This salted caramel apple pie cheesecake is THE fall cheesecake to make for Thanksgiving. It will absolutely be a showstopper and is sure to wow everyone who tries it.
It is a spiced, creamy cheesecake that's over a cinnamon graham cracker crust. It's topped with a spiced apple pie filling, homemade salted caramel sauce and finished with a sprinkle of crunchy brown sugar streusel. It's the ultimate fall indulgence you should absolutely indulge in this season!
If you're looking for other salted caramel recipes check out my white chocolate salted caramel cheesecake, salted caramel almond cupcakes, salted caramel spice cake or salted caramel sauce!
This post is sponsored by Lifeway. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make In Bloom Bakery possible!
Why You'll Love this Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake
It's covered in salted caramel sauce. I mean you can never have too much salted caramel sauce right?
It has the absolute best creamy texture. This cheesecake literally melts in your mouth. It's so creamy and smooth. It's perfect texture is achieved with a careful mixing method. The cream cheese is complimented with vanilla kefir to achieve an unbelievable perfect cheesecake texture.
It's full of apple spice flavor. The cheesecake filling is flavored with warm fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and poured over a cinnamon graham cracker crust. Then after it's done baking It's topped with spiced apple pie filling. It's an apple lover's dream!
Ingredients for Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake
- Cream Cheese- full fat cream cheese will be the base of this cheesecake
- Kefir- vanilla Lifeway Kefir adds extra creaminess to this cheesecake
- Eggs- make sure they're room temperature
- Granulated White Sugar- sweetens the cheesecake batter
- Cornstarch- absolutely essential for a perfect cheesecake. It adds a bit of structure, allows for clean slices and helps the top to never crack or sink
- Apples- fresh apples get cooked with salted caramel sauce and spices to create a delicious apple pie topping
- Apple Spice- a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice is used to add warmth to the cheesecake and apple pie topping
- Graham crackers- ground to make the crust
- Flour- used to make the streusel stopping
- Light Brown Sugar- used to sweeten the streusel topping
- Butter- used in the salted caramel sauce and streusel
- Heavy Cream- used for the salted caramel sauce
- Springform pan- essential for making a cheesecake
- Large roasting pan
Step by Step Instructions
This cheesecake is very involved, but these steps break it down so you can see exactly how to make it!
(See recipe below for complete measurements and baking times!)
STEP ONE: Make the salted caramel sauce first. See this blog post for an in depth tutorial of how to make it!
STEP TWO: Prepare the springform pan by wrapping the bottom and edges of it with tinfoil. I recommend at least using 4 sheets of foil, but I always do 8-10 to be EXTRA sure no water will seep into the pan while the cheesecake bakes.
STEP THREE: Pulse the graham crackers together in a food processor. Then add in the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, about 1 inch. (A ¼ measuring cup really helps with this step). Bake the crust and then let it cool.
STEP FOUR: Make the cheesecake batter by mixing the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch together on low until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add in kefir, spices and vanilla and mix just until combined. Add in eggs and egg yolks and mix just until combined, being VERY careful not to overmix. Pour the cheesecake into the prepared crust. Place cheesecake into a large roasting pan. Transfer to the oven and pour boiling water into the pan being very careful not to splash the cheesecake. Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven, crack the door and leave cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from oven and let it cool. Then chill the cheesecake in the fridge for 8 hours, or overnight.
STEP FIVE: Make the apple pie topping by adding peeled, cored and diced apple pieces, salted caramel and spices to a pot. Cover and cook apples until tender, about 20 minutes. Then let cool.
STEP SIX: Make the streusel by combining butter, brown sugar, flour and salt together. Bake and let cool. Then crumble the streusel and set aside.
STEP SEVEN: Make the cream cheese frosting by whipping the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and cinnamon together.
STEP EIGHT: When the cheesecake has chilled, assemble it by pouring salted caramel sauce on top. Then add on the apple pie filling and sprinkle the streusel on top. Go around the outside edges of the cheesecake and pipe decorative swirls of cream cheese frosting. Then finally serve!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
(See recipe below for complete measurements and baking times!)
FAQs
Do I really have to use a water bath to bake the cheesecake? Yes, it's absolutely essential. The water bath adds moisture to the oven while the cheesecake bakes and helps to regulate the heat. Without it, the cheesecake won't bake like it should.
Do I have to use homemade salted caramel sauce? No you can definitely substitute for store bought caramel, but homemade tastes SO much better and really is not that hard to make. See my salted caramel sauce post for an in depth explanation for how to make perfect caramel sauce.
I don't have kefir, what can I use instead? The kefir really makes this cheesecake extra creamy, but if you absolutely can't find/use kefir, you can substitute it with sour cream.
Pro Tips
I recommend using a stand mixer to make the cheesecake if you have one. Mix the cheesecake on a low/medium low speed to ensure you're not overmixing.
Be super, super careful not to overmix the cheesecake batter. If you mix too much the cheesecake texture can turn out very runny with a whipped cream consistency.
