Spiced apple and salted caramel cheesecake

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Today I want to share a recipe for a pleasantly creamy cheesecake with apples, on a lightly cinnamon biscuit base.


Cheesecake comes out not too sweet, pleasantly smooth, with distinct vanilla notes. Apples soften up and become sweeter, crumble is nicely crispy, and all of it under a layer of salted caramel that takes the cake to a whole new level. I think it's a fantastic idea for Autumn evenings with a book and a cup of tea!

You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients (28 x 18 cm baking tin)

Base

  • 300 biscuits
  • 80 g butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake

  • 100 g butter
  • 100 g (~0.5 cup) sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 750 g low salt creamy cheese, such as minced curd cheese or drained ricotta
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 1 packet instant vanilla pudding

Apples

  • ~300 g apples (after peeling and coring)
  • 30 g brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Crumble

  • 60 g wheat flour
  • 30 g sugar
  • 30 g butter
  • 100 g salted caramel

Method

  1. Prepare the cheesecake base. Put 300 g biscuits into a large string bag. Close the bag almost completely, leaving a 1 cm gap to let air escape. Crush biscuits with a rolling pin until all lumps are gone and biscuits look like sand. Add 1 tsp cinnamon and 80 g cool melted butter. Distribute butter and cinnamon in crushed biscuits by massaging them through the bag.
  2. Transfer biscuit mixture into the bottom of a baking tin, 18 x 28 cm, lined with baking paper. Distribute crushed biscuits evenly across the whole surface and press them down with a glass to form a compact, even base. Put the baking tin into a fridge as you work on remaining ingredients.
  3. Put 60 g wheat flour and 30 g brown sugar into a small bowl. Stir through the contents of the bowl with a whisk to remove any lumps. Add 30 g cold cubed butter to the bowl. Rub butter into the dry ingredients until the dough starts to resemble wet sand. Don't do it for too long to prevent butter from melting - about a minute should be enough. Set the bowl aside.
  4. Put 300 g peeled, cubed sour apples into a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 30 g brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg to the bowl. Stir through the contents of the bowl to cover apples in lemon juice and spices. Set the bowl aside as you work on cheesecake layer.
  5. Put 100 g cubed, soft butter into a separate large bowl and add 50 g white sugar. Cream the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until sugar dissolves and butter becomes light and fluffy. All the cheesecake ingredients should be at room temperature, so remember to take butter, eggs and cheese out of a fridge at least an hour ahead of preparing the cake. Once you're happy with butter's texture, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. It is worth repeating this step from time to time to ensure all ingredients combine as they should.
  6. Add 3 large egg yolks to the bowl. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix each one into the batter before adding the next one. It won't take long, around 30 s per egg yolk should be enough.
  7. Once you've used up all egg yolks, move on to 750 g low salt creamy cheese. Add cheese 1 tbsp at a time and mix it in after each batch at medium low speed until ingredients combine completely. Once you've used up all cheese add 1 tsp vanilla paste and 1 packet instant vanilla pudding to the batter. Stir through the contents of the bowl shortly until vanilla gets evenly distributed.
  8. Pour 3 large egg whites into a separate bowl. Beat them with an electric mixer until mixer starts leaving visible marks in the foam and start adding 50 g fine white sugar. Do it in batches, 1 tbsp at a time, and continue beating egg whites after each batch at medium high speed until sugar dissolves completely. Around 30 seconds per batch should be enough. Once you've added all of sugar egg whites should become shiny and stiff enough to stay in the bowl even if it's turned upside down.
  9. Add whipped egg whites to cheese batter. Do it in three batches, about 2 or 3 tbsp at a time, and mix each batch in carefully with a silicone spatula. Try not to remove too much air as you do it.
  10. Pour cheese batter onto cool biscuit base and spread it in an even layer across the whole surface. Arrange spiced apples on top of cheese and cover them with a thick layer of crumble dough. 
  11. Bake the cheesecake in an oven preheated to 180 deg C, no fan, for 60 minutes. If the top of the cheesecake browns too quickly, you can cover it with a piece of aluminum foil or baking paper.
  12. After 60 minutes turn off the oven, wedge its door slightly ajar and keep the cheesecake inside for an hour or two to cool slightly. Take cheesecake out of the oven then, cool it completely and put it into a fridge overnight to set completely.
  13. On the next day spread 100 g salted caramel on top of the cake.
  14. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

  • 326 kcal
  • Carbs: 27 g
  • Fat: 21 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

1 slice (recipe makes 15 slices)

  • 413 kcal
  • Carbs: 35 g  
  • Fat: 27 g
  • Protein: 8 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

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