1 ½ cups crushed gingersnap cookies

½ cup finely chopped pecans

1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl, then press into the bottom and up the sides of a 21cm springform pan.  Bake the crust for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 175 C degrees.

500g cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat together well

3 eggs

Mix in, one at a time, blending well after each. 

Set aside 1 cup of this mixture.

¼ cup sugar

1 cup cooked (very soft) pumpkin, mashed

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Blend these ingredients into the above mixture (not the 1 cup you’ve set aside), then spread this evenly onto the pre-baked biscuit base.  Drop the plain mixture which you’ve set aside into the pumpkin flavour mixture in tablespoon sized dollops, then swirl through with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 minutes in the oven at 175 C degrees, or until filling is set. 

Run a knife around the edge of the pan, but allow to cool before removing the pan rim.  Chill for a few hours to set through before serving.

Note – Heather's original recipe actually called for 1 cup CANNED pumpkin, but since I've never seen that here in Australia, you’ll have to boil and mash it yourselves!

Thanks to my dear friend Heather in Ontario for this delicious recipe!