a review on the house-made pumpkin cheesecake
It would be easy to let your mind approach this time of year as the “end of Summer”. I like to think of it as the “beginning of Autumn”. My paradigm involves all kinds of positive notions. My second favourite of these notions is to emulate the behavioural pattern of bears at this time of year. No, not raiding my neighbour’s pear tree, or leaving a calling card in the middle of Elwyn Street, but by initiating a much slower pace of life with an abundance of naps. My favourite autumnal activity is eating all the wonderful seasonal foods, most of which were grown or produced here in the Kootenays. Personally, I dream of glazed Brussels sprouts.
I think we can all agree that Autumn has some special desserts on offer. Fruit crumbles and pies come to mind. The artists in our Co-op bakery have created two seasonal cakes that you should know about. One is the Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake and the other is the Apple Cider Vegan Cheesecake. Today I am commenting on the former. I promise I will review the latter as well. All this work is simply a sign of my commitment to you, the readers of our newsletter.
Cheesecake often gets its flavouring from the topping. In this case, our bakers have chosen to infuse the pumpkin and spices into the creamy texture of the cake itself. The pumpkin flesh of this recipe is from fresh sugar pie pumpkins that come to our Co-op from Argenta Gardens. An aura of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and ginger teases our senses via the aroma and aftertaste of our seasonal star. The experience is complete and visceral; more like sliding into a warm bath than standing in a shower.
You will have to remind yourself over (and over) again that, like many human activities, the eating of cheesecake should not be rushed. Picture yourself in a creaky wing back chair listening to the music of Francis Poulenc or Harold Budd. You have long since forgiven yourself for not raking leaves or digging up your dahlia tubers today. On your feet are the Danish wool slippers that you purchased in town. On your torso is the cable knit sweater your Aunt Beatrice knit for you. The sleeves extend halfway down your hands leaving just enough room for you to hold a cup of Jasmine tea in one hand and a fork in the other. You picked up the fork after laying down a pencil. The pencil had just stopped moving on the Crossword page; six letter word “fall forward”. Or maybe the pencil recorded your Scrabble partner’s score when their seven-letter word (QUALIFY) joined two Double Word Scores.
Either way, it is time for cheesecake.
Produce Clerk
