Cup of Yum
1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Using an 8-inch round cake pan (not a springform pan!, trace a circle on parchment paper, cut out and line bottom of pan. Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

For the Cheesecake Layer

Cup of Yum
1. In a large bowl, whip softened cream cheese. Slowly stir in granulated sugar. Scrape sides and mix until sugar is incorporated. Stir in vanilla and eggs, one at a time until incorporated into the batter. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix again until batter is completely smooth. Stir in sour cream.
2. Pour into prepared 8-inch cake pan and place into a roasting pan, or other pan with high sides. Fill pan up carefully with very hot tap water until it reaches half way up the cake pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and cheesecake has almost completely set. Remove from oven. Cool. Remove from water bath, wipe pan and refrigerate 3 hours to overnight.

For the Pumpkin Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Line 2-8 inch cake pans with parchment paper (just like above) and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. in a large bowl, measure out and pour all ingredients. Stir together to incorporate. Do not over mix!
2. Divide batter evenly between the two pans, level off the tops and bake 20-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. (A few moist crumbs should be fine.)
3. Cool 15-20 minutes, then remove from warm pans and transfer cakes to cooling racks. Cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Place cream cheese and butter into a large bowl and whip to incorporate. Stir in vanilla. With mixer on low, slowly stir in powdered sugar, scraping sides as needed.
2. Continue whipping frosting until it's smooth and well mixed. Set aside.

Assembling the Cake

1. Cut small dome shape off cooled pumpkin cakes, if present, to create flat cakes. Place one pumpkin layer onto cake stand. Top with cream cheese frosting and add chilled cheesecake. (If the cheesecake has collected some condensation from the fridge, be sure to press with paper towels to dry before stacking in the cake.) Spread with more cream cheese frosting and then top with second pumpkin layer. Coat entire cake with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting (called a crumb coating), starting on top and working down the sides of the cake. Refrigerate 30-45 minutes to solidify the frosting. (Or freeze for 15 minutes.)
2. Add a second layer of frosting overtop the crumb coating and use any extra frosting to pipe rosettes around the top border. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg and garnish with pumpkin candies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.