Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake

9/23/2021

Twenty Eight years ago, two people - with very different personalities - decided to join their lives forever. ❤ Anytime you merge two lives together, it's a calculated risk - there's no guarantee that these two individuals are going to able to live together harmoniously. But at that age of 22, we chose to believe that our love was bigger than our differences so we took that leap of faith and tied the knot on a beautiful September afternoon in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. 🥰

We celebrated our 28th anniversary with a mid week get away to St. Simons Island a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't far into our marriage that we discovered that we had very different definitions of the word "vacation." One of us likes to use the time to relax, disengage, rest and destress. The other one, likes to spend every moment exploring the sights, sounds and flavors of her new surroundings to the point of blissful exhaustion. 😅It took some time but I'm happy to report that we've finally figured out how to vacation together so that we're meeting both of our needs. We spent our time on this tiny Georgia island relaxing on the beach, indulging in way too much seafood and playing golf on one of the most beautiful golf courses that I've ever seen.

The combining of two lives is a gamble. Obviously, there's less at stake when you're working with food and combining ingredients instead of personalities but, it still involves an element of risk. Sometimes my experimental food combinations are a complete disaster and I think to myself, there's a reason that no one eats hash brown potatoes on a salad. (Yes, I did try that - once. 😅) But then other times - I wonder who the first creative genius was to made the brave choice to combine dark chocolate and sea salt. 🍫 It seems like a weird combination but it makes my life so much more delicious.

When I first started to flirt with this recipe for Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake I had very mixed feelings. The thought that this could be a total failure was running through my brain but I still couldn't dismiss the nagging feeling that this just might be a match made in heaven. There was really no way to predict which way this unusual mash up was going to go but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least give it a try. What if this pairing is the next great dark chocolate/sea salt combination?

Turns out - the merger of a warm, spiced pumpkin cake and a cool, creamy vanilla cheesecake is a beautiful thing! There's really no other way to describe it. It's not a cake. It's not a cheesecake. This creation really is its own dessert category. A cake/cheesecake mash up that is as delicious as it is indescribable.

Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake
Cheesecake
16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Pumpkin Cake
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons (16g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1–2 Tablespoons milk