2 knock-your-socks-off cheesecake recipes: chocolate and pumpkin

Cheesecake is already awesome, but two more ways to enjoy it? One brimming with chocolatey goodness and the other a seasonal treat of pumpkin flavours, both recipes are bound to delight the senses!

If you love chocolate then you probably also love cheesecake. Now, you can have your chocolate and cheesecake – and eat them, too!

Ingredients

 Crust

• 275 g (1 1/4 c.) chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
• 75 ml (5 tbsp.) butter, melted
• 50 g (1/4 c) sugar

Filling

• 3 x 250 g (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese
• 250 g (1 c.) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 50 g (1/4 c.) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 50 g (1/4 c.) boiling water
• 250 g (1 c.) sour cream
• Chocolate curls and/or chocolate-dipped nuts (optional)

Baking instructions

To prepare the crust

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. In a medium bowl using a fork, toss the crumbs, butter and sugar until well blended.
3. Press the crust mixture firmly over the bottom of a 23-cm square (9-in.) springform pan.

To prepare the filling

1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Pulse until they are well blended and smooth. With the motor running, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cocoa with the boiling water, stirring until the cocoa has completely dissolved. Add the liquid cocoa and the sour cream to the cream cheese mixture and whirl until the filling is smooth and well blended.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and bake until the filling is only slightly loose in the centre of the cheesecake, about 50 minutes.
4. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature.
5. Remove the sides of the pan before glazing the cheesecake and, if desired, garnish with chocolate curls and chocolate-dipped nuts before serving.

This recipe makes one 23-cm square (9-in.) chocolate cheesecake or about six to eight servings.

Surprise your family and friends this fall with a spicy pumpkin cheesecake instead of the usual pumpkin pie. It's so good (but inexpensive to make) that they'll think this treat came from a high-end bakery.

Ingredients

Crust

• 275 g (1 1/4 c.) crumbled gingersnaps
• 75 ml (5 tbsp.) butter, melted
• 50 g (1/4 c.) sugar

Filling

• 3 x 250 g (8 oz.) packages cream cheese
• 350 g (1 1/2 c.) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 x 796 ml (29 oz.) can unsweet­ened pumpkin puree
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp.) ground cinnamon
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp.) ground cloves
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp.) ground nutmeg

Baking instructions

To prepare the crust

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. In a medium bowl, using a fork, toss the crumbs, butter and sugar until well blended.
3. Press the crust mixture firmly over the bottom of a 23-cm square (9-in.) springform pan.

To prepare the filling

1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the cream cheese and sugar, and pulse until they are well blended and smooth.
2. With the motor running, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, and whirl until the filling is smooth and well blended.
4. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and bake until the filling is only slightly loose in the centre of the cheesecake, about 50 minutes.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. Remove the sides of the pan before glazing the cheesecake.

This recipe makes one 23-cm square (9-in.) pumpkin cheesecake or about six to eight servings.

--------------------

Discover the smarter way to save time and money

Ready to start saving more on your groceries and pharmacy purchases? Download the FREE YP Grocery app today! It lets you create shareable shopping lists, automatically finds all the best deals and coupons, then delivers them right to you. No more manually scrolling through hundreds of flyers to find what you’re looking for!

Download the YP Grocery app now!