Apple Crumble Cheesecake
This Apple Crumble Cheesecake has two layers of smooth, creamy cheesecake nestled between cinnamon sugar apples. The cheesecake sits on top of a homemade apple pie spiced graham cracker crust, then it is topped with a buttery cinnamon sugar streusel topping. A drizzle of apple cider caramel sauce is the finishing touch to this cheesecake, which makes it so delicious!

Apple season has arrived and I couldn’t be more excited to use them in all of my favorite desserts. We recently went apple picking and with my huge bag of apples, I needed a place to use them. This apple crumble cheesecake was the perfect use for them.
Cheesecake is one of those desserts that takes some time to make, but it is well worth the time involved. There’s actually not much in terms of hands on time. It’s the baking and chilling of the cheesecake that take the longest.
This apple crumble cheesecake is seriously delicious. And I’m not just saying that, it truly is. It is definitely worth the time involved. The apples get tender and sweet when baked and when paired with the creamy cheesecake filling? DELICIOUS! This crust and crumble topping has a homemade apple pie spice that really makes this cheesecake taste like fall. If you are debating about a dessert to make this fall, I’d highly recommend this one.
The details
The components
This apple crumble cheesecake has a couple of different components – the crust, crumble, apple filling, creamy cheesecake filling and apple cider caramel. The combo of all of these make this cheesecake taste like fall and it’s sooo good!
The ingredients
- Graham Cracker Crust
- graham cracker crumbs
- granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
- unsalted butter
- Filling
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese, room temperature
- sour cream
- vanilla extract
- salt
- eggs
- Apple Filling
- apples, peeled and chopped
- brown sugar (100 grams)
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- Crumble Topping
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
- unsalted butter, melted
- Apple Cider Caramel
- apple cider
- ground cinnamon
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- heavy cream
Here’s how to make it
make the crust
The first thing you’ll want to do when you begin making this Apple Crumble Cheesecake, is to make the crust. The crust needs to pre-bake in the oven for roughly 8 minutes. This pre-bake helps to create a crisp and sturdy crust before the filling is added.
You can either mix the crust in a large bowl by hand or add all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture is combined.
I like to buy graham cracker crumbs from the store. It saves me a step when I’m making this, but you can certainly grind up your own graham crackers into crumbs. If you grind your own crumbs, I’d recommend using the food processor to do so.
This crust has a blend warming, comforting spices that truly take the flavor of this cheesecake up a notch.
make the crumble topping
This apple crumble cheesecake has a layer of crumble that is crispy, buttery and filled with warming, comforting spices.
The crumble topping is very easy to make. You simply add all ingredients to a bowl and use a fork to claw/mix the ingredients together. Since the crumble topping uses melted butter, you will have to set the mixture into the refrigerator so that the crumble topping can firm up, while you make the apple crumble cheesecake filling.
make the filling
Using either a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer, you’ll beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Make sure you scrape your bowl down a few times throughout the process. This ensures the cream cheese is getting fully mixed and creates the perfect smooth, creamy filling. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix just until combined.
Add in the eggs, one at a time and mix JUST until combined. At this point, you don’t want to overmix the cheesecake batter as it could cause the surface to crack when baked.
make the apple filling
In a large bowl, add all ingredients for the apple filling. Toss to combine.
assemble and bake the cheesecake
Pour half the apple crumble cheesecake filling into the cooled crust. Sprinkle half the apples over the cheesecake filling. Top with remaining cheesecake filling, remaining apples, and crumble topping. Use your hands to crumble the topping into small and medium size pieces.
Wrap the sides and bottom of the cheesecake with aluminum foil, then set the cheesecake in either a roasting pan, or a 12 inch round cake pan. Pour hot water so that it is 2 inches up the side of the pan. You want to make sure the water does not go over top of the aluminum foil covering.
Bake the cheesecake 50-60 minutes in a 325F oven.
make the apple cider caramel
Certainly you can use store-bought caramel, but this apple cider caramel adds great depth of flavor to this apple crumble cheesecake. The buttery, warming, cozy caramel sauce screams fall. You’ll begin by boiling and reducing the apple cider to concentrate its flavor. This takes 5-10 minutes. You’ll be able to feel that the apple cider is a bit thicker as you stir it. Add in the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 30 seconds. Finally, you’ll remove from the heat and add in the butter and heavy cream which will give the caramel the delicious buttery, creamy taste.
How do I know when my cheesecake is done?
If you are new to cheesecake baking, this can sometimes be difficult to know at first, but I promise once you get the hang of what it should look like, it’s easy to spot it.
jiggle test
To test if the apple crumble cheesecake is done, use an oven glove or mit to grab the side of the large pan the cheesecake is sitting in. Gently shake the pan. If the edges are set and only the center jiggles slightly, the apple crumble cheesecake is done.
Here are some of my favorite Cheesecakes
Let me know what you thought!
If you make this apple crumble cheesecake, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I absolutely love reading all of your comments! Also, make sure to snap a picture of your apple crumble cheesecake and tag me @simplebakingwithpep on instagram. It truly makes my day to see all of your wonderful creations.
social
Make sure you follow me on facebook, youtube, or instagram to stay up to date on all of my latest baking creations and some fun behind the scenes.
