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A slice of Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake with the caramel and nuts dripping down the sides.

Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake

Autumn desserts don't get any better than this perfectly spiced pumpkin cheesecake, topped with a sweet and salty Pecan Praline Caramel. The play of sweet and salty is sublime. The cheesecake is foolproof, and it can be made in advance if you are serving at the end of an autumn feast.
Course Dessert
Cuisine North American
Keyword cheesecake, pecan praline, pumpkin
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Cooling 3 hours
Servings 12

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups (336 grams) crushed gingersnaps, graham crackers, honey pretzels, or your favourite gluten free cookie crumb option
  • 6 tbsp (85 grams) butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Pumpkin Filling

  • 3 packages (750 grams/24 oz) regular Cream cheese, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 extra large eggs, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée, firmly packed, or roasted squash purée, or even canned pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

Pecan Praline Topping

  • 6 tbsp (85 grams) Butter
  • 1/2 cup Dark Brown sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, if the butter is salted, you can go down to 1/4 tsp.
  • 1/3 cup Heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp whiskey or bourbon, optional
  • 1 1/2 cups halved Pecans

Instructions

Crust

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Combine the cookie crumbs, melted butter and brown sugar or maple syrup in a bowl. Stir together till completely blended and holds together.
  3. Press the crumb mixture into a 9 inch springform pan with high sides. Start with the edges first to ensure that you have enough to go up at least 1 1/inches. Go slowly, and then pull the excess from the bottom edge and pull it towards the middle. Fill in the bottom.
  4. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 10 minutes till fragrant and golden. Take out, cool and set aside while the filling is being prepared.

Pumpkin Filling

  1. Reduce the heat to 275F.
  2. Place one of the packages of cream cheese (8 oz) along with 1/2 cup of sugar, and the cornstarch into the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low until creamy, about 3 minutes. Then beat in the remaining cheese.
  3. Increase the speed and add the remaining sugar. Then add the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed.
  4. Combine the pumpkin purée with the cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves till blended. Add this to the cheese mixture and beat through.
  5. Add the heavy cream. Mix only till completely blended, but no further. Do NOT over-mix the batter.
  6. Gently spoon the filling into the cooled down crust. Give the pan a couple of gentle taps to release any air bubbles.
  7. Bake in the centre of the oven till the outer 2 inches of the edges are set, and the centre is still slightly jiggly, anywhere between 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.
  8. Turn off the oven. Leave the cake in the oven to cool down as the oven cools.
  9. Remove the cake from the oven to a wire cooling rack. After 15 minutes gently run a knife along the outer edge of the cake to loosen it. Keep the pan intact and once cooled place in the fridge to chill (overnight is best) Then you can remove the sides before serving.

Pecan Praline Topping, can be made while the cheesecake is cooling

  1. Chop 3/4 cup of the pecans into a coarse smaller size. Save the remaining as whole pecan halves.

  2. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, add and melt the butter. Then add the brown sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt, whisking constantly.

  3. Add the heavy cream and whisky if using, and mix until well combined. Let the mixture simmer over medium heat.
  4. Add all of the pecans and stir through for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is thickened and the pecans have warmed through. Set aside to cool. If the sauce stiffens up before you are ready to spoon it over the cake, just place the pot back onto the burner and warm on low to loosen the caramel sauce. It doesn't need to be hot, just loose enough to spoon easily over the cake.

Assembly

  1. Use a spoon to transfer the Pecan Praline Sauce over the cake, spreading it about as you go. I don't like to go all the way to the edges, it is nice to see some of the pumpkin cheesecake peeking through. Turn over any of the pecan halves so that the pretty ridges are on top.
  2. Serve by slicing with a serrated knife run under hot water. Wipe away excess water and you will make nice clean slices.
  3. See blog post for storage and freezing directions.

Recipe Notes

Here is the link for how to roast and prepare the squash or pumpkin if you are doing it from scratch: Brown Butter Honeynut Squash Cake