A scrumptious Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake with a apple-brownie bottom and a caramel apple topping. It is simply to die for!
My favorite season is knocking at the door. That’s right, fall is almost here… And I am counting the days. Over these last ten years living in the United States, I have come to truly appreciate the delights of this season, as the region where I grew up in Brazil only has two: the dry season and the rainy season. This Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake is a fave!
My birthday is also just around the corner: I’m going to be turning 39 AGAIN!!! :):):)
So I decided to make one of my favorite desserts to celebrate both occasions: a cheesecake. Nothing reminds me more of fall here than ripe apples — except for sweet potatoes and pumpkins, of course.
Again, I used a recipe that I saw in the September 2012 edition of Southern Living magazine: the infamous Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake. The picture filled my eyes with such greed that the image has remained in my mind for an entire week. Since my yearning to have a slice (ok, the whole thing if I could) has not gone away, I decided that this would be the perfect occasion to make it… Yes, it will be a present to myself, which I will gladly share with those that I love: my family and my dear readers.
My version presents a few subtle modifications though — more in the directions than in the ingredients.
I hope you enjoy this fall wonder as much as I did… I am telling you this with a HUGE smile on my face… What a present!!!
Enjoy our Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake!
XX
Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the cheesecake:
- 3/4 cup pecans
- 2 pacakages cream cheese softened, 8-oz. or 227 grs.
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs divided and at room temperature
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups baking apples peeled and diced**, e.g. Granny Smith or Cortland
- ** Baking Apples are apples that have a good sweet-tart balance and hold their shape when cooked.
- For the Caramel Apple Topping
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 5 large Granny Smith apples peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick ( about 1.25 cm) wedges
- For the Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180° C). Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for about 7-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven, let cool down, and chop. Reserve.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (about 160° C). Grease and flour a 9-inch (22.5 cm) springform pan. Sprinkle pecans over bottom of the prepared pan and reserve.
- In a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until well-blended and smooth. Add 3 eggs (1 at a time), beating after each addition until just blended. Reserve.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, and remaining egg until blended. Then stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add the peeled and diced apples to the mixture and stir gently. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Carefully spoon cream cheese mixture over batter.
- Bake at 325°F ( about 160° C) for 70 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan but do NOT remove sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours. Remove side of the pan and transfer to a serving plate.
- Meanwhile, prepare Caramel Apple Topping and Caramel Sauce. Spoon topping over cheesecake; drizzle with 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce. Reserve 1 cup Caramel Sauce to drizzle over the cheesecake later if you have not served the whole dessert at once. 🙂
- To prepare the topping: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter; then, add both the sugar and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture turns a light golden brown. Add the apple wedges and cook, stirring often, for 15 to 18 additional minutes or until apples are tender and caramelized. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the caramel sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the brown sugar, butter, whipping cream, and honey to a boil, stirring constantly; then, boil -- stirring constantly-- for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and cool 15 minutes before serving.
- ** Store any leftovers in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. To reheat, microwave at HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or just until warm; stir until smooth.
Nami | Just One Cookbook
September 5, 2012 at 4:47 pmHappy early birthday Denise! When is your actual b-day? I used to love fall more because Japan’s fall is simply beautiful with all the gorgeous color of leaves. California fall is not like East Coast fall, so it’s kind of boring (mostly evergreen, and only some changes colors). But my b-day is fall (halloween) and I definitely enjoy that part. Haha. I’ll be 36 this year I think? You don’t look like 39!!! Enjoy one more year before big 40! 😉 Your cheesecake looks amazing… you are really a wonderful cook. I wish I can whip up this kind of cake and serve to my family… they will be shocked if I do! LOL
Denise Browning
September 5, 2012 at 9:23 pmThanks so much, Nami! My birthday will be tomorrow, the 6th. I’ll be actually turning 40, but I have been insisting on 39 AGAIN. :):)
We have been enjoying the cheesecake!! Although I am not a Pastry Chef, I do love to bake as you can see in my posts. My scale is the only one that has NOT been happy about it. 🙂 Do not underestimate yourself, Nami. Although you do not bake a lot, I insist on that you could do a great job because you are a perfectionist. Have a wonderful evening!
Mi Vida en un Dulce
September 6, 2012 at 3:36 pmHappy birthday…!!! Again 39, oh, we are in same age…ja,ja,ja…
I didn’t realize you moved your blog to this new one, looks nice, as well as this recipe. What a combination of flavors, apple is a wonderful ingredient, you can make whatever you want with it.
Denise Browning
September 6, 2012 at 6:55 pmThanks a lot, Nydia! It’s good to know that I am not the only one to turn 39 AGAIN. :):):)
I think several people did not know that my blog got a brand new face. I had to leave wordpress.com in order to hahing several plugins installed.
I hope I can continue to improve my blog. Have a great day!
ally
September 6, 2012 at 5:51 pmoh my days, this is the best thing i’ve seen all month!
xo
Denise Browning
September 6, 2012 at 6:50 pmThanks a lot, Ally!
Susan
September 7, 2012 at 7:22 amOmg looks amazin, love apple pie and cheesecake! Image both together!
Which pan did you use? Because I see you it’s off the bottom of the pan if you know what I mean. How did you remove it? Appreciate if you could teach me. Thanks!
Denise Browning
September 7, 2012 at 12:30 pmSusan:
Thanks for stopping by! It’s good to hear from you again.
I used a springform pan (the one with a removable bottom). Before grease and flour the pan, make sure that the sides of the pan are well-attached so you won’t have problems with leeking. I let the cheesecake cool down completely. Then, I ran a knife around the edges of the cheesecake and removed the sides of the pan carefully. . To remove the bottom of the pan and transfer the cheesecake to a large serving plate, I used a huge, thin “blade” metal spatula. That’s all! It is less complicated than we can imagine. See ya soon in your blog! xx
Jessica
January 8, 2013 at 9:32 pmWow! Beautiful blog! Yummy!!!
Denise Browning
January 8, 2013 at 11:38 pmThanks, Jessica! Yours is very nice too. Your chocolate panini made me drool…