Print
Apple Crumble Cheesecake
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
This Apple Crumble Cheesecake has two layers of smooth, creamy cheesecake nestled between cinnamon sugar apples. The cheesecake sits on top of a homemade apple pie spiced graham cracker crust, then it is topped with a buttery cinnamon sugar streusel topping. A drizzle of apple cider caramel sauce is the finishing touch to this cheesecake, which makes it so delicious!
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 24 ounces (3 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
Apple Filling
- 3 small apples, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar (75 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (5 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (3 ounces)
Apple Cider Caramel
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a food processor, add graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, butter and sugar. Pulse to combine all ingredients.
3. Add graham cracker crumb mixture to 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of a glass to smooth out the graham cracker crumbs along the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake in preheated oven 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325F.
4. Make the Apple Filling. In a large bowl add ingredients for apple filling. Toss to combine.
5. Make the Crumble Topping. In a medium size bowl, combine all ingredients for crumble topping. Use a fork to claw/mix the ingredients together. Place in refrigerator to cool and firm up until ready to use.
5. Make the cheesecake filling.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, add softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, roughly 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through. Add in the vanilla and salt and beat just until combined. Scrape down bowl of mixer.
Add eggs, one at a time, and mix JUST until combined. Scrape down the bowl in between adding the eggs to ensure the batter is completely mixed together. You don’t want to overmix the batter at this point, as overmixing can create too much air in the batter and cause the cheesecake to crack when baked. You can alternatively mix the eggs in by hand, since it is a bit more gentle.
6. Add half the cheesecake batter to the cooled graham cracker crust. Sprinkle half the apple mixture over cheesecake filling. Pour remaining cheesecake batter over top. Sprinkle remaining apple filling on top of cheesecake. Crumble the crumble topping over top of cheesecake.
7. Get the cheesecake ready to bake. Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan with aluminum foil. Place in a large roasting pan and add boiling hot water to bottom of pan so that it is 2 inches up the sides of the springform pan. You want to make sure the water is not higher than the aluminum foil covering.
6. Bake the cheesecake. In the preheated 325F oven, add the cheesecake/roasting pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. The center should jiggle slightly and the edges should be set. Prop the oven door open and allow the cheesecake to sit in the warm oven for 1 hour to cool.
7. Meanwhile, make Apple Cider Caramel. In a large pan, add apple cider and ground cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5-10 minutes until reduced and thickened, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium and stir in sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves, then allow to bubble for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in heavy cream and butter. Pour caramel into a glass jar to store.
8. Allow the cheesecake to sit in fridge for 4 hours or overnight, covered, before serving. Drizzle the apple cider caramel over cheesecake, serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20
- Chill Time: 240
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
I am hoping this turns out but am stymied by the ‘add heavy cream’ line when it’s not in the ingredients…can you update the recipe or is that a typo? Thanks!
Rhonda,
Sorry about that. It was a typo and is now corrected. There is no heavy cream in this recipe. Some of my cheesecakes have heavy cream in them, but not this one.
Thanks for pointing that out!
-Jolene
Thanks! I made it without and it turned out AMAZING!! I am making it again this week because it was requested by someone who said it was the BEST cheesecake they’ve ever had. Thanks again for a great recipe!
Rhoda,
Wow, what a wonderful compliment! I am sooo happy to hear that it was enjoyed so much :). Thank you for making my recipe!
-Jolene
I love the blend of fall spices in this. My family ate the entire cheesecake in just a couple days, because it was so good! We will definitely be making this again.
Will,
I am so glad you and your family enjoyed this cheesecake so much! It was certainly a fall favorite in our household. Happy baking 🙂
-Jolene
I’m going to make this wonderful sounding cheesecake later today. I am very happy you included weights for many of the ingredients as I have always cooked by weight. That being said, do you have a guess on what the apples might weigh? I have a frozen bag of chopped apples that I made to use in recipes when I had a ton of apples on hand. There is no way I could guess at how much to pull out of that bag to use and sure don’t want to screw up this scrumptious sounding dessert. I’d love to hear what your might guess the weight is to solve my problem and let me use the apples I already have prepped, frozen, and ready to use in a great recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
You’re so sweet, Claudia! I would guess the weight for the 3 small apples to be about 330 grams. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake!
Happy baking,
Jolene
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! This info is sooooo helpful. Also in the instructions for the crust, you never say anything about mixing in the spices with the graham crumbs, butter, and sugar that you list in the ingredients……..so I’m dumping in all in the bowl at once…………I’m making it right now. Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly as I couldn’t wait to try your recipe!
Oh goodness! Thanks for letting me know! You did it correctly. 🙂 It is fixed now in the instructions! I’m excited to hear how it turns out for you! Enjoy!
-Jolene
OMG…………..this cheese cake recipe is awesome!!! My entire family are cheese cake lovers to the extreme and I’ve made every cheese know to man over the last 78 years, but this is the best of them all. And your extra help with the recipe concerns worked great. 330 grams for the peeled/diced apples I had in the freezer was spot on. Thank you again for sharing this fantastic recipe. Respectfully, Claudia Matusiak
Oh my goodness, Claudia! That made my day! Thank you so much for reporting back. I am thrilled you and your family loved the cheesecake so much! Thanks for making my recipe :).
-Jolene