| Serves: 12 people | Recipe course: Desserts | Preparation time (min.): 15 | Cooking time (min.): 50 |
For the crust
100g pecans, toasted
100g pumpkin seeds, toasted
100g rough oatcakes, broken up
50g butter, softened
½ tsp salt
For the cheesecake filling
600g full fat cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp cornflour
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml double cream
400g pumpkin puree
½ tsp salt
150g blue cheese, softened
A small handful of fresh thyme sprigs
Fresh figs, to decorate
1. Preheat your oven to 180C and line a 20x25cm baking tin with a double layer of baking parchment.
2. Begin by preparing the base. Add the pecans, pumpkin seeds and oatcakes to the bowl of your food processor, and process until they resemble breadcrumbs.
3. Add the butter and salt, then briefly process again until you have a damp sandy mixture. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove to cool.
4. Whilst the base is baking, prepare the filling. Into the bowl of your Kenwood Chef kitchen machine, fitted with the K beater attachment, add the cream cheese and cornflour.
5. Beat the cream cheese on a high speed until fluffy, then add the eggs and yolks, and continue beating together on a medium speed until completely combined.
6. Add the double cream to the cream cheese mixture, and beat on a medium speed, until the mixture has thickened. Remove two thirds of the mixture to a large bowl and add the pumpkin puree and salt. Stir to combine.
7. Add the blue cheese to the remaining third of the cheesecake batter, and beat together on a low speed, until fully combined.
8. Pour the pumpkin batter over the cheesecake base, and smooth. Top with dollops of blue cheese batter, and swirl gently together.
9. Scatter with half of the fresh thyme sprigs, then place into the oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 150C, and bake for 40 minutes, until the cheesecake still has a slight wobble. Switch off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool.
10. Once cool, remove from the tin and cut into bars. Serve scattered with the remaining thyme sprigs and fresh sliced figs.