What do you make if you are craving apple pie and cheesecake? Combine them both together of course.
The crust is a traditional graham crack crust which is so delicious. Duh, it’s graham cracker crust. In fact, when I pulled it out of the oven my husband said that I could stop there because he’d happily eat the crust by itself. It was a tempting offer, considering I had most of the recipe yet to go. Luckily my husband stuck around to help me finish baking, which made the steps go by quicker. Plus it was more fun.
The cheesecake filling is a like a NY cheesecake, dense and super creamy. The apple layer in the middle is similar to an apple pie filling and gives the cheesecake an Autumnal feel. Let’s not forget about that crumble topping. I’m not sure where that comes from exactly, but it sure was good. Somehow it even stayed crunchy after chilling the cheesecake.
All of flavors and textures going on here makes every bite pure perfection. I added a scoop of homemade whipped cream (courtesy of my husband) and sprinkled a little extra cinnamon on top.
This little guy is made in a 6-inch round pan, and produces more than its fair share of dishes, but it’s worth it and I’m sure there are some interesting statistics about savings compared to making two separate desserts.
Little Apple Crumble Cheesecake Recipe
(Makes a 6 inch cheesecake.)
Ingredients for the Crust:
- 1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (equivalent to about 11 sheets of crackers)
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredients for the Apple Layer:
- 3 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup butter (equivalent to 1/2 of a stick)
- 3 tablespoons water, divided per the directions
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredients for the Crumble Topping:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup of all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredients for the Cheesecake Filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions for the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut a round piece of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of a 6 x 3 inch springform pan. Grease the pan (and the parchment paper disc) and set it aside.
- In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, add the butter and melt it.
- Add in the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and cinnamon, and mix everything together.
- Press the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom and most of the way up the sides of the prepared pan. Press firmly.
- Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Allow the crust to cool.
Directions for the Apple Layer:
- Core, peel, and slice the apples into slices and set them aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water and set this aside.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the butter, 2 tablespoons of water, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix everything together.
- Once the butter has melted, stir in the sliced apples. Cook the apple mixture for about 10 minutes or until the apple slices are fork tender.
- Add in the cornstarch/water mixture, and stir everything together. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the “apple goo” has thickened.
- Take it off the heat and set it aside.
Directions for the Crumble Topping:
- In a medium bowl, add the butter and melt it. (I used the microwave.)
- Add in the quick oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix everything together.
- Set this aside.
Directions for the Cheesecake Filling:
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Make sure the ingredients are room temperature.
- Add in the granulated sugar and salt, and beat the mixture for about a minute or until it’s well combined.
- Add in 1 egg at a time, beating the mixture until it’s well combined.
- Add in the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat the mixture until it’s well combined.
Directions for Assembly of All the Layers:
- Now it’s finally time to put all the layers together!
- Wrap the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil or place it in pan that’s 1 inch bigger round. *
- Pour half of the cheesecake filling on top of the crust.
- Gently place the apple layer on top of the cheesecake filling. (Not all of mine fit because I was running out of room.)
- Pour the remaining half of the cheesecake filling on top of the apple layer.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping on top of the cheesecake filling.
- Place the pan (or nested pans) into a large oven safe pan (I used a 13 x 9 inch baking dish) and fill the outer pan with about 1 inch of hot water.
- Bake it in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until the crumb looks slightly browned. (It took 63 minutes in my oven.)
- Turn off the oven, open the oven door a little bit, and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for about 1 hour.
- Take the cheesecake out of the oven, remove it from the water bath, and let it cool the rest of the way to room temperature.
- Then chill it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. (I chilled it overnight.)
* I’ve found nesting the springform pan into a slightly larger pan does better at keeping water out of the cheesecake than tin foil does.
Source: Well Made by Kiley
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