Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Topping
3/4 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter -- chilled
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (use a blender if you can because cutting by hand takes a while)

Cheesecake
6 tablespoons butter -- melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
24 ounces cream cheese -- room temperature (I use Philadelphia cream cheese)
3/4 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
5 large eggs
1 pound canned solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup whipping/heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Optional: instead of making the graham cracker crust, you can buy a pre-made graham cracker crust, in which case you do not need graham crackers, butter or white sugar under "cheesecake ingredients". Additionally, if using 9" pre-made crusts, you can make two pies with this recipe.

For topping: Place sugar in small bowl. Add butter and cut in until mixture
resembles coarse meal. Stir pecans into mixture. Set aside.

For cheesecake crust:
Blend crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter in medium bowl. Press crumb mixture in
bottom and up sides of 8x8x2 1/2-inch or 8in diameter pan. Chill. Preheat oven to 325F.

Directions:
For cheesecake:

Using mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Mix in
remaining 3/4 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until
fluffy. Blend in pumpkin, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pour into crust.

Bake until center no longer jiggles when pan is shaken, about 1 1/2 hours.
Sprinkle topping over cheesecake. Bake 15 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Recipe Source: Augmented from Epicurious.

AMENDMENTS: I discovered this while living in France. As a result of being in Paris, however, I did not have access to many of the ingredients necessary. Therefore, I had to improvise by using creme frais and weird German cookies instead of graham crackers.

This recipe was used on November 22, 2009 by a good friend of mine, and former roommate, JD while he was in Pakistan. Here are a few photos of that event.
I think they did a fabulous job (even without the pecan topping!) I am certainly glad that my recipes not only come from around the world but can also be used around the world. That makes me very very happy. [Photos courtesy Jamshed Daher and his Pakistani Cooking Queens]