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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Caramel

Fluffy, creamy pumpkin cheesecake made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, brown sugar and brown butter for extra flavor. Topped with a pumpkin spice pecan caramel.
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chill Time 8 hours
Servings 1 9 inch cheesecake

Ingredients

Cookie Crust

  • 250 g or 2 cups graham cracker crumbs or digestive cookie crumbs
  • 113 g or ½ cup unsalted butter

Pumpkin Cheesecake

  • 57 g or ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 452g or 2 bricks cream cheese full fat, at room temperature
  • 200 g or 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 165 g or ⅔ cup canned pumpkin puree preferably Libby’s
  • 60 g or ¼ cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs

Pumpkin Spice Pecan Caramel

  • 100 g or ½ cup granulated sugar
  • Small squeeze of lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 57 g or ¼ cup butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ cup toasted pecans

Instructions

Make the crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and line an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper (the grease helps hold it in place). To make bars, line a 8” square pan with two overlapping sheets of parchment. Press the paper into the sides and bottom, secure with metal clips.
  • Melt the butter and stir with the crumbs until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press ⅔ of the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and the rest halfway up the sides. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to help you press them into an even layer. It won’t be perfect - that’s ok!
  • Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

Make the filling

  • Set the butter in a pan and cook over medium low heat as the butter melts, then foams. The milk solids will separate from the liquid (little cream colored bits that look like bread crumbs) and as you cook they will turn brown. Once the bits are all brown and the butter is fragrant, immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin spice, vanilla and salt to the bowl and affix the paddle attachment. Beat on low until well combined, about 2-4 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat for another minute.
  • Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and beat to combine. Scrape the bowl to ensure all the bits get mixed in and beat again.
  • With the mixer on low, add the eggs and beat the filling until it’s just mixed. At this point, if you spot some bits of unmixed cream cheese you can pour the filling through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl to scrape them out.
  • Separate the brown butter: once it has settled, the brown butter bits will sink to the bottom and the yellow liquid will be on top. Carefully pour half of the yellow liquid to another bowl so you’re left with a little bit of liquid and almost all the brown butter bits. Reserve the liquid bowl for another use. Pour the liquid with the brown butter bits into the cheesecake batter and stir to combine.
  • Pour the cheesecake batter into the cooled crust. Set the pan in a larger 13x9” cake pan and fill halfway with water.
  • Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes, until it’s matte on top and only jiggles a bit in the center when you shake the pan.
  • Once it’s done, turn off the oven and leave the oven door open. Let the cheesecake cool in its water bath for about 15 minutes then set it (with its water bath) on the counter to cool to room temperature. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours but ideally 8-12 hours.

To make the caramel

  • Set the sugar in a heavy bottomed pot (a small dutch oven works great here) squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the sugar and stir. Cook the sugar over medium heat as it melts, stirring as needed and scraping the sides of the pan to remove any bits of unmixed sugar. Once the sugar begins to turn amber colored and darkens, cook until it starts to smoke then turn off the heat. Add the heavy cream, it will boil up so be careful. Add the butter and stir until it melts. Add the salt and vanilla and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof bowl to let it cool. Once it’s cool enough to touch (should take about 15 minutes) add the pecans and stir. Spread the caramel pecans over the cheesecake.
  • Store the cheesecake in the fridge.

Video

Notes

The video will alternate between showing the cheesecake made and baked in a round tin and in a square (for bars).