Make sure your cheesecake has completely chilled before attempting to decorate/cut into it. I recommend making it the day before you're panning on serving it and allowing it to chill overnight.
Other Recipes to Try
White Chocolate Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crust
- 16 graham crackers full sheets
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Spiced Cheesecake
- 32 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup whole milk kefir Vanilla Lifeway Kefir
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
For the Apple Pie Topping
- 2 ½ cups peeled, cored and diced apple pieces 2-3 apples
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce from above
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
For the Streusel Topping
- 1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, cold
- 3 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon flour
- pinch salt
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz. cream cheese, cold
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- Add granulated white sugar to a large sauce pan and heat it over medium low heat. As the sugar is heating it will crystalize and then eventually all melt down and turn golden in color. Stir it occasionally with a spatula. When most of the sugar has melted, but there are still a few crystalized clumps, turn the heat down to low so the melted sugar doesn't burn. (Melting all the sugar takes around 20 minutes.)
- Once all the sugar has melted and turned golden in color, add in the room temperature salted butter right away. Stir quickly until the butter is incorporated.
- Then add in the room temperature heavy cream and stir quickly again to incorporate everything together. (At this point if you see the butter and cream start to separate from the sugar turn the heat up to medium low and stir vigorously to combine everything together. This can happen if your butter and cream aren't room temperature.)
- Lastly, add in ¼ teaspoon-½ teaspoon of sea salt (depending on your preference) and the vanilla and stir to combine. Let the caramel simmer on low for 1-2 minutes, then remove it from the heat and allow to cool before using.
For the Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wrap at least 4 sheets of tinfoil around the bottom and edges of a 9 inch springform pan.
- Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground.
- Add in sugar, cinnamon and melted butter and pulse until combined. You may have to stop, scrape the edges with a spatula and pulse again to ensure everything is combined together.
- Press the crumbs onto the bottom, and about an inch up the sides, of the springform pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then let cool completely.
For the Spiced Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, if not still preheated.
- Put a pot of water on the stove to start boiling. You will want enough water to go up about 1 ½ inches on the sides of the springform pan.
- In a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese, corn starch and sugar together with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes until everything is smooth and there are no lumps. (You can alternatively use a hand mixer, but just be careful not to overmix). Half way through, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed well.
- Add in the kefir, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and vanilla and mix just until combined. (Scrape sides and bottom of bowl again).
- Next add the eggs and egg yolks and mix just until combined. Do not over mix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan with the crust.
- Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan in the oven. Slowly pour the boiling water into the roasting pan around the cheesecake being careful not to splash the cheesecake.
- Bake for 1 hour. When an hour is up, turn off the oven and crack the door open. It helps to use a wooden utensil to keep the oven door slightly open. Let the cheesecake stay in the oven for an additional 1 hour. The cheesecake will continue to bake as it is cooling.
- Once the 2 hours are up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and go around the edges of the pan with a butter knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan.
- Let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter, and then refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
For the Apple Pie Topping
- Add the peeled, cored and diced apple pieces, the set aside ¼ cup of salted caramel sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice to a large pot over medium low heat.
- Cover the pot and stir the apples occasionally until they're tender, about 20 minutes.
- Let the apples cool completely.
For the Streusel Topping
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
- Add the butter, brown sugar, flour and salt to a small bowl.
- Mash everything together until large clumps form. It's easiest to do this by hand.
- Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and sprinkle the streusel over it.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Stir halfway through so it gets evenly browned.
- Let the streusel cool completely, then break it apart into small pieces.
For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter to a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix the butter with an electric mixer until pale in color and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.
- Add in the cream cheese and mix until combined.
- Mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time until all is combined.
- Lastly mix in the cinnamon.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. (My favorite is my Wilton 1M tip.)
Assembling the Cheesecake
- Give yourself a round of applause because you're finally ready to assemble this amazing cheesecake! See the blog post above for the process pictures.
- When the cheesecake has chilled overnight, carefully remove it from the springform pan and transfer it to your serving plate.
- Pour ½ cup of caramel onto the cheesecake.
- Spoon the cooled apples on top, making sure to leave about a 1 inch boarder around the edges.
- Add more caramel on top of the apples if you desire, then sprinkle on the cooled streusel.
- Pipe decorative swirls of cream cheese frosting around the edges of the cheesecake.
- Then serve! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. Not only did it look beautiful, but it tasted just as good. The only thing I changed was the frosting. I decided to make a cinnamon whipped cream, the cream cheese frosting just sounded too sweet for me. Your directions were perfect and easy to follow. I will definitely make this again.
Hi Margo! Thank you so much for trying out the cheesecake! I'm so happy to hear you liked it. It makes my day to hear that others are enjoying my recipes! 🙂
Wow wow wow. Just made this for Thanksgiving… such a crowd pleaser and will definitely make a come back for Christmas. Thank you!!
Am I able to sub out the Kefir for regular whole milk?
Hi Flor! I would use whole milk sour cream as a substitute for kefir 🙂