Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake

My birthday baking continues as I keep making more and more cakes for all of my family and friends this month. For my cousin's birthday, I made this great cake which was half cheesecake, half apple pie with caramel, pecans, and walnuts. I originally found the recipe here, but tweaked it a little to make it even more like a cheesecake. The cake was delicious and it had just the right balance of flavors between the cinnamony apples and the cheesecake with a hint of lemon.

Ever since I began to bake on a consistent basis, I have found myself gravitating toward cheesecakes. Somehow, I have found that baking cheesecakes comes naturally to me and they are always popular with almost any crowd. Also, the great thing about cheesecakes is that it's hard to mess them up...I feel like they're designed for amateur bakers like me. As long as you follow a few simple steps, you're almost guaranteed to come out with a yummy product. Once you have the basics down, you can mix and match flavors to create your own unique cheesecake that can become your signature cake. So here are my quick tips to a great cheesecake:

1. Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. Trust me, it makes a difference. If your cream cheese is at room temperature, it will be much easier to mix with the rest of the ingredients, creating a creamy, soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. 
2. Don't over mix your ingredients. Use the mixer until everything is incorporated, but don't keep mixing beyond that point...keep the mixing minimal. The reason is that the more you mix, the more air bubbles you create which can later lead to cracks in your cheesecake. Going back to the first point, if your cream cheese is at room temperature it is already soft and therefore lends itself to little mixing.
3. Bake your cheesecake with a water bath. You don't necessarily have to actually have the pan submerged in water, because usually you'll find that it leaks. However, place a baking dish in the bottom of your oven, one rack below the springform pan, and fill it with water. The water bath creates moisture in the oven which is necessary to even out the cooking of the cheesecake. It allows for the sides to cook slower than they normally would, giving the middle time to cook as well.
4. This is probably one of the most important steps...don't open the oven. It's tempting, I know, but the key to avoiding cracks it to keep the cheesecake in that moist environment. As soon as you open the oven, you let out some of the moisture and let in cold air. As a result, any tiny cracks on the surface of the cake expand into great caverns. 

It may sound like a lot of work, but eventually if you bake cheesecakes as much as I do, it all becomes second nature to you. Also, if your cheesecake turns out cracked don't worry about it. There are millions of ways to decorate the cake, with fruits, nuts, or ganache, and no one will be the wiser. Just remember to enjoy the cake, and others will follow suit.

Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2-3/4 cup caramel
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Combine the sugar, cinnamon, graham cracker crumbs, and melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 9" springform pan and press down gently along the bottom and sides. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. 

Allow the crust to cool a little before you pour the caramel on top. Make sure to spread all along the bottom, and then sprinkle the mixture of walnuts and pecans over top.

For the apple filling:

• 5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
• 1/3 cup (5 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon and cook for one minute, until bubbling. Add the apple slices and toss well to coat.

Continue to cook the apples over medium to medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been reduced. Cool the mixture for a few minutes before pouring into the springform pan over the caramel-nut crust.

For the cheesecake:

• 1 lb (2 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla and lemon juice. Mix it until all the ingredients are combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you mix. Pour the cheesecake over the apple filling in the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 30 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. Keeping the door closed, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to sit inside for another hour. Afterward, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature before refrigerating over night.

Note: If you want to design your own custom made cheesecake, this website allows you to select your ingredients and it will give you the right proportions to use.