Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

caramel pumpkin cheesecake

(5 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Jeanine B
Sumner, WA

Warm flavors of cinnamon and pumpkin marry with a crunchy gingersnap crust. Save your forks and save room for this dessert!

Blue Ribbon Recipe

This pumpkin cheesecake will be a hit for Halloween, Thanksgiving... or, well any time! The gingersnap crust is firm and spicy. It gives a nice crunch when combined with the creamy pumpkin cheesecake. The cheesecake is filled with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and pumpkin and just tastes of fall. We opted to use canned pumpkin which saves on prep time. Drizzling caramel sauce on top is a delicious finishing touch.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(5 ratings)
yield 8 serving(s)
prep time 1 Hr
cook time 1 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For caramel pumpkin cheesecake

  • FOR THE CRUST
  • 2 c
    gingersnap crumbs
  • 1/2 c
    butter, room temperature (1 stick)
  • 1/4 c
    brown sugar
  • FOR THE FILLING
  • 1
    medium size sugar pumpkin (sub 1 cups pumpkin puree)
  • 24 oz
    softened cream cheese
  • 3
    eggs, plus 1 yolk
  • 1 1/4 c
    sugar
  • 1/3 c
    sour cream
  • 2 Tbsp
    white flour
  • 1/4 tsp
    ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp
    ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp
    ground cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp
    vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c
    caramel sauce (salted if available, or you can add 3/4 tsp sea salt) plus extra for drizzling

How To Make caramel pumpkin cheesecake

  • Crust ingredients combined in a bowl.
    1
    To make the crust, combine all of the ingredients.
  • Crumbs pressed into the pan to form a crust.
    2
    Press into a 9-inch springform pan.
  • 3
    To make the filling using Sugar Pumpkin (if using canned pumpkin, skip to step 4), preheat the oven to 400° F. Cut the pumpkin in half crosswise and roast, cut side down, for about 30 minutes or until fork-tender. Cool slightly and scrape out the seeds. Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor until smooth. You will need 2 cups for the filling.
  • Whipped cream cheese in a bowl.
    4
    In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
  • Eggs incorporated into the cream cheese.
    5
    Then beat in the eggs and egg yolk until incorporated.
  • Pumpkin puree and spices incorporated into the cream cheese.
    6
    Beat in pumpkin puree, sugar, sour cream, flour, spices, vanilla, and caramel sauce.
  • Cream cheese batter poured into the prepared crust.
    7
    Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
  • Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake baking in the oven.
    8
    Bake at 350° F for about 1 hour or until the center is set.
  • Baked cheesecake cooling.
    9
    Let rest for 20 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
  • Sugar, hot water, and nuts in a saucepan.
    10
    To make candied pecans, combine 2 Tbsp of sugar and 2 Tbsp of hot water in a small saucepan. Add 1/4 cup nuts and stir to dissolve the sugar.
  • Simmering nuts in the sugar water.
    11
    Bring to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat to a simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. You want them to be golden and coated. It is very easy to forget about them and have them burn, trust me!
  • Sugar-coated pecans on parchment paper.
    12
    If the syrup is looking too runny, keep them on the stove. You want them to be coated and the syrup mostly gone. I have made these many times and taken them out too early so they are just super sticky which is still yummy but not what I am going for. Make sure to let them dry on parchment paper in a single layer. If you find these are not crunchy enough for you, you could pop them into the oven at 350 for 3-5 minutes to crisp them up a little more.
  • A slice of Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake with caramel drizzled on top.
    13
    To serve, slice and plate, then drizzle extra caramel sauce on each slice.
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