Apple Crumble Cheesecake

This apple crumble cheesecake features a creamy brown sugar cheesecake filling with cinnamon apples, plus an oat-based crumble crust and topping. You can make it traditionally, with white whole wheat flour or gluten-free with gluten-free oats and flour.

I love this Gluten-free Apple Crumble, and I love cheesecakes, so combining the two seemed like a pretty great idea.

This cheesecake takes a little longer than a basic cheesecake because you have to peel, core and chop the apples. But the same crumble mixture is used for both the crust and topping, so you only have to make that once. And unlike many baked cheesecakes, this one doesn’t need a water bath.

Ingredients

Please scroll down for the full recipe. These are just notes on select ingredients.

For the crust and topping:

• Flour – you can use all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour or King Arthur Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour if you’re gluten-free.
• Rolled oats – I don’t recommend quick oats! The result would be greasy. Instant oats and steel-cut also don’t work.
• Brown sugar – please use brown sugar and not granulated sugar. Not just for flavor reasons, but because the mixture holds together better with brown sugar.
• Butter – use unsalted butter. I haven’t tested coconut oil and don’t recommend it here because a 1:1 replacement would make the crumble too greasy. If you’re using European-style butter, see the tested adjustment below.
• Cinnamon, baking powder and salt

For the cheesecake filling

• Cream cheese – you must use regular full-fat cream cheese if you want your cheesecake to be rich and creamy. Reduced fat could work, but I’m not totally sure, and fat-free would not work.
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar – this combination gives you more flavor than just all granulated sugar.
• Sour cream – this makes the cheesecake super creamy! I haven’t tried Greek yogurt or anything else in its place, so I can’t say what effect it’d have. If you feel like experimenting, know that it might not work out.
• Eggs – there’s no substitute here. Use large eggs in the US. If you’re outside the US, see the section below for the correct egg size.
• Vanilla and salt

For the apples:

• Apples – I use whatever I have on hand, but have listed some suggestions below.
• Sugar – raw sugar, brown sugar or coconut sugar also work.
• Cinnamon – apple pie spice could also be nice!

The maple syrup and cream in the photo below are only needed if you make the optional caramel sauce. They’re not ingredients in the cheesecake itself.

What apples to use

I usually bake with whatever apples I have on hand, but if you’re buying apples specifically for this cheesecake, a firm baking apple is best.

Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Rome, Jonathan, Jonagold, and Braeburn are great for baking.

Really old, soft apples can become too mushy here. Save those for Apple Butter or Strawberry Applesauce.

The crust

The crust uses the same mixture as the topping, so you’re basically using crumble topping as a crust.

You use half of the crumble mixture for the crust and the other half for the topping.

The crust is pre-baked to help prevent a soggy bottom. If it bubbles or develops holes, gently press it down with a spoon after it comes out of the oven. I also recommend putting the springform pan on a baking sheet or placing one on the rack below. Butter leaked from the pan in one of my five tests; the other four times, it didn’t.

Cheesecake filling

In my Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, I talk a lot about how it’s important to do a water bath, but not with this cheesecake!

As you can see in the horizontal photo further down in this post, it comes out nice and level. So, this cheesecake is perfect if you dread thinking about a water bath. ;)

You prepare the apples before everything else so that they have time to sit and release their juices. You can slurp that up (it’s apple juice with cinnamon and sugar, so you won’t want to throw it out!), but adding the juice to the cheesecake would make it too runny.

Also, make sure to spoon the apples carefully over the cheesecake filling. Don’t just dump them on top.

Caramel sauce

You can use whatever caramel you’d like. The one in the photos is my Salted Maple Caramel Sauce.

It’s rich, buttery and smooth and goes especially well with the apples and brown sugar filling. You can make it ahead and refrigerate it for up to 1 week. Before serving, stir to reincorporate it and microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds at half power. Or skip the caramel entirely or use store-bought.

It’s also delicious over Maple Ice Cream. For some other fruity cheesecakes, check out this amazing Blueberry Cheesecake or this Pomegranate Cheesecake.

Gluten-free

You can make this cheesecake with regular flour or white whole wheat flour for a whole grain version, and if you’re gluten-free, you need to use gluten-free flour and oats.

Pure, uncontaminated oats are naturally gluten-free. However, oats that are labeled as gluten-free are tested to ensure they contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten. You can read more in this post: Are Oats Gluten-free?

So, if you’re making this for friends or family who are gluten-free, make sure to buy oats that’re labeled as gluten-free.

You also need a gluten-free flour blend that’s intended as a 1:1 replacement for all-purpose flour. I’ve only tested this recipe with King Arthur Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour, and the result came out just like the all-purpose version.

I haven’t tested other gluten-free flour blends here, so I can’t guarantee the same crust and topping with another brand.

Vegan?

Unfortunately, using vegan subs in place of the cream cheese, eggs and butter won’t work in this recipe. But I do have paleo vegan cheesecake recipes that would be great for Thanksgiving, and this Vegan Caramel Sauce would be perfect for drizzling on top.

Live outside of the US?

For those who live outside of North America and have the kind of cream cheese that’s more of a spread for toast packaged in a tub and not a “brick” packaged in a foil wrapper, you’ll have to do an extra step.

This recipe calls for 24 ounces or 680 grams of cream cheese. To get 680 grams, you’ll need to buy 900 grams of cream cheese, place it in the middle of a clean tea towel, and squeeze the liquid out until you have the 680 grams required for this cheesecake.

If you don’t do this step, the cheesecake will be too watery and won’t bake through. You’ll probably try baking it for longer, which wouldn’t really help, and it’d also burn the topping. So, it’s really best to just avoid all that mess and do the tea towel trick!

Butter is also different. To replicate American-style butter for the crumble crust, use 163 grams of unsalted butter and add 5 grams of water.

Also, medium eggs in the EU = large eggs in the US. So if you’re in the EU, you need to use medium eggs when making US recipes (they almost always call for large eggs). If you’re not in the EU, you need eggs that are 50 grams without their shell.

I tested this recipe using the above tea towel trick, EU medium eggs, and German butter. My photographer in the US, of course, used all US ingredients, as called for in the recipe, and our results came out looking exactly the same.

Troubleshooting

The cheesecake is too watery or won’t set properly – make sure you leave the liquid released by the apples behind. If you’re using softer European-style cream cheese, it also needs to be drained as directed above. Simply baking the cheesecake longer won’t solve the cream cheese problem and can cause the crumble topping to burn.

The cheesecake still jiggles after baking – that’s expected. It should jiggle a little after the 40-minute bake and will finish setting as it cools and chills.

Make Ahead & storage

This is a good make-ahead dessert because the cheesecake needs to cool for 2 hours and then chill for at least 8 hours before slicing. Making it the day before you plan to serve it works well.

Cover and refrigerate the cheesecake for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

More Thanksgiving desserts

• Gluten-free Pecan Pie
• Whole Orange Cake
• Cranberry Apple Crisp
• Swedish Apple Pie
• Mini Apple Pies with Caramel
• Pumpkin Cupcakes

I hope you’ll love this apple crumble cheesecake as much as I do. If you try it, please comment below and tell me what you think. Thanks!