Halloween Special : Pumpkins Aren't Just for Carving

Halloween marks the beginning of Autumn for me and although this can mean awful weather, it also means it's time for some real heart-warming food! Pumpkins are a great autumnal treat, I love to carve a pumpkin and make a Jack o' lantern as much as the next person, but there is a lot of unlocked potential in the pumpkin. We all buy them as decorations but how many of us actually use them in cooking? Here is a dessert recipe that will go down fantastically if you're throwing a Halloween party this year or even if you just want some delicious comfort food...

Pumpkin & Ginger Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

• 1 Pumpkin
• 400g of Cream Cheese
• Double Cream
• Ginger Biscuits
• Digestive Biscuits
• 2tbsp Butter
• 1 Egg
• 75g Caster Sugar
• 50g Dark Brown Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger

Recipe:

1.  Firstly, you need to heat the oven to 180°C. Then cut the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds from inside, just as you would if you were carving it.
   
   
   
2. When the inside is hollowed out, cut the pumpkin into quarters and from there, begin to peel and chop the flesh into smaller chunks.
   
   
   
3. Place all the chopped pumpkin flesh in a saucepan and bring to the boil, cook for 20-30 mins until the flesh has gone very soft.
   
   
   
4. Drain the pumpkin and leave it to cool, once cooled blend it in a food processor or with a hand blender.
5. While the pumpkin is cooling, you can prepare the cheesecake base. Mash up the ginger and digestive biscuits until reduced to crumbs and powder.
   
   
   
6. Heat the butter and stir it into the biscuit mix, then leave to set in the freezer for half an hour.
7. Once you have blended the pumpkin, add the cream cheese, double cream, sugar, egg and spices to the blender and gently blend the whole mix together.
   
   
   
8. When the mix is fully combined, pour over the cooled biscuit base and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. If the cheesecake is set in the centre, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool for at least an hour before serving. Keep refrigerated.
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top and tuck in!

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