A few weeks ago we were fortunate to be at Walt Disney World where we saw some of the HUGE pumpkins being grown in the “Living With The Land” attraction.  These are grown in the Production Greenhouse section of The Land where a lot of different vegetables are grown for use in the Garden Grill Restaurant just upstairs as well as many other EPCOT restaurants. I have no idea what these weighed however they were some of the biggest pumpkins I’ve seen. In addition they’re also growing the Mickey shaped pumkins in the hanging molds which are really neat (see picture below.)

So, in honor of the season, I wanted to post a Disney recipe with this tasty ingredient that you can make right in your own home. This recipe comes from the restaurant BOMA in the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It’s a PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE recipe that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.  Here’s how you do it:

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Boma, Animal Kingdom Lodge)

Yields (1) cheesecake

1 2/3 lb Cream Cheese
5/8 tsp Coriander
5 oz Sugar
5/8 tsp Ginger
3 Eggs
1 ½ oz Heavy Cream
1 tsp Orange Zest
1 ½ oz Sour Cream
1 tsp Lemon Zest
5/8 lb Pumpkin Puree (canned is fine)
1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 Tbl Bourbon Whiskey
¼ tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
5/8 tsp Cloves
5/8 tsp Anise Seed

Crust Topping
½ lb Graham Cracker Crumbs
¼ oz Black Sesame Seeds
4 oz Melted Butter
4 oz Heavy Cream
2 oz Sugar

Prepare graham cracker crust by mixing graham cracker crumbs, melted, butter, and sugar in a bowl. Sprinkle into the bottom of the round flexipan mold. Set aside.

Prepare cheesecake mix by creaming sugar, zests and cream cheese.

Add all the spices, then the rest of the ingredients, while constantly scraping to make sure there are no lumps.

Pour the cheesecake mix in the pan all the way to the top. Set the flexipan mold on a sheet pan and bake in a hot water bath at 275° for about an hour. Place in freezer to cool and then un-mold.

Sprinkle black sesame seeds on a sheet pan and bake at 350° until golden brown.

Whip heavy cream with sugar until stiff peaks. Pipe small dollops of whipped cream on cheesecake. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

That’s all there is to it! 

Happy Halloween everyone!