Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Caramel Rum Sauce

This Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Caramel Rum Sauce is ease personified in baking.

The simple Caramel Rum Sauce can be made weeks ahead and refrigerated.

The Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart has a graham cracker crust that is pressed in and filled with a cream cheese mixture alternated with a pumpkin mixture which are swirled together.

The baked tart can be frozen if made ahead.

That's pretty much it - an epic short intro for me!  Oh, I couldn't leave without telling you to  check out the Pumpkin Mousse Torte for another seasonal pumpkin dessert.

Caramel Rum Sauce

3 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar (200 grams or 7 ounces)
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams or 1 ounce)
⅔ cup 40% or heavy cream
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the water, sugar and cornsyrup in a heavy medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil.  Wash the sides down with a brush dipped in cold water.

Increase the heat and boil, until the syrup becomes a dark amber brown.

Remove from the heat and the butter. Stir to melt it. Add the cream; it will most likely bubble up like crazy. Finally, stir in the rum and vanilla.

Pour into a container and cool completely.

It can be left at room temperature for a day or two. Refrigerate after that.

Yield:  about 1 ⅔ cups

Plain 11" Graham Cracker Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (buy them in crumbs or run the crackers through food
processor) [225 grams or 8 ounces]
¾ cup unsifted powdered sugar (75 grams or 2 ⅔ ounces)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (150grams or 5 ⅓ ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a half sheet pan with foil. Set aside.

Combine the crumbs and powdered sugar, mixing well. Mix the butter and vanilla together. Add the butter mixture to the crumbs and toss with a fork until the crumbs are completely coated. Spray the bottom and sides of the quiche pan and press about ⅔ of the crumbs (255 grams or 9 ounces) evenly against the sides of the pan, pressing firmly.   Press the remainder (170 grams or 6 ounces) onto the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on.

If the sides have slumped, immediately press them back up the sides with the back of a spoon. Be careful as everything will be very hot. Using the back of the spoon again, even out the crust. Set aside.

Cream Cheese Mixture

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (340 grams or 1 ½ eight-ounce packages)
½ cup sugar (100 grams or 3 ½ ounces)
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons milk

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until fluffy, scraping and re-beating often until completely smooth.

Add the egg and egg yolk, beating to combine completely, scraping often.

Reserve ½ cup of this mixture. Set the remainder aside.

Pumpkin Mixture

1 egg
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon cloves
⅓ cup brown sugar packed (65 grams or 2 ⅓ ounces)
½ cup reserved cream cheese mixture from above
1 cup  canned pumpkin (225 grams or 8 ounces)

Whisk the egg in a large bowl to mix completely.  Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, whisking to combine.  Add the brown sugar, then the reserved cream cheese mixture.  Last, whisk in the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart Assembly
11" baked graham cracker crust, baked
Cheesecake mixture
Pumpkin mixture

Alternate spoons of the pumpkin and cheesecake mixtures in the shell. Swirl to marbleize.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes just until set.

Remove from the oven. Cool.

Serve with the Caramel Rum Sauce.

Note:  This can be made ahead and frozen for several weeks.  The caramel sauce can be made ahead at the same time and kept refrigerated.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

The Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart can be frozen after baking for 6 weeks or so.  Thaw in the refrigerator.

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