Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Yes, it's a little late, but there's still Christmas.  One of the guys at work requested it for our potluck.  Fortunately, I made a 1/3 batch, 6" cake, because there was so much food that most of it was left over.  That's why the photo looks so out of proportion.

This is basically an adaptation of my blender cheesecake with far less yogurt so it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the pumpkin.  I saved the rest of the container for the topping, instead of sour cream.  That was a good thing, because it did fall more than I was expecting.

*1-1/2 C crushed ginger snaps
1/3 C butter, melted
3 8oz bricks of cream cheese
6 eggs
1-1/2 C sugar, plus 2 Tb for topping
2 Tb cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tb fat-free Greek yogurt
1 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, plus more to dust topping
1 C sour cream or Greek yogurt for topping

1.  Butter a 9" round springform pan and preheat oven to 350º.  Stir together crushed cookies and melted butter into a paste.  Press into bottom of pan and as far up the sides as it can go.  Bake while you make the batter, about 10 minutes.

2.  In stand mixer, cream together sugar and cream cheese.  Add eggs one at a time and beat to incorporate.  Add cornstarch, vanilla, and yogurt.  Scrape sides and beat until smooth.

3.  Spoon 1 C of batter into a side bowl.  Add pumpkin and pie spice and stir to combine.

4.  Pour about half of the regular batter into springform.  Top with all of the pumpkin batter, then remaining plain batter.  Run a knife through the batter to swirl the two flavors.  Bake at 350º until center stops jiggling, about one hour.  I recommend placing it on a baking sheet.  The butter in the crust ran a bit.  I don't have that problem with graham crackers, just ginger snaps.

5.  Turn off oven, crack open the door, and let cool for about 1 hour, until pan is cool enough to handle without mitts.  Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.

6.  Shortly before serving, beat together remaining yogurt and 2 Tb of sugar.  Spread on top of cake, then sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.  Serve chilled.

Serves about 12

Difficulty rating :)