Caramel Apple Blondie Cheesecake

Apples don’t often get associated with decadent, indulgent desserts. But when you take a buttery, toffee-studded blondie, layered with a rich, velvety caramel cheesecake and topped with a glossy, gooey caramel apple pie filling, a decadent, indulgent dessert is exactly what you get. Add in the warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice threaded through all three layers and you have a recipe for a show-stopping fall dessert – a perfect choice for any holiday table.

In fact, this recipe (or an early precursor to it) originally made its debut on my Thanksgiving table some five or six years ago and was an instant family favorite. It was inspired by another blogger’s post for a caramel apple blondie cheesecake. If you’ve explored any of my other apple dessert recipes, you’re probably aware that apple is my go-to fruit in desserts and that I regularly pair it with caramel (Caramel Toffee Apple Pie, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cookie Bars and Caramel Apple Caramels all come to mind) so I loved the concept.

I wasn’t quite as happy with the execution. I’ve spoken before about my idea of a perfect blondie, which should very closely align with a brownie recipe in method and final texture, so I knew I was going to swap out the blondie base from the original recipe for a version of my own Brown Butter Blondies. The original recipe used a no-bake cheesecake mix, but I prefer the denser, more velvety texture of a baked cheesecake most of the time. You’ll find that most of my cheesecakes take inspiration from my New York Cheesecake recipe – this one is no exception. I scaled it back a bit – I wanted to make sure no single layer overwhelmed the others in this dessert – and introduced caramel and warm spices. Since I always make extra of my Caramel Apple Pie Filling around the holidays, I decided to use that for the topping rather than making another, separate apple pie filling specifically for this recipe.

The topping may have been the trickiest piece of this recipe. The first few, or maybe several, times I made this I stuck with the original concept of topping a finished cheesecake with an apple pie filling. But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to just plop the apples on top of the finished cheesecake. I wanted them to be an integral part of the dessert. So a couple of years ago, I started experimenting with adding the apples at various points during the baking process. I finally found the sweet spot allowing the apples to still sit as a distinct top layer, but meld slightly into the top of the cheesecake while developing that perfect, gooey consistency you only get with baked apple pie filling.

This cake does not stand quite as tall as some of my other cheesecakes, and that is intentional. The blondie, caramel cheesecake and baked apple topping are meant to meet in nearly equal measure, giving you a little chewy, creamy and gooey in every forkful. Serve it as written and let those three layers speak for themselves, or push it all the way over the top with a drizzle of thick, luscious caramel and a generous dollop of whipped cream. And if plain whipped cream feels a little too restrained at this point, add a little caramel and a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice to that, too. Either way, it is exactly the kind of rich, unapologetically indulgent apple dessert that deserves a place on a fall holiday table.

Caramel Apple Blondie Cheesecake

No ratings yet

Warm spices and rich caramel infuse every layer of this show-stopping dessert from the chewy blondie base through the creamy cheesecake center to the glossy apple topping.

Pinterest Facebook Share on X Email

0

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Cooling/Chilling Time 10 hours hrs

Total Time 11 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 14

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Baking Ambition: Show-Stopper

Calories: 609

Equipment Ingredients Method Notes Nutrition

Equipment

• ▢
  10-inch springform or cheesecake pan
• ▢
  10-inch silicone cheesecake wrap (for a water bath)
• ▢
  large roasting pan (for a water bath)
• ▢
  medium saucepan
• ▢
  2 large mixing bowls
• ▢
  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.kitchen scale (or measuring cups)
• ▢
  measuring spoons

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x4x

Toffee Spice Blondie

• ▢ 150 g unsalted butter
• ▢ 15 g milk powder
• ▢ 220 g brown sugar
• ▢ 15 ml vanilla
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 158 g flour
• ▢ ½ tsp cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ▢ ⅛ tsp allspice
• ▢ 4 g salt
• ▢ 120 g toffee bits

Caramel Cheesecake

• ▢ 680 g cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 120 g sour cream room temperature
• ▢ 60 ml heavy whipping cream room temperature
• ▢ 9 g corn starch
• ▢ 67 g brown sugar
• ▢ 60 g sugar
• ▢ 160 g apple cider caramel sauce or your favorite caramel sauce
• ▢ ½ tsp cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 15 ml vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 g salt

Apple Topping

• ▢ 1.2 kg caramel apple pie filling or your favorite apple pie filling

Method

 

Cook Mode Cook Mode

 

1. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the blondie base:

1. Place the butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter and milk powder are golden brown and have a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer to a large mixing bowl.
   150 g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, 15 g (1 tbsp) milk powder
2. Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and eggs and whisk until fully incorporated and the mixture is syrupy and glossy.
   220 g (1 cup) brown sugar, 15 ml (1 tbsp) vanilla, 2 large eggs
3. Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Stir just until combined, then fold in the toffee bits.
   158 g (1 ¼ cups) flour, 1/2 tsp (½ tsp) cinnamon, 1/4 tsp (¼ tsp) nutmeg, 1/8 tsp (⅛ tsp) allspice, 4 g (¾ tsp) salt, 120 g (½ cup) toffee bits
4. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared springform pan. Bake for about 25–30 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly while preparing the cheesecake batter.

Make the cheesecake batter:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy with no lumps.
   680 g (24 oz) cream cheese
2. Add the sour cream, heavy cream and cornstarch and mix just until smooth.
   120 g (8 ⅛ tbsp) sour cream, 60 ml (2 floz) heavy whipping cream, 9 g (1 tbsp) corn starch
3. Add the caramel sauce, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until combined.
   67 g (⅓ cup) brown sugar, 60 g (⅓ cup) sugar, 160 g (½ cup) apple cider caramel sauce, 1/2 tsp (½ tsp) cinnamon, 1/4 tsp (¼ tsp) nutmeg
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each is incorporated. Avoid overmixing once the eggs have been added.
   3 large eggs
5. Mix in the vanilla and salt just until combined.
   15 ml (1 tbsp) vanilla extract, 3 g (½ tsp) salt
6. Pour the cheesecake batter evenly over the blondie base. Place the springform pan in the silicone cheesecake wrap, then set it inside the roasting pan.
7. Place the roasting pan in the oven and add hot water to the fill line on the cheesecake wrap, or until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
8. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and bake for about 50–60 minutes, until the outer edge is set and the surface looks dry rather than wet or glossy. The center will still look underbaked at this stage; this is expected.
9. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the oven and gently distribute the caramel apple pie filling evenly over the top. Start toward the outer edge and work toward the middle.
   1.2 kg (4 ½ cups) caramel apple pie filling
10. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for another 20–30 minutes. When done, the cheesecake should be set around the edges, with a gentle jiggle remaining in the center when the pan is lightly shaken.
11. Turn off the oven, prop the door slightly open, and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for about 1 hour.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until completely set, at least 8 hours or overnight.
13. When serving, drizzle individual slices with additional caramel sauce if desired and/or garnish with whipped cream.

Notes

No silicone cheesecake wrap? Tightly wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan with 2–3 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil before placing it in the water bath. Make sure the foil extends high enough up the sides of the pan to prevent water from seeping in.

Private Notes

Click here to add your own private notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 609kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 7gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 475mgPotassium: 211mgFiber: 1gSugar: 51gVitamin A: 1262IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

More recipes you might enjoy:

Apple Squares Caramel Apple Pie Filling Caramel Toffee Apple Pie Candy Bar Pie