Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Cheesecake

I make a pumpkin cheesecake every fall, but this year I took it to another level. Caramel always goes on there but this year I added whipped cream and roasted pecans and made this caramel pecan pumpkin cheesecake concoction.

You need this in your life. Every bite of creamy goodness together with all the fall flavors just melts together as you close your eyes and an mmmmm escapes from your throat while the different elements get married in your mouth.

Wow. I may have gotten carried away there, but I have no regrets. It’s the truth. The pecan smothered in caramel, the sweet cream and the absolute creaminess of the pumpkin cheesecake layer on top of a cinnamon-y graham layer is really all your Thanksgiving dessert needs in one recipe.

Think pecan pie and pumpkin pie, this is basically a glorified version of those.

Or, imagine pecan pie and pumpkin pie getting married and having a creamy delicious baby. Whatever you have to do to get the picture I’m trying to paint.

If you’ve had any cheesecake baking experience, you know how simple yet finicky they are to bake. I’ll do my best to go through the steps I do to ensure the best possible outcome.

First you need to wrap your springform pan with foil. I do this for the water bath process, and to get those clean beautiful sides, skipping this step is not an option.

This is what it looks like. Now, maybe this is obvious but because it’s a mistake I’ve made I’m going to go over it anyway. I have a roll of wide foil that I bought specifically for cheesecakes, because if the foil is too narrow and it doesn’t go well over half of the pan all the way around when you fold it up, you will have water seep in and make your crust soggy.

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees. Crush or process graham crackers, you want 2 cups of crumbs. Melt butter and add it into that, along with cinnamon and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Spray your pan with oil, and dump the crumbs in and press them down.

Bake that for 8 minutes, and when you remove it, turn your oven down to 300 degrees. Fill any roasting pan or cake pan that the cheesecake fits into with about half an inch of water and put it in the oven on the center rack.

Next, you want to make the cheesecake filling.

You want your cream cheese at room temperature. Beat or whip it until it’s nice and fluffy, then add your sour cream, sugar, pumpkin, salt and vanilla and spices.

Mix that well, and then add your eggs one at a time and beat only until those r fully incorporated and then stop. Over mixing can create air pockets that can result in the cheesecake cracking. Pour the batter into the springform pan over the crust, then place it gently into the roasting pan in the oven. Set your timer for one hour.

When the timer goes off, open the oven and do the slightest jiggle test. If the outside inch or 2 of the cheesecake looks pretty firm, but the rest of it jiggly, I turn it off at this point. If it’s still jiggly all over, I leave it in there for another 15-20 minutes. I prefer my cheesecake on the creamier side, rather than crumbly. My cheesecakes always seem pretty jiggly, but I just turn the oven off and after cooling down in there they set up beautifully.

After an hour, I gently take it out and let it further set on the counter, and then after an hour or 2 on the counter I put it in the fridge overnight. That step is absolutely necessary. You should never expect to eat a cheesecake the same day you bake it.

Next day, we make the caramel pecan topping.

Add the butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium heat.

Once it’s boiling, let it cook for 3-5 minutes until the bubbles are nice and thick. My mom always says caramel is ready when the bubbles look like their eating each other. I can’t see what she sees but if you can, there’s your sign it’s ready. I included a picture of what mine looks like when I decide it’s thick enough. This will thicken much more as it cools.

Turn it off and add the cinnamon, salt, cream and roasted pecans. Let it cool. I don’t let it thoroughly cool off because it spreads much nicer when it’s still slightly warm.

This step is optional, but I love whipped cream with every cheesecake. Whip your heavy cream until it’s thick and firm, then sweeten it.

You obviously don’t need to pipe the whipped cream on all fancy like I did, you can just spread the caramel layer all across the cheesecake and as you serve it add dollops of whipped cream on each slice.

And then, enjoy ❤️.

I used my own frozen pumpkin puree for this recipe, but canned pumpkin works perfect!