Creme Brulee Pumpkin Cheesecake
New Creme Brulee Pumpkin Cheesecake will make your dreams come true! This smooth, silky pumpkin cheesecake is made with the ginger snap cookie crust, extra cookies on the bottom, heavenly pumpkin cheesecake, and crunchy, caramelized sugar on top.
Creme Brulee Pumpkin Cheesecake
What is the BEST thing about Crème Brulee?
Every time I think about Crème Brulee, I imagine that the beautiful crunch that you get when the spoon goes through the top layer of caramelized sugar. That “crunch” you heat, that is just perfection. It only gets better from there, when you take a bite of a smooth, creamy custard along with some crunchy caramelized sugar bits. It’s just heaven.
This Crème Brulee Pumpkin cheesecake is just as heavenly! I paired this smooth pumpkin cheesecake with ginger snap cookies. It thought that the flavors would compliment each other very well, and they absolutely do. The beautiful, buttery crust of this cheesecake is made from crushed ginger snaps cookies and I also broke apart some extra ginger snaps and just layered them in between the crust and the cheesecake filling.
To make the cheesecake absolutely perfect, it has a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. The topping is prepared right before serving by spreading superfine sugar on top of the chilled cheesecake and then using a blow torch to burn the sugar to a golden, caramelized topping.
My little man calls it a “sweet lollipop” on top of a cookie cheesecake. It’s the cutest description for an amazing cheesecake. This cheesecake would definitely make the perfect dessert for any fall holiday or celebration.
Creme Brulee Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 44 ginger snap cookies pulsed to crumbles (cookies I used were about 1 inch in diameter) That equaled to about 2 cups of cookie crumbs
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice extract
- 5 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
- 20 ginger snap cookies broken up
- Cheesecake:
- 32 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Topping:
- 1/3 cup super fine sugar
- You will need a culinary blow torch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9 inch springform pan. You will need a large roasting pan that’s bigger and longer than the springform pan. (I use the aluminum foil disposable ones). If you are not sure about your springform holding up in water, you can wrap the outside of the springform pan in heavy duty aluminum foil from bottom up to the sides. (I recommend wrapping the outside of the springform in foil before adding the crust and cheesecake batter.)
- Crust:
- Pulse about 44 ginger snaps in a food processor until all cookies are crumbles.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix ginger snap crumbles, melted butter, and pumpkin spice extract until evenly incorporated.
- Spread the crust mixture all over the bottom of the spring form and press it down.
- Break up about 20 cookies into small chunks and spread them even over the crust.
- Cheesecake:
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Scrape sides and bottom on the bowl, add sugar and beat for another couple of minutes.
- Add eggs, one at the time, beating after each addition.
- Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin extract, and sour cream, beat until incorporated. Scrape sides and bottom on the bowl.
- Lower speed and add cinnamon and corn starch. Make sure that all ingredients are well combined. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for a few more seconds, until all smooth.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan with crust, over the crushed cookies.
- Place roasting pan into the oven and place cheesecake springform pan inside the roasting pan. Carefully add water to the roasting pan, about half way up the side of the springform.
- Bake for 80-85 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let cheesecake rest for about 10 minutes before taking it out. Take it out of the oven (out of the roasting pan and carefully take off the foil).
- Let it rest for 20 minutes on the counter and then gently run a greased butter knife between sides of the cheesecakes and the springform to carefully separate it. (You don't actually have to take the cheesecake out of the pan until ready to serve.)
- Cool cheesecake for an hour and then place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or even overnight.
- Topping:
- Take the side of the spring form off the cheesecake.
- Spread super fine sugar evenly over the top of the cheesecake, evenly. Using a torch, melt the sugar to golden brown as it forms a crispy top. Let it stand for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
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Some More Pumpkin Recipes From Me:
Stuffed Pumpkin Cheesecake Doughnuts
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Made the pumpkin brûlée cheesecake but the texture wasn’t creamy. I used drained, canned Libby’s pumpkin. The recipe doesn’t really tell me what is ‘purée’.
There were NO leftovers!!!!
Hi Mel,
You need to use canned pumpkin puree undrained.
When you torch the top of the cheesecake are you doing it inside the pan or after you’ve already take it out? And would you do this before you refrigerate for the first time or before you’re about to serve it? I’m excited to make this for my works thanksgiving potluck!!
L,
Your recipes are wonderful ! Thank you so much for all you do to help us along. Cooking, no matter how much you love it after 60 years I need inspiration and help. You provide it wonderfully. Please DO NOT STOP!
Sincerely,
Dr. J. A. M
Wow! Thank you so much for the compliment I am so glad you like it!
I made this (loved it!!) but the bottom crust part did not get cooked/crisp up at all. Any ideas on how to fix that?
HI Brianna!
The crust doesn’t actually get crisp, but there may also been a little leak in the pan. Sometimes, my pan leaks in a little water, even after it’s been wrapped in foil. Did it seem like that’s what happened?
Hi! I see the recipe calls for pumpkin spice “extract.” So would this be a liquid, like vanilla extract, and not the dry pumpkin spice seasoning?
Hi Tara!
Yes, the extract is liquid, like the vanilla extract. It’s usually quite strong so it adds a lot of pumpkin spice flavor. If you can’t find any, you can definitely use an extra teaspoon or so of the dry spice. 🙂
Awesome, thank you so much, I’ll be making it Thursday! =)
I want to make this for thanksgiving. How does it hold up being baked, frozen, and then thawed?
Hi Savannah,
I have actually never frozen a cheesecake before. BUT, after a quick search, I found these tips on freezing a cheesecake: http://www.rachaelray.com/2011/10/13/can-you-freeze-cheesecake/
I really hope it works and I hope you enjoy it!!
I would love to make your pumpkin spice rum balls – but I do not have any rumchata – is there a substitute I can use?
Ellie, do you mean the pumpkin spice cookie balls? If so, you can use extra cinnamon and a creme liquor like Baileys.