HALLOWEEN may a couple of months away but we’re beginning to enter the season for pumpkins. We’ve frequently had this pumpkin cheesecake on the menu and it’s proved very popular.

It’s so much easier to make cheesecake if you use a springform tin. This is one where the base and side are separate but held together by a clip that tightens the side like a belt. Loosening the clip means that the side can be taken away and the cake slid off the base onto a plate. This recipe fits a nine-inch a tin, making a cheesecake big enough for ten or 12.

  • One medium-sized pumpkin
  • One packet of ginger biscuits
  • The zest of half a lemon
  • 110g unsalted butter – just melted
  • 750g full fat cream cheese
  • 200g castor sugar
  • Three eggs
  • One tablespoon cornflour
  • Fresh nutmeg
  • A pinch of cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Cut the pumpkin into six segments, scoop out the seeds and place the segments on a roasting tray. Roast for 35 minutes, allow to cool a little and then scoop out the flesh into a food processor. Process to a puree and then push through a sieve.

While the pumpkin’s in the oven, crush the biscuits.

Place in a bowl, add the lemon zest and melted butter and combine well. Assemble the tin and spoon the biscuit mixture over the base. Smooth and press in before placing the tin in the fridge.

To make the filling, measure out 300g of the pumpkin puree and mix it with the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cornflour, a good grating of nutmeg and the cinnamon. Heat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3, and spoon the mixture on top of the biscuit mixture.

Smooth the top and place in the oven for 90 minutes, after which time turn the oven off and open the door a little. Leave the oven and cheesecake to cool for at least 30 minutes before moving. Once cool, slide onto a plate if wished, and place the cheesecake in the fridge.

To serve, if you’ve any pureed pumpkin left, mix in a little sugar and nutmeg to taste, place a portion of the cheesecake on a plate with a spoonful of puree alongside and a little plain yoghurt or crème fraîche poured over.

Oldfields Eating House,
18 Claypath, Durham, DH1 1RH.
Tel: 0191-370-9595

  • For further recipes go to billoldfield.com
  • Oldfields Pantry ready meals are available from Fenwick in Newcastle or direct from the restaurant on Claypath in Durham on 0191-370-9595 or go to oldfieldspantry.co.uk
  • To join Oldfields’ free Real Food Club, visit oldfieldsrestaurants.com/real-food-club.asp