Apple Crumble Cheesecake

Cannot decide if you want a creamy baked cheesecake or a warm apple crumble (a.k.a Apple Crisp)? Well, there's no need to decide! Have both of these delicious desserts by making an Apple Crumble Cheesecake! A ridiculously creamy and silky cheesecake with a buttery digestive biscuit base is topped with delicious apple crumble topping, then baked and decorated with sweet fudge! Simply the best dessert for the apple season!

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love Apple Crumble Cheesecake
• Ingredient Notes
• Step-By-Step Method
• Tips and Tricks for Creamy Cheesecake
• Cooking Cheesecake in Water Bath
• Recipe FAQs
• Reader Review
• Other Cheesecake Recipes 
• Apple Crumble Cheesecake

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Why You Will Love Apple Crumble Cheesecake

• Perfect fall dessert - do I need to say more?
• Combines two of the best desserts known to man: apple crumble and a creamy cheesecake. 
• Delicious dessert idea for the apple season! Just like Apple Frangipane Tart, Apple Crumble Tart and Sourdough Apple Fritters.
• Easily adaptable to make in a square/ rectangular roasting pan and cut into Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bars.
• Decadent dessert - the cheesecake layer in this recipe is divine, as it is enhanced with the juices from the apples cooking on top. 

Ingredient Notes

• digestive biscuits: plain, without chocolate. Alternatively, substitute them with gingernut biscuits for a bit of ginger heat in the crust. You may also make it with a traditional crust using graham crackers.  
• unsalted butter: will be melted and mixed with the biscuits. Salted butter will work too, adding a 'salted caramel' effect when paired with apples and fudge on top. 
• cream cheese: choose full-fat cheese for an extra creamy cheesecake and make sure you take it out of the fridge in advance to bring it to room temperature.
• caster sugar: or white granulated sugar. 
• creme fraiche: can be substituted with sour cream, but make sure it is at room temperature.
• eggs: again, at room temperature. If you are in the UK, use medium eggs, and if you're in the US, large eggs. 
• vanilla extract: optional. 
• apples: we love tart apples (like Granny Smith apples), but Honey Crisp or Gala apples will work well for a sweeter taste.  
• cinnamon.
• plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour. 
• light brown sugar.
• fudge: optional, for decorating. 

Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Step-By-Step Method

Step 1: Make The Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Grease an 18cm (7in) springform pan with butter and line the bottom with a circle of baking parchment paper. Wrap foil on the bottom and up the outside walls of the springform cake tin.

2. Smash the digestive biscuits with the back of a rolling pin in a large mixing bowl (or blitz them in a food processor). You may also use graham cracker crumbs. Place the crumbs into a medium bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix until all the biscuit crumbs are coated (the mixture should resemble wet sand). Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and press firmly down to the base of the tin to form an even layer.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes.

4. Take the tin out of the oven and leave it to cool down, whilst you make the cheesecake filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 150 °C Fan.

Step 2: Prepare the Cinnamon Apples

1. Toss the sliced apples with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent them from going brown. Then toss them with sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. This is your apple topping. 

Step 3: Make the Crumble

1. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Using your fingers, rub the cold butter into the flour mixture to form coarse breadcrumbs.

Step 4: Make The Cream Cheese Filling

1. Using an electric mixer beat the room temperature cream cheese and caster sugar for about 2-3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture thickens slightly. Add the creme fraiche and beat again.

2. One by one add the eggs in and gently mix them in, just enough to incorporate them into the cheesecake mixture. (don't use an electric hand mixer to beat in the eggs - it will pump in too much air into your creamy cheesecake filling).

Step 5: Assemble, Cook and Cool

1. Place the cheesecake form in a baking tray with high rims (this will act as a water bath). Tip the cheesecake batter into the cake tin, on top of your biscuit base. Smooth out the top using a spatula.

2. Carefully place the cinnamon sugar apples over the layer of cheesecake, discarding any juices that may have been released from the apples.

3. Scatter the crumble mixture over the top.

4. Pour about 1.5-2cm of hot water into the baking tray around the cheesecake (the foil will protect the cheesecake from water seeping in). Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes at 150°C.

5. Your cheesecake should be set around the outer edges, but still have a good 7-8 cm wobble in the middle (the middle will cook in the residual heat).

6. Leave the cheesecake in the closed oven for about 1 hour. Then open the oven door and leave it for another 30 minutes. Take it out and cool completely at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge to chill for at least 5 hours!

7. Take it out of the cheesecake pan and decorate it with cubes of fudge before cutting it into slices! Serve on its own or with salted caramel sauce drizzled all over...

Tips and Tricks for Creamy Cheesecake

Cheesecake can be the best most creamy dessert ever, but there are a few things that can go wrong with this delicious cake. To ensure the best results, we have put together an extensive list of How To Prevent Your Cheesecake From Cracking. The main points to remember are: 

• Use room temperature ingredients for the filling.
• Fold the eggs in gently - don't beat them! 
• Cook your cheesecake in a water bath.
• Don't overcook - turn the oven off when the middle of the cheesecake is still jiggly. 
• Cool your cheesecake gradually. 

Read more about it here. If you follow the steps, we assure you that you will have an amazingly creamy cheesecake, free from cracks and cooked to perfection!

Cooking Cheesecake in Water Bath

I always bake my cheesecakes in a water bath (bain-marie) in order to prevent them from cracking. Some say it is a myth that cheesecakes like humid environments, but from my experience it is true. 

First, wrap your springform tin in aluminum foil, that seals the bottom and at least ¾ of the sides to stop the water from sipping into the cheesecake. Simmering water that surrounds your cheesecake creates a moist and steamy atmosphere that keeps the cake from drying out and, therefore, cracking. Here are the main things to know about bain-marie for your cheesecake:

• Use hot water. This will ensure the temperature in your pre-heated oven doesn't drop too much and the cheesecake will bake at the right temperature from the start.
• Don't overfill the tray with water, you don't want it to splash into the cheesecake when it comes to the boiling point in the oven.
• Make sure you wrap your cheesecake tin with foil high enough up the sides and ensure your foil doesn't tear. You really don't want any water seeping in (and most springform cake tins aren't exactly leak-proof). I highly recommend Kirkland Signature Foil (the price may look steep, but it's 200m of foil!)

Recipe FAQs

Other Cheesecake Recipes 

Cheesecake is our absolute favourite dessert in the world! No surprise, we have a bunch of delicious cheesecake recipes for you to try, from San Sebastian Cheesecake from the Basque region to the American Classic Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake!

If you like no-bake cheesecakes, try our Irresistible Biscoff Cheesecake and our amazing Toblerone Cheesecake. But if you are into baked cheesecakes, here is a selection of our very best:

• Baked Cherry Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Crust
• Salted Honey Cheesecake with Ginger
• Creamy Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake (Baked Cheesecake Recipe)
• Refined Sugar-Free Burnt Basque Cheesecake