TheKitchn.com

Pumpkin cheesecake has become a fall and winter dessert classic for good reason. The lively, familiar spices of classic pumpkin pie are balanced by the cool and creamy goodness of a New York-style cheesecake.

The combination makes each bite memorably delicious and worthy of any celebration -- especially Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin cheesecake is easier to make than you think. Even if you have never made a cheesecake or pumpkin pie before, this is a dessert that is within your reach. This recipe was designed to work for the novice baker and the seasoned cook.

5 keys for pumpkin cheesecake success

1. Use sour cream for flavor and texture. This cheesecake is designed to have a fluffy, but not airy, texture. Sour cream does the job better, and for taste, it's a necessity to balance the sweetness of the batter. If you love using heavy cream, keep the proportion the same and add two to three more tablespoons of cornstarch.

2. Mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. The cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch mixture needs to be mixed until it is very, very smooth, pale and fluffy. Make sure to scrape the bottom and side of the bowl, and watch out for cream cheese that seems to stick toward the top of the bowl. This ensures the final cheesecake is silky, fluffy and creamy.

3. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath for consistent, creamy results. A water bath, or bain-marie, is a classic French baking technique, and it is used for baked custards of all sorts to ensure that the heat of baking is gentle and consistent (read: eggs don't curdle, and custards set beautifully). Cheesecake at its core is a type of custard, and using a water bath ensures the best and most consistent result.

4. Cool the cheesecake slowly in the oven. If you have never made a cheesecake, this is a peculiar direction, but it is very important. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in to cool down slowly for one hour. Some bakers believe that you can prevent the top of cheesecakes from cracking if you slow down the cooling process. I don't know that it always works to prevent cracks, but it certainly allows for the filling to slowly finish cooking, so it remains delicate in texture and doesn't sink in at all.

5. Make it ahead. To ripen a cheesecake means to make it a day or so in advance. Some argue that it allows the flavors to meld together better, some believe the long chill lets the cake firm up long enough to cut with ease, and some do it out of tradition. All are probably correct, and I know from experience that this step is a part of the "cooking" process that can't be skipped. With a pumpkin cheesecake, which is extra-moist, one day is plenty. Three days is a bit too much and will lead to a soggy bottom. This make-ahead requirement also happens to makes serving cheesecake at events which require a ton of cooking -- like holiday meals -- an easy and always-welcome treat.

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