This apple crumble cheesecake is made with a creamy cheesecake filled with apple pie filling, topped with crumble topping and caramel sauce.
This apple crumble cheesecake combines the best of both worlds: creamy, rich cheesecake and warm, cozy apple pie.
It starts with a buttery crust base, followed by a thick, creamy cheesecake layer. Then comes a generous layer of cooked apple pie filling, packed with tender apples and warm cinnamon spice.
After the apple layer, another cheesecake layer goes on top, adding more rich creaminess and structure.
To finish, the cheesecake is topped with a crunchy, golden crumble topping that adds texture and a rustic bakery look.
Once it’s baked and cooled, a drizzle of caramel sauce takes it over the top, adding sweet richness to every bite.
It's perfect for fall gatherings, holidays, or any time you’re craving something warm, creamy, and comforting.
For more apple desserts, check out my apple crumble cake, apple fritters, apple crumble muffins, easy apple cake, apple crumble pie, and apple turnovers!
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Why this recipe works
- The apple pie filling is cooked- so the apples are soft, flavorful, and perfectly spiced before they even go into the cheesecake. It gives the whole dessert a cozy, homemade apple pie feel.
- The cinnamon graham cracker crust- adds a crunchy, buttery, sweet, and slightly spiced base that holds everything together. It pairs perfectly with the apples and cheesecake.
- The crumble topping is golden and crisp- it gives the cheesecake a bakery-style look and adds an amazing texture on top. It’s the perfect contrast to the creamy filling.
- The cheesecake filling is super creamy- rich, smooth, and not too sweet. It balances all the other layers and makes this dessert feel extra indulgent.
- No water bath cheesecake- this recipe is made without a water bath. It is baked at a low temperature for a long time which gives you the most perfect cheesecake.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the crust
Graham crackers- I used finely ground graham crackers. Digestive biscuits will work too.
Granulated sugar- Adds sweetness and helps crisp the crust.
Cinnamon- Adds a warm spice that complements the apple filling.
Unsalted butter- Melted and mixed into the crumbs to bind the crust together.
For the cheesecake
Cream cheese- Use full-fat cream cheese at room temperature for a creamy texture.
Granulated sugar- you will need one cup of granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar instead.
Eggs- Help bind the filling and give it structure. Room-temperature eggs mix more evenly.
Cornstarch- Stabilizes the batter and gives the cheesecake a smooth and firm texture. You can use flour instead.
Vanilla extract- For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Sour cream- Adds a slight tang and creaminess that balances the richness of the cream cheese
For the apple filling
Apples- I used 5 medium apples that are peeled, cored, and chopped. You can go for tart apples like Granny Smith or sweeter varieties like Fuji or Honeycrisp. A mix of both also works beautifully.
Brown sugar- Adds a deep, caramel-like sweetness and rich flavor that brings out the best in the apples.
Cinnamon & Nutmeg- These warm spices give the filling that classic apple pie taste we all love.
Lemon juice- Balances the sweetness and prevents the apples from browning.
Cornstarch- Thickens the mixture just enough to hold its shape inside the cheesecake without becoming runny.
For the crumble
Rolled oats- Add a slightly chewy texture. Quick oats will work too for a finer crumble.
Brown sugar- Adds a caramel-like sweetness and helps create a golden, crunchy top.
Instructions
Make the apple pie filling
Peel, core, and slice the apples into medium-thick slices. (Tip: an apple peeler/corer makes this quick!)
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with water, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Add the sliced apples and gently stir to coat without breaking them. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the apples are fork-tender.
Stir in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with a bit of water), and cook for another minute until thickened. Let the filling cool completely before using.
Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
Use a food processor or smash graham crackers in a sealed Ziplock bag until fine crumbs form.
In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs with sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir until evenly moistened.
Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of your prepared pan in an even layer.
Bake the crust in a 180°C (350°F) preheated oven for 7-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the crust and make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the crust out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Reduce the oven to 150°C (300°F). In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Mix in the sour cream until fully incorporated.
Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then add them to the batter. Mix just until smooth, don’t overbeat.
Sift in the cornstarch and mix until fully blended with no lumps
Make the crumble topping
In a bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter until crumbly and combined.
Assembly
Pour half of the cheesecake filling over the cooled crust and smooth it out.
Spoon the cooled apple filling evenly over the cheesecake layer. Gently pour the remaining cheesecake batter on top and smooth it. Sprinkle the crumble topping generously over the surface.
Bake at 150°C (300°F) for about 60 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center still has a slight jiggle.
Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cheesecake cool inside for 1–2 hours. Once at room temperature, wrap the cheesecake well and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Before serving, remove from the springform pan and top with caramel sauce or powdered sugar for extra flavor.
