Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Cookie Crust

This delicate cheesecake is cooked in a water bath and steamed for a supremely light texture. To make sure the homemade-gingersnap-cookie crust stays crisp, wrap the cake pan inside and out with heavy-duty, 18" wide aluminum foil.

Gingersnap Cookie Crust:
1 cup + 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. sea salt, divided
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup sugar
10 Tbsp. (1¼ sticks) butter, room temperature, divided
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. mild-flavoured molasses
1½ tsp. ginger, peeled, finely grated
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed

Filling:
2½ cups whole-milk ricotta
½ cup + 1 Tbsp. mascarpone
⅓ cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
¾ tsp. sea salt, divided
1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
¼ tsp. ground cardamom

For the Gingersnap Cookie Crust:
Whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour, baking soda, ¼ tsp. salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and 6 Tbsp. butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, molasses and ginger. With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, beating just to blend. Form dough into a ball; flatten into a disk.

Arrange racks in top and bottom thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop dough by rounded tablespoons and divide between prepared baking sheets, spacing 2" apart.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cookies are deep golden-brown, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on a wire rack.

Finely grind cookies in a food processor. Measure 1¾ cups crumbs for crust; reserve any remaining crumbs for another use.

Make-Ahead: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store crumbs airtight in freezer. Return to room temperature before using.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Line springform pan tightly with foil. Butter foil. Wrap outside of pan tightly with foil (to create a watertight seal during baking), pressing wrinkles flat.

Melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan. Whisk reserved 1¾ cups gingersnap crumbs, remaining 1 Tbsp. flour, ½ tsp. salt and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add melted butter and stir mixture until well combined. Press crumbs into bottom of prepared pan. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake until crust is fragrant and set, 20-25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool.

For the Filling:
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C/130°C fan, Gas Mark 2).

Purée ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, egg yolks, 1 egg and salt in a food processor until smooth. Scrape most of ricotta filling into a large bowl, leaving about ½ cup of filling in processor. Add remaining egg, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, cream, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and remaining ¼ tsp. salt to processor; purée until smooth. Scrape pumpkin filling into a medium bowl. Pour ricotta filling over cooled crust. Spoon pumpkin filling over. Using a spoon, gently swirl the 2 fillings in 6-7 places.

Put cake pan in a large roasting pan. Add hot water to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil.

Bake cake for 1 hour. Open foil carefully to release steam. Reseal foil and continue baking, opening foil to release steam every 15 minutes, until cheesecake is set around the edges and jiggles slightly in the center when nudged, 45 minutes-1 hour longer.

Remove cake pan from roasting pan. Carefully unwrap outer foil from pan. Chill cake at least 6 hours before serving.

Make-Ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled. Run a thin knife around inside of pan to release cake. Remove pan sides.

Makes 8 servings.