First Recipe Request - Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is the first recipe that I have had someone request!  I think this is my all time favorite pumpkin desert.  I have even decided that I will start a new tradition, and have this instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  I recently found the recipe I first used and fell in love with, and so I will share this one with you, and at a later time share my new Maple Cheesecake discovery.

For starters, preheat the oven to 350 F.  Then you assemble the crust.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (Each pack of graham crackers turns into about 1 cup of crumbs)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

For an easy way to make crumbs, put the graham crackers and ginger in a blender or food processor.  Then dump them out, and mix in the melted butter.  Press this into the bottom of a 10 inch cheesecake pan, and bake for 10 minutes.  Set the crust aside and mix the filling.

5 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup (I prefer grade B because it has a stronger maple flavor)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Mix in the remaining ingredients.  Now, pour the batter over the crust, and bake in the oven fro 65-75 minutes.  The top should be light brown, and the center should have a slight jiggle to it.  At this point you would pour the sour cream topping over the cheesecake and bake it another 10 minutes.  Otherwise, pull it out and cool it on a rack for at least 2 hours.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

When you serve it, you can serve it with whipped cream, which is really good, or a sour cream topping that I borrowed from my other pumpkin cheesecake recipe.

For the sour cream topping, you need to mix 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tbsp maple syrup.  You will need to pour this over the cheesecake just after the cooking time, and bake it for another 10 minutes, then continue to cool it.  And of course the most important step is to cut yourself a slice and sit back and enjoy!