Expert Tips
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, I don’t want that.
- Use a springform tin. I use springform tins for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your cheesecake will be stable and will not crack.
- Cool the apple filling completely. Adding hot apple filling to the cheesecake will mess with the texture and may cause it to crack.
- Cook the apples until soft but not mushy. The apple filling should be tender with a slight bite. Don’t overcook or they’ll turn into applesauce.
- Let your cheesecake chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours. I know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake cool and set it in the pan. I like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- For a smooth and creamy cheesecake, make sure that you are using room-temperature ingredients. Before you begin to make this cheesecake, make sure that your cream cheese is completely soft, and that your eggs are at room temperature.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It's really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes. To avoid overbeating your mixture, make sure that you lower the speed of the hand mixer and add each egg at a time.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no cream cheese lumps.
- Don't open the oven door before the cake is fully baked or about to be baked! Drastic changes in the temperature of the cake while baking can cause the cake to collapse or crack.
Faq's
Overbaking cheesecake is a common mistake that causes the cheesecake to crack or even burn.
You will know that your cheesecake is done baking when you see that the edges of the cheesecake are set, but the middle is a bit jiggly. The middle of the cake will be set in the cooling process.
Overbaked, overmixed, or stuck to the sides of the pan, there are a lot of reasons for the cheesecake to crack. To prevent the cheesecake from cracking, follow out tips written in the notes.
To prevent the cheesecake from cracking, it is important to release it carefully from the pan. Use a butter knife or a thin knife and run it around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan.
Then release the spring from the edges.
Storing
Store this cheesecake in the fridge (since it contains dairy), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
Freezing
First, let the cheesecake cool completely and chill it in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight. Once it’s fully set, you can freeze it whole or in individual slices.
Wrap the cheesecake (or slices) tightly in plastic wrap, then in a layer of foil to prevent freezer burn. Place it in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
When you're ready to enjoy, thaw it overnight in the fridge and drizzle with caramel before serving.
Substitutions
Gluten-free- This recipe is really easy to turn gluten-free, simply replace the graham crackers with gluten-free graham crackers or with gluten-free digestive biscuits.
Digestive biscuits- People outside of America usually don’t have graham crackers. You can use tea biscuits, vanilla wafers, and digestive biscuits.
Variations
Fruit- swap the apples with pears and make this pear crumble cheesecake!
Crust- Instead of making a graham cracker crust, use biscoff cookies to make a biscoff crust!
Nuts- add ⅓ cup of your favorite chopped nuts to the crumble mixture for extra crunch, like chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts.
Vanilla bean- add the inside of the vanilla bean and add it to the cheesecake mixture instead of the vanilla extract. Or use a vanilla bean extract.
Glaze- top this cheesecake with a simple glaze instead of caramel sauce.
Citrus- you can add a delicious citrus touch to this cheesecake by adding the zest of lemon, or orange, or any of your favorite citrus.
Equipment
- You will need a 10-inch springform pan for this cheesecake. I love this set from Amazon.
- Food processor or rolling pin- to crush graham crackers for the crust.
- Hand mixer or stand mixer- for blending the cheesecake filling smoothly.
- Whisk set- to mix ingredients like cornstarch or eggs.
- I recommend using an electric hand mixer to make sure your cheesecake mixture is smooth and perfect. You can also use a stand mixer for this with a balloon attachment.
- Saucepan- for cooking the apple pie filling.
- Wooden spoon- for stirring the apple mixture.
- Apple corer and slicer- to quickly and easily prep apples.
- Rubber spatula- to scrape down the sides of bowls and spread layers evenly.
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
More cheesecake recipes
Salted caramel cheesecake- This salted caramel cheesecake is rich and velvety smooth and is topped with homemade caramel sauce and flakey salt.
Tiramisu cheesecake- This creamy no bake tiramisu cheesecake is made with cream cheese and mascarpone filling, has a coffee-soaked ladyfinger middle, oreo crust, and is topped with lots of cocoa powder.
Pumpkin swirl cheesecake- This pumpkin swirl cheesecake features a biscoff cookie crust topped with creamy cheesecake swirled with pumpkin spice swirl.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. I love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Apple Crumble Cheesecake
Ingredients
Apple filling
- 5 Apples cored and peeled
- ⅔ cup Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon Water
- ½ cup Butter unsalted
- 4 teaspoon Cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water
Crust
- 3 cups Graham crackers crumbs
- 5.2 oz Butter melted, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
Cheesecake filling
- 28 oz Cream cheese room temp
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 cup Sour cream
- 4 Eggs
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
Crumble topping
- ¾ cup Flour AP
- ½ cup Oats rolled oats or quick oats will work
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3.1 oz Butter melted
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar
Instructions
Make the apple pie filling
- Peel, core, and slice the apples into medium-thick slices. (Tip: an apple peeler/corer makes this quick!)
