Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake

• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Grease a 9 1/2 inch springform pan, wrap the bottom outside of pan with aluminum foil to prevent water from leaking in and set aside. Set oven rack to lower third of oven and place a large roasting pan large enough for your springform pan to fit in on the oven rack.

For the cheesecake

• In a large bowl mix softened cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth and creamy. Add eggs in one at a time mixing well between each addition.
• Mix in sugar, flour and vanilla.
• Mix for 2-3 minutes scraping sides of bowl.
• Set aside.

For the Pumpkin Cake

• In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin together until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until no large lumps remain. Avoid over mixing the pumpkin cake batter.
• Spread 1 cup of the pumpkin cake batter over bottom of prepared pan. On top of the pumpkin batter, drop large spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining pumpkin cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter. It does not have to be neat and perfect. Do not swirl with a knife.
• Place the springform pan into the large roasting pan and place into the oven. Fill the roasting pan with about 1 inch of hot water. The foil wrapped around the pan will prevent water from leaking inside.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Loosely place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan to prevent the top and edges from browning too much. Bake for an additional 35-40 minutes or until cake is set. Once done, turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight (preferred). Loosen the cheesecake from the rim of the pan and remove the rim. Place on your serving dish.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a small bowl mix together butter and cream cheese until smooth. About 3 minutes.
• Add confectioner sugar and mix well.
• Add the vanilla and mix for another 3 minutes.
• Spread over the top of your cooled cake.

For the Praline Topping

• In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and pecans.
• Let cool before adding to the top of your Cheesecake.
• You can either top your cheesecake and refrigerate or wait to add your Praline Topping right before serving. You may need to warm it up a bit to loosen it though if it has hardened too much.