The final component of my Thanksgiving dinner was of course the dessert! Normally when I am thinking about a dessert for Thanksgiving I head toward pumpkin or sometimes even sweet potato but this year I wanted to try something new and I went with another great fall ingredient, the chestnut. I don’t use chestnuts nearly enough and I was thinking that a chestnut cheesecake would be a perfect way to end my Thanksgiving feast! After looking around for a while I settled on this recipe for a chestnut cheesecake that is topped with a rum-y syrup.
Overall this recipe is pretty standard for a cheesecake and it is actually quite easy to make. You basically just press the crumb crust into a pan, mix all of the filling ingredients, pour the mixture into the pan and bake it. This recipe uses a hot water bath to help ensure that the top does not crack but you could skip this part if you prefer. You could use canned chestnut puree or if you have the time it is pretty easy to make your own.
Chestnut Cheesecake
A creamy chestnut cheesecake that is perfect for any special occasion.
ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon chestnut puree
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 3/4 cups sour cream
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 cup chestnut puree
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1 tablespoon chestnut puree
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
directions
- Process the Graham cracker crumbs, butter, chestnut puree and sugar in a food processor until it form small crumbs.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and place it in the fridge.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time until incorporated.
- Add the sour cream, lime juice, vanilla extract and rum and beat until smooth.
- Fold in the chestnut puree. (You can go for smooth or streaky.)
- Double wrap the bottom of the spring-from pan with foil, place it in an oven safe pan and pour recently boiled water into the into the pan so that it goes one inch up the foil wrapping.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until there is just a small wobble in the middle when shaken, about an hour.
- Let cool, remove the foil, cover in plastic and place in the fridge over night.
- Place the water, rum, chestnut puree, sugar and butter in a small sauce pan, simmer for 10 minutes and let cool a bit before drizzling over the cheese cake.
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Simona says
October 17, 2011 at 11:28 amthis parfait is very delicious
vanillasugarblog says
October 17, 2011 at 2:05 pmmy goodness what a great idea to use chestnut.
have i ever baked with chestnut before? noooo, but i so need to when it's in cheesecake form.
elly says
October 17, 2011 at 2:53 pmI am so in love with this. I love that the chestnuts are in every component!
Joanne says
October 17, 2011 at 3:41 pmthis is just the kind of crazy unique dessert that I need to serve at my Thanksgiving dinner!
Anonymous says
October 17, 2011 at 4:15 pmI've never baked or cooked with chestnuts before! Yum!
Jennifurla says
October 17, 2011 at 4:44 pmyou just reminded me I have cups for of chesnut puree in my freezer! yeah for me.
Rachel Louisa. says
October 17, 2011 at 5:06 pmThis looks absolutely amazing.
Sara says
October 17, 2011 at 6:26 pmYum! This cheesecake looks totally amazing…yum!! 🙂
matteo/dentro la pentola says
October 17, 2011 at 7:14 pman interesting way to serve the classical english choice!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
October 17, 2011 at 7:58 pmMmmhhh, that is a fabulous flavor! Irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa
Sandra L. Keirsey says
October 18, 2011 at 11:34 amI think that I will have to make this for Thanksgiving! What a wonderful recipe. Thank you!
thefoodishgrandmere.blogspot.com says
October 18, 2011 at 1:06 pmtortedI am going to try this chestnuts cheese cake right away . every Thanksgiving I make a pumpkin cheesecake this year it may be Chestnuts. I am french , the french always did a lot of cooking with chestnuts. I remember as a child buying chestnuts in the street and the merchant screaming"chaud chaud les marrons!!". Thank you
Martyna says
October 18, 2011 at 8:04 pmHow does it taste chestnuts ?
Jamie says
October 19, 2011 at 5:38 amOkay, Kevin, I'll admit that I am discovering your Thanksgiving menu from dessert on backwards but oh what a dessert! I agree about always turning to pumpkin, sweet potato or even apple and chestnut is fabulous! I did a couple chestnut desserts last year. This cheesecake is gorgeous! Now I want to try, too, and I happen to have both canned purée and cooked vacuum packed. Delicious!
anniebakes says
October 19, 2011 at 2:46 pmthis is so unusual, I must try it!!
Kathleen Richardson says
October 19, 2011 at 4:26 pmKevin, what a trendy idea! Thanks for including the link to your "old" Chestnut Puree recipe. What milk are you using with it these days… whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or does it matter? I was even wondering about coconut milk, if that would work.
Tanvi, a.k.a. The Hathi says
October 19, 2011 at 9:23 pmWow! This looks incredible! I absolutely love chestnuts and start to feast on them once they get into stores in the fall. I'll have to try this!
Kevin says
October 19, 2011 at 9:25 pmKathleen Richardson: Any milk will work and I usually use 2%.
Peabody says
October 20, 2011 at 12:44 amNow that is a flavor you don't see much of…but wow and yum!
Salomé says
October 23, 2011 at 7:19 amHe incluido tu publicación en Mis Favoritas de esta semana, si quieres verlo está en
http://blocderecetas.blogspot.com/2011/10/mis-favoritas-halloween.html
Espero que te guste!
Theresa's Kitchen says
October 24, 2011 at 4:53 pmthis is very interesting…I've had many cheesecakes before but never chestnut. I just recently made an anise plum jam/preserve to top regular cheesecake. It's so good – my dad can't get enough.
Rob Johnson says
June 26, 2012 at 6:56 amLooks awesome, thanks for this! Great food sensory !
Stinkybabysmom says
November 25, 2012 at 2:50 amCan you buy chestnut puree??
Stinkybabysmom says
November 25, 2012 at 2:54 amCan you buy chestnut puree??
Kevin says
November 26, 2012 at 11:18 amStinkybabysmom: Yes you can buy chestnut puree and you should be able to find cans of it in larger grocery stores and import food stores.
Bea Long says
December 22, 2013 at 5:26 amhey Kevin I have a question about the chestnut cheesecake can I wanted to chopped candied chestnuts so I'm wondering how that would affect the chestnut puree so if you could see jazz suggest how to even then out cold really appreciate it
kevin says
December 22, 2013 at 11:06 amBea Long: I have not tried using candied chestnuts to make the puree but they would be good and a blender should be able to puree them. You may nee to soak or even boil them a bit first depending on how hard they are. Enjoy!
Lorna says
February 9, 2015 at 10:32 amI have some chestnuts left over from a Valentine's recipe I created for my blog and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them, other than sit and eat them out of the tin! Cheesecake sounds like a great idea.
Min says
November 12, 2018 at 11:48 pmJust tried this wonderful recipe. Fabulous. Thank you so much!!!