Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl. A Halloween dessert Idea that is as beautiful as it is delicious. Includes Recipe Video too.

Every year when Halloween rolls around, I just can’t get on the food-coloring, finger cookie band wagon.

Call me kill-joy, but there’s just something so unappetizing about eating a witches’ finger?! For me I prefer desserts made with basic ingredients that look and taste delicious, but have more of an eerie vibe about them.

That’s why I love this Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl recipe.  It’s so easy to do, and so delicious to eat!  If you’re so inclined you can also trade up the swirl for a cob web design, but a haphazard swirl will give you the same feeling, with a lot less skill involved.  My kind of recipe.

How do you make a chocolate crust?

I find the best chocolate crusts are made from using Famous Chocolate Waffers. Those cookies that your grandmother used to make “ice box cakes”. You can usually find these in the grocery store in the summertime, on those ice cream end caps next to the sprinkles and ice cream cones, but then they are harder to find off season? I guess because not to many people are making ice cream cakes. So I just stock up online.

You just grind them up in the food processor and then add melted butter to them until a moist crumb forms and that’s all there is to it.

How do you make a pumpkin cheesecake? 

Pumpkin cheesecake is made exactly like regular cheesecake except you’ll add pure pumpkin puree to the batter and pumpkin pie spice.

If you live outside the U.S. and can’t find Pumpkin Pie Spice, you can actually easily make it at home.  Here’s my recipe for this beloved American blend.

How do you make a chocolate swirl? 

Making a chocolate swirl is so easy you won’t believe it!  Basically you just create evenly distributed dollops of chocolate around your cheesecake. Then run a skewer through the dollops creating almost like little hearts then, run your skewer through the hearts et voila! Swirls!

Can you make cheesecake ahead of time?

Yes!  This is the best part about any cheesecake recipe. In fact cheesecakes must be made ahead of time because they need time to set up and chill.  I think cheesecakes are best when made a full 24-hours in advance of serving.

For a step-by-step video tutorial of this recipe you can watch my video below. SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL and never miss a recipe! (It’s free) and new video recipes post each Saturday!

Try some of my other Halloween inspired recipes – Halloween Brownie Bites, The Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe, or my No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse.

Please let me know if you make this Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl by leaving a rating and review below

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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl

Yield: serves 8

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl. A Halloween dessert Idea that is as beautiful as it is delicious. Includes Recipe Video too.

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 (9 0z) package of famous chocolate wafers or other dark chocolate cookie
• 5 tbsp (75 ml) melted butter

For Filling:

• 2 (8 oz) containers (460g) of whipped cream cheese
• 2 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• ¾ cup (150 g) of sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can (420g) of pure pumpkin puree
• ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt
• 1 tsp (5 ml) pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp (5 ml)vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (30 g) of flour
• 2 oz (56 g) melted bittersweet chocolate

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 325F/162 C.
• Process cookies in a food processor until fine or better yet place in a zip lock plastic bag, seal and crush with a rolling pin until finely ground (then you won't have to clean the food processor!). Combine with the melted butter, until a lose meal develops.
• Grease a 9" (23 cm) spring form pan. Place the crumbs into the center of the pan, working your way up the sides at least 2 inches. Use the side of a measuring cup to help adhere crust to the sides.
• Bake at 325 F/ 162 C for 10-12 mins and then set aside and allow to cool.
• Beat together the cream cheese, eggs, and egg yolks until smooth. Add the sugar , beat until combined, then the pumpkin. Then add the salt, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, beat to combine, and lastly add the flour.
• Pour the filling out into a slightly cooled crust. And then spoon the melted chocolate on top creating 2 rings of small circles (about the size of a grape) then run a skewer through the chocolate creating a swirled design.
• Bake at 325 F/ 162 C for at least 1 hour. At the 50 mins mark, check it. At this point it should giggle slightly but not too wildly. Just don’t over bake or you will get cracks.
• Allow to cool for at least 30-40 mins and then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight is even better.

Instructions

1. METHOD:
2. Preheat oven to 325F/162 C.
3. Process cookies in a food processor until fine or better yet place in a zip lock plastic bag, seal and crush with a rolling pin until finely ground (then you won't have to clean the food processor!). Combine with the melted butter, until a lose meal develops.
4. Grease a 9" (23 cm) spring form pan. Place the crumbs into the center of the pan, working your way up the sides at least 2 inches. Use the side of a measuring cup to help adhere crust to the sides.
5. Bake at 325 F/ 162 C for 10-12 mins and then set aside and allow to cool.
6. Beat together the cream cheese, eggs, and egg yolks until smooth. Add the sugar , beat until combined, then the pumpkin. Then add the salt, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, beat to combine, and lastly add the flour.
7. Pour the filling out into a slightly cooled crust. And then spoon the melted chocolate on top creating 2 rings of small circles (about the size of a grape) then run a skewer through the chocolate creating a swirled design.
8. Bake at 325 F/ 162 C for at least 1 hour. At the 50 mins mark, check it. At this point it should giggle slightly but not too wildly. Just don’t over bake or you will get cracks.
9. Allow to cool for at least 30-40 mins and then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight is even better.
10. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Then release from the spring form pan, place on a cake stand and Enjoy!