The Cheesecake Factory is full of memories for me. My best friend and I used to down endless loaves of soft, warm, complementary bread loaves, enjoy a hearty meal, and then somehow find room for The Cheesecake Factory’s (T.C.F.) spectacular namesake.
Fast forward a few years to the newly wedded years: I introduce Husband to my beloved Cheesecake Factory. Love at first sight. Gotta love a man with good taste! (Even better if this means our date nights include cheesecake!) Though we’ll giddily gobble a restuarant slice, we’ve since become more apt to devour a savory-sweet homemade cheesecake.
Our family’s current favorite= dutch apple pie cheesecake. This is my own rendition of T.C.F.’s dutch apple caramel streusel.We carted this dutch apple pie cheesecake to lunch with Husband’s cousins and grandmother recently. I was a little nervous about their reaction when the cake was unveiled—with a modest “quality control” slice missing. The seemed to hardly notice as the flavors of the cake mesmerized us all..Only baby Summer Elizabeth was unable to fully enjoy the taste treat, but I’m sure that as soon as we introduce solid foods, she’ll be reaching for a plate! (Sorry Summer, but you won’t be downing sweets for some time.)
Let’s talk upgrades: This cheesecake itself is superb, but if you really want to knock some socks off, complement the dessert with a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream! It never hurts to add caramel sauce atop the streusel when serving to drooling dinner guests either. Enjoy!
Dutch Apple Pie Cheesecake
cookie crust:
- 1 1/2 c. graham cracker or vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
- 6 T. butter, melted
cheesecake filling:
- 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1 T. flour
- 2 t. vanilla
apple filling:
- 2 apples, sliced to your gusto
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 4 T. butter
- 1 T. cinnamon
- tiniest pinch of salt
streusel topping:
- ½ cups flour
- ½ c. brown sugar
- 3 T. butter
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cookie crust: Melt butter and stir in cookies. Press along the bottom and up the sides of a greased or parchment-lined 8-inch springform pan. (9″will also do.)
- Apple filling: Slice apples and place all apple filling ingredients in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until apples are softened. Cool.
- Streusel: Melt butter and add remaining flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the bowl. Set aside.
- Cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl once or twice to ensure proper mixing. Pour in vanilla and add flour. Beat one minute, scraping bowl once.
- Pour half of the cheesecake filling into crust. Top with apple mixture. Add remaining cheesecake filling. Sprinkle the top with crumbles of streusel.
- Place a rimmed baking sheet under the springform pan and place in the oven on a mid-level rack. Bake 30 minutes. The edges should look firm, but the center still a little wobbly. This is perfection.
- Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for 10 more minutes. After 10 minutes, prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon for 20 minutes or so, and then open the oven door for an hour or more to allow the cheesecake to cool gradually. This cooling process helps prevent cracks in the cake without the splishy splashy mess of baking in a water bath. Refrigerate 6 hours before serving.
* Tip: Keep in mind that cheesecakes freeze extremely well. If you need to transfer the cake to a serving platter, it is easiest to transfer when frozen. A frozen cake travels much better in the car too!
Linking here: Time to Sparkle, Marvelous Mon.,
Oh my goodness, I have pinned this and MUST try it. I am a huge fan of apple pie and cheesecake and can’t believe I’ve never even heard of this combination before!
What a gorgeous creation! I’m dreamin of how delicious it tastes. I would have never thought of combining cheesecake and apple pie but it’s an incredible idea.
This looks oh so yummy! My husband loves Cheese Cake. Birthday coming on on the 16th and I told him I would make him a turtle cheese cake instead of the traditional BD cake. Now I am on the hunt for the recipe. Would you have one you could e-mail me or do I need to start searching the net? He has a favorite, but the gal will not come off her recipe for me. Thanks for linking up over at SweetTalkin’ Sunday. And I’m curious, did you change your blog look? I read your post by e-mail so I only see the little button, this look s so different than I remember. LOL
Apple Pie and Cheesecake together?! How can anyone say no?! We’d love for you to link this to our recipe party! http://housewivesofriverton.blogspot.com/2012/03/recipe-round-up-7.html
Greetings,
So, here is the deal. I, am dude. I, am dude who does not bake, cook, or pretend to know my way around any kitchen.
In credit to your recipe/detailed ingredient list above, I was able to not only make the infamous Dutch Apple Pie Cheesecake, but receive pats on the back from the bakers, cooks, and people who do not pretend to know their way around the kitchen in my family.
I wanted to extend my gratitude for sharing this recipe and superb ingredient/instruction list. My one takeaway from this experience will be to ensure that I allow for proper sitting time for the cream cheese. I almost had to call in the “big guns” when all of my cream cheese was swallowed up by the blender.
PS – Kudos to your SEO. You were the first, and only, recipe I needed from the Almighty Google!!!
Sincerely,
Aspiring Cheesecakian!
Dave, you made me laugh out loud! I’m super excited that your family and friends enjoyed the cheesecake and please accept my virtual high five for mastering the cheesecake first time around. That’s fantastic! Thank you so much for coming back to report on your success. Feedback like yours is what keeps bloggers blogging.
Are you single, Dave?
A dude who:
1. Googles cheesecake recipes
2. Sets out to make one
3. Slams his first try out of the park, and
4. Comes back to the site to report his success
…is a KEEPER!
Call me…maybe.
You both made me giggle 😉
Best kind of apples to use for this?
Melanie, you should use a firm and tart cooking apple, like Granny Smith or Fuji, if possible, though any apple would do in a pinch. Hope this helps!
Holy Cow! This recipe is awesome. I never made a cheese cake before and the apple pie cheese cake came out perfect. So I have made it three more times and they all perfect. Only one problem, we are gaining weight as fast as I cam produce these pies. Thank you for an awesome recipe.
Ron
Yippee! I’m so excited that you and your family are enjoying this cheesecake. Years later, it’s still a family fave of ours too. Thank you, Ron, for taking the time to share your recipe review with me.
I have not made this yet but will attempt it tomorrow. It sounds utterly delicious. Question: Have you ever heard of a Dutch Apple crumb cheesecake before? The Cheesecake Factory shows a picture of one on Pinterest but there’s no way of retrieving the recipe and it seems to be the only one I can find. If so I would love to have the recipe. Thank you
Hi Robert, I hope you liked the recipe. I haven’t any recipe for The Cheesecake Factory’s version of this, but it sounds phenomenal! In fact, nearly every time my family visits the US we try to hit a Cheesecake Factory restaurant. Yum!
I really liked your post. I read your blog quite often and I just shared it on Twitter.
Keep up the good work.