Breath of the Wild: Pumpkin Pie

Fortified pumpkins can be found in Kakariko Village at Olkin’s Pumpkins. These pumpkins are extremely tough and are cooked to both soften them and help increase Link’s toughness. During your first visit to the shop, Olkin will offer you a free pumpkin. He knows how to run a business; it will get you running back for more all throughout pumpkin season. Just don’t tell Olkin that Hinox like to carry fortified pumpkins. It might be a bit more dangerous to go that route but at least the pumpkins will be free.

It is officially pumpkin flavor season and I figured it would be a great time to dive into a pumpkin recipe. When I saw the recipe for pumpkin pie in Breath of the Wild I was very excited to recreate this item. The image from the game always felt more like a cheesecake than a traditional pumpkin pie. With that in mind, I started working on how to combine the flavors of a cheesecake with those of a pumpkin pie. It was extremely important that all the essential spices would be present in all the bites. Due to the cream cheese mellowing out the pumpkin flavors it was important to amplify the traditional pumpkin spice flavors. It was very important to use gingersnap cookies for the crust at the bottom. I am typically not a huge fan of heavily clove-flavored desserts so the amount I add to the filling can be doubled if it is a flavor you enjoy.

Ingredients:
Crust
1 ½ cups ground gingersnap crumbs
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar

Filling
24 oz cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp ground clove
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 – 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Mix together the ground gingersnap crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until it all comes together.

Take a springform pan and wrap the outside with a double layer of aluminum. This is to help prevent too much direct heat which has a tendency to cause cheesecake to crack. Place the graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of the pan. Press the crust down until you have a nice flat layer at the bottom. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Once the crust has baked, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 325°F.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides a few times to make sure all of the cream cheese is smooth.

Add the salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix well. Next, add the eggs in one at a time.

Add the vanilla extract. Mix well and scrape the sides to incorporate everything.

Finally, add the pumpkin puree and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until well combined.

Place the springform pan in a large, deep baking tray. Pour hot water in the baking tray until about halfway up on the pan. This is done to avoid harshly cooking the cake and to prevent major cracks from forming on the top.

Pour the filling onto the crust in the springform pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top. Place in the oven and bake for 60-75 minutes, or until the cheesecake registers a temperature of 155°F.

Turn off the oven, leave the door shut, and let the cheesecake rest for one hour.

Remove from the oven and the deep baking pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, refrigerate overnight. The next day cut a slice and enjoy.