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with water, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the sliced apples and gently stir to coat without breaking them. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the apples are fork-tender.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with a bit of water), and cook for another minute until thickened. Let the filling cool completely before using.
Make the crust
- Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Use a food processor or smash graham crackers in a sealed Ziplock bag until fine crumbs form.
- In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs with sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir until evenly moistened.
- Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of your prepared pan in an even layer.
- Bake the crust in a 180°C (350°F) preheated oven for 7-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the crust and make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the crust out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Make the cheesecake filling
- Reduce the oven to 150°C (300°F). In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the sour cream until fully incorporated.
- Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then add them to the batter. Mix just until smooth, don’t overbeat.
- Sift in the cornstarch and mix until fully blended with no lumps.
Make the crumble topping
- In a bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter until crumbly and combined.
Assembly
- Pour half of the cheesecake filling over the cooled crust and smooth it out.
- Spoon the cooled apple filling evenly over the cheesecake layer. Gently pour the remaining cheesecake batter on top and smooth it. Sprinkle the crumble topping generously over the surface.
- Bake at 150°C (300°F) for about 60 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center still has a slight jiggle.
- Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cheesecake cool inside for 1–2 hours. Once at room temperature, wrap the cheesecake well and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, remove from the springform pan and top with caramel sauce or powdered sugar for extra flavor.
Notes
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, I don’t want that.
- Use a springform tin. I use springform tins for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your cheesecake will be stable and will not crack.
- Cool the apple filling completely. Adding hot apple filling to the cheesecake will mess with the texture and may cause it to crack.
- Cook the apples until soft but not mushy. The apple filling should be tender with a slight bite. Don’t overcook or they’ll turn into applesauce.
- Let your cheesecake chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours. I know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake cool and set it in the pan. I like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- For a smooth and creamy cheesecake, make sure that you are using room-temperature ingredients. Before you begin to make this cheesecake, make sure that your cream cheese is completely soft, and that your eggs are at room temperature.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It's really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes. To avoid overbeating your mixture, make sure that you lower the speed of the hand mixer and add each egg at a time.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no cream cheese lumps.
- Don't open the oven door before the cake is fully baked or about to be baked! Drastic changes in the temperature of the cake while baking can cause the cake to collapse or crack.
Laura
Made this for thanksgiving and every one loved it! Sooo delicious.
Lia
Has anyone made this ahead of time ? It If I bake it on Thursday will it be okay to serve Sunday ??
Jane
I used a 7.5inch spring foam pan and it barely fits, surprisingly it was able to fit in the first place! Aside from that, this is an amazing recipe. I normally don't love cheesecakes but I made this twice this week! I love the amount of apples you add to this cake, it's the perfect ratio for me.
Kelsey
This was a HUGE hit! Not one single slice was left. Very delicious. I did a couple things different.... I added half biscoff cookies with the Graham crackers for my crust, and used a salted caramel topping, and I added ground cloves with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Absolutely delicious 😋
Karen
Perfect!
Anne Mary Harvey
This is an amazing and absolutely delicious. I have made it several times now.
I get many requests and compliments.
Laurie
Unbelievably good. I did not use the cornstarch. I cooked the apples until the liquid was reduced. I added some biscoff cookies to the graham cracker crust. My bake time was a bit longer but I doubled the recipe for a large crowd. Rave reviews!
Janet
I wish I read the previous comment before I made this.Way too much filling for the size of pan stated in the recipe. I think a 12 inch springform pan would have been perfect. I ended up with a small cheese cake and a heaping 9 inch spring form pan cheesecake. It is cooling now. Will taste later
Karen
This cheesecake is delicious! Just a couple of notes,
1. made as the recipe states was way too much for a 9 inch spring form it overflowed, alot! Use a 10 inch or reduce the amount of apples, I will probably use only 3 apples next time. (This may not be enough difference to keep it in the pan)
2. For the crust I used ginger snaps and chopped up a handful of walnuts. Yum!
3. I used half white sugar and half brown sugar in the batter! Again yum!
4. I added some roughly chopped walnuts to the apple compote and to the crumble.
My family (and myself) loved it soooooo yummy! Thank you a I'm always looking for good, different cheesecake recipies and this was definitely a keeper!
Merav
EXTRAORDINARY cheesecake. Yes, too much filling for the pan size, but other than that - brilliant recipe.