Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake

It's hard to believe that I am already half way through my first semester of Pharmacy school!  It's amazing how fast times flies.  It seems like just a few weeks ago I moved to Oregon and it was nice and sunny, but fall is here and the rain is already starting.  Between the cold weather and my need for caffeine, I've had a few pumpkin spice lattes already this month, which inspired me to try making another pumpkin spice latte cheesecake after my not so perfect attempt last year (lets just say that when making a cheesecake, you need to make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature).  I found this yummy recipe last year on one of my favorite blogs called Sprinkle Bakes.



Crust Ingredients:
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup almond flour (can be found at Trader Joe's)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter

Cheesecake Ingredients:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 tsp espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all of the crust ingredients into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles sand.  Press crust mix firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan and bake for 10 min.  Let crust cool completely.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth using an electric hand mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Remove one cup of the cream cheese mixture and transfer it to another small bowl.  Add the espresso powder to the 1 cup of filling and mix until the coffee dissolves.  Set this mixture aside.  Add 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon and allspice into the remaining cream cheese mixture and combine.  Pour this mixture over the cooked crust and level off with a spatula.  Finally top the pumpkin mixture with the coffee mixture carefully using a spoon to drizzle it on and smooth it out completely.  Bake for 55 minutes or until the cheesecake is set.  Let the cheesecake cool down to room temperature and remove the rim of the spring-form pan, using a knife to run around the edges if needed.  Chill until ready to serve.