout if you will)! Eating? Pie, pie, pie, drinking a lot of sangria oh and making and eating all the appetizers pre thanksgiving dinner! Happy Thanksgiving my dear! xo
That sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving Traci — wishing you the best holiday week!!! xoxo
Wow Rebecca!!! This looks gorgeous and love all the moody pictures. I am a big huge fan of pumkin desserts and this one is no exception. Love the use of all the spices here.
xx
Hi Asha!! I am such a big fan of pumpkin desserts — I’m loving the cake you just did. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!! xo
Wow!! This looks great!
Thanks Josh!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!