Caramel Apple Cheesecake Recipe

There's nothing more complementary than apples and caramel, and marrying them in a dessert yields a dish that's beyond harmonious. In this recipe, the quick caramel sauce gets draped over the main event: cheesecake spiced with a trifecta of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. With layers of apple pie filling and diced Granny Smith in every bite, it's a perfectly balanced orchestra of flavor.

To make the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan with butter or nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter. Mix with a fork or spatula until fully combined, then add to springform pan.
3. Using a flat bottomed glass, press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of pan, compacting it to create a crust. Set aside.

To make the batter

1. In a large bowl, combine diced apple with pie filling. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and flour until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and extra yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, mixing well to combine. Add heavy cream and mix one final time until batter is unform.
3. Add half the batter to prepared springform pan, spreading evenly. Top with half the apple mixture, then repeat with remaining batter and apple mixture for a total of four layers.
4. Gently swirl a knife or skewer through the top of the cheesecake, allowing some of the apple mixture on top to sink into the batter. Place cheesecake on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until the surface appears dry but the center is still slightly jiggly.
5. Turn off oven, remove cheesecake, and gently run a sharp pointed knife around the rim where the sides meet the pan. Return cheesecake to oven for an additional hour to slowly cool. Once cheesecake is close to room temperature, transfer to fridge and let chill overnight.

To make the caramel sauce

1. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 4-5 minutes, until golden and slightly thickened.
2. Drizzle caramel sauce over chilled cheesecake before serving, or cut cheesecake before topping with caramel to achieve cleaner slices.

Notes

Letting your eggs and cream cheese come to room temperature before using them is crucial, and will help your batter come together uniformly with no small cream cheese specks throughout. In a pinch, soften your cream cheese by removing the foil wrapper and microwaving in a small bowl for about 20 seconds.

Thanks to its high butterfat and low water content, full fat cream cheese works best for this recipe. Avoid low fat substitutions.

To avoid cracks in your cheesecake, let it cool very slowly right in the oven once you've turned it off. Some cracks are unavoidable, but can always be concealed with caramel sauce or whipped cream.