When autumn comes calling, nights getting darker, evenings with a distinct chill in the air, it is the season of squashes and nothing is more autumnal than the bright orange pumpkins that kids love to hollow out for lanterns. I hate wasting the flesh of the pumpkin and love to find news ways of using the leftovers. Here is one of my favourites;

You will need to roast the pumpkin for this recipe, just wrap in foil and bake for 30 minutes.

You will need the following ingredients:

225g digestive biscuits
60g butter
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
340g cooked pumpkin
225g caster sugar
450g mascarpone cheese
1 tsp ground cinnamon
tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 eggs
90ml double cream
90ml crme fraiche (use the low fat version)

How to make the cheescake.

1. Heat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

2. Put the biscuits into a clean sandwich bag and smash with a rolling pin.

3. Melt the butter over a low heat and mix in the biscuit crumbs and lemon zest.

4. Lightly grease a 25cm/10in loose-bottomed cake tin and press the crumbs into the base and up the sides slightly.

5. Mix together the mascarpone cheese, pumpkin flesh, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth.

6. Beat the eggs and fold into the pumpkin mixture. Turn into the tin and bake in the oven for 90 minutes until the surface is set but the underneath still slightly soft to touch.

7. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool in the tin. When cool, turn it on to a serving plate, cover with clingfilm and chill overnight in the fridge.

8. Whip the double cream until thick and fold in the crme fraiche and the lemon juice. Spread over the top of the cheesecake and serve at room temperature.

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