34: Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Published by Emily,



I hope you have a notepad and pen ready to take note of this absolutely incredible cake recipe! I found this cake recipe on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to make it for my brother’s birthday after my parents [in?]advertently ordered his least favourite cake flavour. Well, I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, because said cake flavour happens to be my parents' favourite. I know you’re probably thinking, “But how could anyone have a LEAST favourite cake flavour? They’re all good!’ Well, you’ve probably never tried durian cake. For those of you unfamiliar with durian, some consider it the most disgusting fruit in the world. Even Google.


You read that right; durian’s potent odour has forced some countries to pass bills to outlaw the transport and consumption of durian in certain public spaces. As a prank the other week, my brother made me smell an awful scratch-and-sniff card meant to teach homeowners to recognize gas leaks by smell. I initially thought he’d found a durian scented scratch-n-sniff. Gas leaks, as you may know, smell like rotten eggs. Yes, I’m suggesting durians smell like rotten eggs. And the smell has a way of percolating into everything else in your fridge. Smell aside, for those that eventually acquire a taste for durian, it is pretty easy to appreciate (and crave) its unique texture and flavour. For others, it is difficult to smell or taste durian without gagging. My brother falls into the latter camp of durian experiencers. So, when my parents ordered a durian cake for their eldest child/only son’s birthday, I knew it was the perfect moment to learn how to bake and assemble a cake.

The chocolate pumpkin cheesecake I made was fall-nominal! It was not without its challenges, however. I thought it’d be pretty easy to find pie pumpkins (the decorative, carving pumpkins are not fit for puréeing), seeing how the trend this fall is putting pumpkin in everything. After seeing pie pumpkins in every store last week (when I didn’t need them!), I couldn’t find a single pie pumpkin in the four stores I checked, so I ended up having to buy a can (which was also hard to find!). I’m assuming everyone wiped out the town’s pie pumpkin supply over Thanksgiving weekend. After sorting the pumpkin situation out, I had a remarkably easy time baking the cake layers (which turned out AMAZING - the chocolate cake was moist and delicious, while the pumpkin cheesecake was nice and creamy. And the chocolate ganache between each layer? Oeuf. Heaven.

The toughest part, hands down, was trying to figure out how to ice a cake for the first time. I put off frosting the cake all day because I was worried I'd ruin the perfectly baked layers with a disgraceful frosting job. I did score a great deal on a $3 cake decorating turntable though! I probably should’ve purchased proper icing tools and piping bags, but I decided to make do with the equipment in our kitchen. My first batch of pumpkin icing turned out a bit sticky, but after battling it out for almost an hour, I was able to get a semi-decent crumb coat on the cake. It looked like a halloween prop, so for the sake of your viewing pleasure, I’ve omitted the photo of that awkward intermediate stage.

It was a bit of a challenge evening out the edges, especially with the awkward top layer (tapered cake pans are the worst!), but after whipping up a new, lighter batch of icing, I finally got a pretty good, even coat of icing on the cake.



I had some pumpkin frosting and ganache left over, so after an adventure with some icing tips I found, I added some decorative edges and made a poor attempt at cake writing.



Ta da! I don’t think I’m getting hired as a cake decorator any time soon, but I had loads of fun icing the cake. I’d love to figure out how to master the art one of these days… Not anytime soon of course. I think I need at least 2 months to recover from the durian cake and this triple layer of deliciousness. The incredibly moist chocolate cake and pumpkin cheesecake layers were definitely the stars of the show… oh, and my brother of course! Happy birthday, Andy!
Recipes (adapted from Life Love and Sugar)
Both cake layers bake at the same temperature, so you can prepare the batters and bake them at the same time. Try to avoid opening the oven door when the cheesecake is baking as sudden fluctuations in the oven’s temperature can cause the cheesecake to crack.
Best chocolate cake ever
(makes two 8 or 9 inch pans)
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups dark cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300F.
Grease the sides of two 8'' cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and whisk together.
Mix the vanilla extract into the cup of boiling water and stir. Add the diluted vanilla to the cake batter and whisk everything together well.
Pour the batter into the two cake pans, distributing the mixture evenly.
Bake for 38-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before popping them onto cooling racks for further cooling.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
(makes a thick 8’’ slab)
Ingredients
3 packages of cream cheese, softened (at room temp.)
1 cup of sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I used this recipe)
1 cup pumpkin purée
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 300F
Grease an 8’’ springform pan.
Mix the cream cheese, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice until smooth using an electric mixer. Use a low speed to keep air from getting into the batter! Air = cracks.
Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat everything until well combined.
Pour the filling into the springform pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles.
Bake for 1h15mins. Turn off the oven and leave the oven closed for about 15 minutes before leaving the door ajar for another 15-30 minutes. The slow cooling process also helps prevent cracks.
Remove cake from oven and let the cake cool completely before refrigerating.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients
1/2 cup (about 4oz.) chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
Directions
Heat the heavy cream (on the stovetop, but you may also use a microwave) to a gentle boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and cover for about 7 minutes.
Whisk until smooth.

Pumpkin Buttercream Icing
Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4.5 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Cream together the butter and puree using the whisk attachment on your mixer. It’s difficult to get rid of all the lumps, so just mix until the butter and pumpkin are well combined. Whisk in the vanilla, and spices and mix well.
Add the powdered sugar slowly (one cup at a time) and beat to desired consistency. A dense icing is a bit harder to spread and will not keep its shape as well.

CAKE ASSEMBLY

Gently remove the domes off of the chocolate cakes with a large serrated knife.
Place the first layer of chocolate cake on a cake plate or stand.
Spread half of the chocolate ganache you prepared onto the cake.
Place the cheesecake layer on top of the chocolate cake, and spread the rest of the chocolate ganache onto the cheesecake.
Stack the final chocolate cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
Crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of pumpkin butter cream all around it. Scrape off the excess and refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to harden.
Ice the cake with the remainder of the pumpkin buttercream.

Enjoy!