Pumpkin apple streusel cheesecake cupcakes, what a mouth full. Pun intended. The sound of the recipe sure gets your attention, saying to yourself, wow, that actually sounds really good."
Have you ever enjoyed his combination before? I wanted to make something that felt different almost a new combination, but still approachable. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, that offered inspiration, and pumpkin and apple came together in oh-such-a-great-way.
The use of the apple gives the dessert a great texture that you do not get with a normal cheesecake. When you're eating a pumpkin apple streusel cheesecake you'll have that feeling that you know you're eating something special.
Plus, the dessert doesn't have a strong taste of pumpkin, or too sweet. Such a great dessert all around.
Roasting Whole Pumpkin:
Cut in half, remove seeds and place on roasting pan at 375 for 40 to 60 minutes or until fully cooked. Pumpkin sizes vary a lot, so watch your cooking time. Remove roasted pumpkin and add a pinch of salt and puree or smash. Place in refrigerator to set-up and allow the flavors to develop. You can use the same day if that fits your schedule better.
If you roast your own pumpkin be sure to keep the seeds and make the most amazing roasted pumpkin seeds.
Crispy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree (Purchase 15 oz can (use half)) 10 oz
- Cream Cheese (2 packages) 16 oz
- Butter (4 oz (room temperature)) 1 stick
- Sugar ⅔ cup
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
- Dulce de Leche (Caramel) 1 Tablespoon
- Sea Salt 1 teaspoon
Streusel Ingredients
- Sugar ⅓ cup
- Brown Sugar ¼ cup
- Instant Oats ⅓ cup
- Sea Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons
- Butter 3 Tablespoon
Crust Ingredients
- Graham Crackers 12
- Butter (2 oz) ½ stick
- Cinnamon ¼ teaspoon
- Sugar 2 teaspoons
Instructions
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
- Take 12 Graham Crackers and crush (Use a plastic bag to reduce mess) In a bowl, add 2 oz (half stick of butter at room temperature) and slice the butter before adding. Add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and two teaspoons of sugar.
- Take note of the finished texture. The mix still has medium-sized pieces of butter.
- Fill the bottoms with cupcake papers. Press the graham cracker crust down to the bottom of the cheesecakes in an even layer.
FILLING
- Cream together ⅔ cup of sugar, plus one stick of butter (4oz), add vanilla. Next, mix in room temperature cream cheese and combine.
- Once the cream cheese is smooth, add the pumpkin, caramel (warm), plus the sea salt, and mix well.
- Tip: warm up the caramel in the microwave for a few seconds to soften. Just hot enough to be able to pour.Mix in as the last filling ingredient.Non-sponsored brand suggestion: Le Lechera Dulce de Leche
- Add cheesecake filling on top of the graham cracker crust and pat the tops down.
STREUSEL
- Combine Ingredients:Instant Oats: ⅓ cupCinnamon: 1 ½ teaspoonSugar: ⅓ cupBrown Sugar: ¼ cupSea Salt: ¼ teaspoon
- Add the sliced apples to the top of each cheesecake Slice the quarter of an apple lengthwise into stripes. Use as much or as little as you like. Just be sure to add enough for texture and presentation.
- Add the streusel to the tops of each pumpkin cheesecake to cover.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake cheesecakes for 5 minutes. The reason to baking them is to set-up / firm-up the crusts by activating the butter in the graham cracker crust.
SERVING
- To set up the cheesecakes, place them in the refrigerator for an hour. The texture ends up amazing. A recipe worth making every year.
- Top each cheesecake cupcake with the Dulce de Leche Caramel and serve.
Video
Notes
- Working with room-temperature ingredients allows for each ingredient to combine for the best end result and texture.
- Adding roasted sweet potatoes as a substitute is an excellent choice.
- Make sure to only bake the cheesecake cupcakes until the graham cracker crust butter melts, 5 minutes.
- Be sure to cool down the cheesecake cupcake in the refrigerator before serving to improve the texture.
Susie
How delicious!