Pumpkin Pie Birthday Cake Recipe

Crust:
2 cups finely crushed ginger snaps cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
.
Filling:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar, divided use
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) OR 1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. and position the oven rack in the center of the oven.

For the Crust:
Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

For the Cheesecake Filling:
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla until it is well blended. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing each time just until blended. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the plain batter and set aside.

To the remaining plain batter, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Using a large spoon, stir to combine.

Pour 1/2 of pumpkin batter over crust. Spoon 1/2 of plain batter over pumpkin layer. Repeat until all batter is used. Using a long butter knife, gently swirl through all layers of cheesecake batter without disturbing crust to achieve a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Use a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Cool completely on wire rack. Remove outer pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.