Ingredients
- 540 gram plain cream cheese
- 500 gram pumpkin puree
- 3 star anise
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 200 gram brown caster sugar
- 150 gram dry cookies (e.g. Maria cookies or graham crackers)
- 75 gram dairy butter
- 75 gram sugar
- 100 gram walnuts
Kitchen equipment needed
- medium-sized pan
- sieve
- cutting board & chef’s knife
- vegetable peeler
- spoon
- optional: mortar
- spring form
- blender or ziplock bag + rolling-pin (to crush the cookies)
- standmixer
- plate covered with parchment paper
- small saucepan
Preparation — 30 minutes
FILL a medium-sized pan with water, star anise and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Meanwhile PEEL the pumpkin, remove the seeds with a spoon and divide into chunks. COOK the pumpkin pieces for about 15 minutes, exact time depends on the size of the chunks.
REMOVE the cinnamon stick and star anise and create a pumpkin puree. You can use a sieve or immersion blender for this. Let the puree cool off to at least room temperature. GROUND the cardamom seeds using a mortar, or the bottom of a pan. If you want a cheesecake with more spice, you can also add some extra ground star anise or cinnamon to the puree.
Finishing the no-bake pumpkin cheesecake — 30 minutes + waiting time
MELT butter in a small saucepan. COAT a springform with butter and crush the cookies. You can use a blender, or a ziplock bag and rolling-pin to create the cookie crumbs. STIR the cookie crumbs and melted butter together and create a pie crust on the bottom of the spring form.
STIR pumpkin puree, cream cheese, brown caster sugar and ground cardamom until you’ve reached a smooth mixture. DIVIDE over the cookie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile CREATE the caramelised walnuts. First make sure to have the plate lined with parchment paper ready. ADD sugar to a small saucepan and let it caramelise on low heat, it’s important to not stir at all. Coarsely CHOP the walnuts and add them to the sugar as soon as the sugar has a beautiful caramel color. Make sure the walnuts are coated completely and immediately transfer them to the plate and let them cool off.
As soon as the cheesecake is completely set, you can divide the caramelised walnuts in pieces over the pie. Enjoy!
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