Recipe was super simple to whip up. Dough was good consistency to work with. I made a double batch, added fresh firm blueberries to one full batch (mixed them in super gently and not one popped), lemon extract, lemon rind and poppy seeds to 1/2 of the second batch and for the final 1/2 batch of dough I added currents, orange rind, orange extract, grand marnier, allspice and cardamom. Instead of cutting into pie slices from 1 large mound of dough, I used two large spoons and scooped out large globs of dough. I left a couple inches between the mounds of dough for expansion while cooking. One other thing I did, after reading some reviews about excessive spreading of dough while cooking; I used 1/2 crisco instead of all butter and I added an extra egg to my double batch. This kept the dough from spreading as much. I scooped dough mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and froze them for later use. The other half of my dough I cooked on parchment paper which eliminated the need to grease the cookie sheet. I cooked the dough an additional 10 minutes, 25 min total, since my dough mounds were higher than if I'd cut pie shapes. This left them a nice touch of brown. Great base recipe that can be changed to your tastes.

Reviewed On: Nov. 5, 2009

I uploaded a pic. of mine; the pumpkin swirl came out brown, because I added brown sugar to that portion of the cheesecake, instead of white sugar. If you want it to look like traditional ‘pumpkin’ I’d recommend not using brown sugar in the pumpkin mix, as some have suggested. I doubled the crust, but would recommend doing 1 1/2 crust recipe; it was a little too thick doubled. I’d also cut back on the butter, it was coming through the bottom of the pan, so to me that means too much in the recipe. I added nearly all of the pumpkin from the 16oz can (so 12oz) for a richer pumpkin taste, and also added an extra 8oz of cream cheese and an extra egg; basically I did a recipe and a half of the filling. Taking others advice I added extra spices to jazz up the flavor. I baked it for 30 min at 350 and then reduced the heat and baked it at 320 for 70 min. I did get a crack on top, but I blame it on my husband who needed to use the oven to make his dinner after the cake was done, so I had to take it out right away and wasn't able to let the cake cool in the oven as I usually do. This has proven to be the trick to a non cracked cheesecake, for me; let it cool in the oven before removing. I wrapped the pan in foil and set in a larger pan filled with water. The flavor turned out great, it had a pumpkin pie taste with a little bit of cheesecake flavor and all the consistency of cheesecake. I got a good marble by layering the mix; started with laying the pumpkin on the bottom, th

Reviewed On: Nov. 14, 2008

This is an AWESOME recipe! I didn't change anything! I have never made a cake like this, or a torte or a cheesecake for that matter. I do have a spring form pan though, so I used that as my baking pan. I wrapped the outside of the pan with aluminum foil so that the water bath wouldn't leak into the cake pan. I also added a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan and sprinkled it with powdered cocoa before pouring the batter into the pan. I let the pan sit for 45 min in the oven before removing, to allow it time to settle and solidify. I then let it finish cooling on the counter before covering to place in the frig. (Condensation will cause a gooey top!) I made this cake for a baby shower. I used a piece of lace fabric layed over the top and sprinkled over the lace with powdered sugar to make a pretty lace design on the top. I served the cake with ice cream, whipped topping, chocolate sauce and a cherry - it was a hit! It has a consistency of cheesecake and melts in your mouth!

Reviewed On: Sep. 12, 2008