Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Praline Recipe

My creamy and delicious pumpkin cheesecake with a pecan praline topping is the perfect cheesecake for the fall season. It’s a delicious blend of creamy New York style cheesecake and pumpkin pie, topped with a sweet pecan praline topping.

I promise this will become one of your favorite pumpkin desserts!

And if you’re not a fan of the praline topping…..gasp, it’s easy enough to leave it off and just create a delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake. Even if you’re not a fan of pumpkin pie (like me) I promise you’re going to love this light creamy cheesecake with a perfect blend of pumpkin flavors that won’t overpower the cheesecake.

If you love pumpkin my pumpkin crunch cake is another of my favorite pumpkin desserts.

Fall is definitely my favorite season, with cool nights and all the deliciousness that comes with the season.

My Pumpkin Cheesecake is delicious by itself but it’s over-the-top delicious with the addition of my praline topping! And let’s not even talk about how ah-mazing your kitchen will smell while it’s baking.

What ingredients do I need to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake?

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

If you want to change up the crust on the pumpkin cheesecake that’s easy enough to do. You can use ginger snaps, chocolate graham crackers or any of your favorite wafer cookies to make the crust for pumpkin cheesecake.

How do I make a graham cracker crust?

• Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and process them into a fine meal of graham cracker crumbs.
• Add the melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs and mix together to make the crust
• Press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan and 1-2 inches up the sides of the pan (I used a 9-inch spring form pan).
• Place on the center rack of a preheated 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, until firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

How do I make a Pumpkin Cheesecake?

• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with your electric mixer) add the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
• Slowly add in the brown sugar, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you mix it together.
• Add in the flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix). Mix for 2 -3 minutes until well blended and smooth.

*You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon and allspice.

• Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared crust and place in a preheated 350-degree oven for one hour.
• After the hour, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for one additional hour
• Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack
• Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is better)

How do I make a Pecan Praline topping?

• in a saute pan or sauce pan add brown sugar, and corn syrup, and heat until the corn syrup is well blended into the sugar
• Add in the pecans and let the mixture brown slightly
• Add the dulce de leche (or caramel sauce) to the pan and continue to simmer until thickened

Pour the praline mixture on the top of the cheesecake spreading it evenly. Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator to allow the praline to cool and harden.

When ready to serve, carefully run a knife along the inside edge of the spring form pan and slowly release the spring.

For an added touch, garnish the pumpkin praline cheesecake with sugared cranberries.

Serve up this delicious pumpkin cheesecake with homemade whipped cream and watch the smiles around the table!

How to make whipped cream

It’s easy to make your own whipped cream by adding 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix at a slow speed, gradually increasing the speed of the mixer over 6-8 minutes until you get stiff peaks. The cream and the mixing bowl should be very cold.

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