This Cinnamon Crunch Cheesecake is a creamy, dreamy rich vanilla cheesecake with bits of cinnamon crunch laced throughout, on top of a buttery graham cracker crust. And then topped with saucy, cinnamon-y bourbon apples. Especially with a little whipped cream on top, this cheesecake is seriously cinn-sational!
My youngest (who is now in their 20s!) had a birthday this month. And much to my surprise, when we asked what was wanted for a cake, they said cheesecake! We looked and looked for a good local shop to purchase said cheesecake from. But most of the local bakers wanted weeks to months of lead time. PLUS they charged $50 to $100 for a 9-inch cheesecake! C’mon, people, cheesecake is NOT that hard.
So we did what any good food blogger would do and took matters into our own hands. We looked at several candidate recipes and finally settled on one that looked really good. But it had too much sugar in it for our tastes. No worries, we simply adjusted it to our own liking.
Making the Cinnamon Crunch Cheesecake
So my (grownup) baby and I got to hang out in the kitchen together for a while! We had so much fun. I read the recipe and worked on gathering ingredients while they prepped the crust. Then we mixed up the cinnamon crunchies and finally the filling. While the cheesecake was in the oven, we peeled and chopped apples together for the topping. A quick cook on the stovetop and we had our bourbon apples! Plus we had fun adding things until it tasted just right.
The end result was absolutely perfect. Just the right amount of sweetness so the rich wonderfully creamy good flavor of the cheesecake could really shine through. We thought the apples were the perfect complement to the cinnamon sugary bits in the cheesecake.
Yes, it’s rich. Personally, I can only eat about 3 bites of this goodness before I have to stop. That’s quite fine with me, though, because every bite is pure bliss. Both my kids have no problem polishing off an entire slice.
Please don’t be discouraged by the list of ingredients or the length of the recipe. Be patient and enjoy the journey. Allow lots of time after baking so the cheesecake has time to chill slowly.
This recipe makes a 7-inch cheesecake. Double the recipe for a 9 or 10 inch cheesecake.
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Cinnamon Crunch Cheesecake with Bourbon Apples
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 min
- Yield: 8 – 10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust:
- 4.4 oz. crushed graham crackers
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
For the cinnamon swirl:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
- A pinch of salt
For the cheesecake filling:
- 12 oz. Neufchatel (light cream cheese) – that’s 1 1/2 8-oz. packages
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the bourbon apples:
- 1/3 of the reserved cinnamon sugar swirl mixture
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- About 4 cups apples, peeled and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 Tablespoons bourbon
- About 1 Tablespoon caramel sauce (or to taste)
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Crush the graham crackers and mix them with melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan. Bake for about 10 minutes to set the crust.
- While the crust is baking, in a small mixing bowl, mix together the cinnamon sugar mixture. Take about 1/3 of the mixture and put it in a separate bowl or cup for the apple topping later.
- Next, make the filling. Whip the cream cheese with the sugar until it’s creamy and smooth, then add the remaining filling ingredients and beat until nice and smooth. Make sure you wipe down the sides of the bowl and mix that in as well.
- With a spatula, smooth about 1/3 of the cheesecake filling onto the baked crust, then sprinkle with about 1/3 of the remaining cinnamon swirl mixture, then pour on the next third of the batter, then more cinnamon swirl, and finally the remaining filling and a bit more cinnamon swirl mix. Keep in mind: you should still have some cinnamon swirl mix set aside for the topping! Use a knife to swirl the top of the cinnamon sugar mixture around a bit.
- Set the springform pan inside a round cake pan, then set that inside a 13x9x2 inch pan or a large roasting pan. Boil a pot of water.
- When the water is boiling, set the pans in the oven and pour the water about halfway up the side of the largest pan, making a water bath for the cheesecake that’s not actually touching the springform pan. Bake for about 60 – 70 minutes or until the cheesecake is mostly set but a little jiggly just in the middle part of the pan.
- While the cheesecake is baking, make the apple topping. Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, add the apples, stir to coat, then cover and cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the apples start to get tender. Add the rest of the apple topping ingredients, stir to coat, then cover and cook for 10 – 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples get saucy and tender. Put in a jar and refrigerate until serving time.
- When the cheesecake is mostly set, turn off the oven, open the oven for a bit to release some of the heat, then close it again and let the cheesecake rest in the oven until the cheesecake has cooled down, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Remove the cheesecake carefully from the oven, cover and set it in the fridge to cool for at least 4 -6 hours until completely set.
Notes
To serve: slice the cheesecake with a warm knife. Top with warmed apples and a bit of whipped cream. Enjoy!
RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2022, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
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