Fall
by: Erin Jeanne McDowell
November7,2015
5
5 Ratings
- Prep time 30 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Makes one 9-inch pie
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
Pie crust can make an excellent base for cheesecake custard. This custard is fall-ified with the addition of reduced apple cider and a garnish of thin apple slices. —Erin Jeanne McDowell
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour (180 g)
- 1/2 teaspoonsalt (2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon (2 g)
- 8 tablespoonsvery cold unsalted butter, cubed (113 g)
- ice water, as needed
- egg wash, as needed
- For the filling:
- 24 ouncescream cheese, at room temperature (680 g)
- 3/4 cupgranulated sugar (150 g)
- 1/4 cupdark brown sugar (53 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoonscinnamon (5 g)
- 1 to 2 grates fresh nutmeg
- 3 eggs (171 g)
- 3/4 cupheavy cream (176 g)
- 3/4 cupboiled cider (available from King Arthur; thawed apple juice concentrate will work in a pinch) (180 g)
- 1 tablespoonvanilla extract (15 g)
- For the optional finish:
- 1/2 cupgranulated sugar (100 g)
- 1/2 cupwater (226 g)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 apples, halved, cored, and thinly sliced (about 452 g)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and cinnamon to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it’s the size of peas. Remove the mixture and transfer to a medium bowl.
- Use a fork to mix in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the springform pan and work carefully to make sure it’s nestled all the way down to the base. Chill thoroughly; 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer is best.
- Dock the frozen dough all over with a fork. Place a square of parchment over the pie and fill with pie weights. Bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pie weights, brush the base of the dough with egg wash, and return to the oven for 5 minutes more. Take the pie out of the oven and cool the crust completely. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a food processor, purée the cream cheese, sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg to combine. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Add the cream, cider, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust, and bake until the custard is just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely.
- While the pie cools, you can make the (totally optional) garnish. Bring the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil in a small pot. Add the apples (you may need to work in batches), and simmer for about 1 minute. Lay out on absorbent paper towels to drain.
- Layer the apples on top of the finished cheesecake pie.
Tags:
- Pie
- Cake
- Cheesecake
- American
- Cream Cheese
- Nutmeg
- Thanksgiving
- Fall
- Dessert
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Melissa Case
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Aliyia Patterson
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kevyn
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ErinH
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!
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12 Reviews
Melissa C. September 15, 2022
Absolutely FABULOUS.This takes a bit of effort, but the results are more than worth it. I did this in a deep-dish pie dish rather than the springform pan (Erin has a cheesecake pie in her book, “The Book on Pie,” which bakes beautifully) and it turned out perfectly. The flavors, thanks to the boiled cider, were intensely appley, and the texture was positively dream-like. I served it at a small gathering of friends and there wasn’t a bite left.
ErinH November 26, 2015
I made this for Thanksgiving with mixed results. Crust was tasty, and filling was tasty but as baked according to directions (timing and "custard just set"), consistency was off. Texture was exactly like a caramel apple dip, not a cheesecake. I refrigerated it overnight so I know that wasn't the issue. I'm hoping that if I tried it again and simply baked longer than directions would seem to indicate, more water would cook out and it would get to a cheesecakey texture. Loved the taste, though, and so pretty with the apple slices spiraled over the top. Happy Thanksgiving!
alecia November 26, 2015
It was our Thanksgiving dessert, and very successful. I used the CI fool-proof pie dough recipe, adding the cinnamon, and it worked out great. BTW, I also used the Alton Brown trick of rolling the dough out inside a gallon sized plastic bag, and it made the clean up so much easier. This one is a keeper.
Aya M. November 26, 2015
I made this with a graham cracker crust (crackers, sugar, butter, pinch of salt) and it gave it a nice bite since the rest of the pie, including the apple topping, was so smooth.
ErinH November 24, 2015
Thanks, Alecia! I was hoping to take the easy way out on the crust, but homemade crust IS well worth the time--I can't argue with it. :)
ErinH November 23, 2015
Can I use a premade pie crust for this or does that not give you enough dough to go up the sides a bit?
alecia November 24, 2015
I think you would have a problem with the ready-made crusts in a pie pan for the reason you mentioned - cheesecakes generally have the crust going up at least half-way up the sides. As I wrote earlier, you might want to try the Cooks Illustrated crust - I've been using it for several years now, and it really works well, and it's not difficult to make. And I have no financial interest in CI, my husband LOVES pies, and this crust recipe has made my life so much easier and my husband happier.
alecia November 16, 2015
I've found that cooked cheesecakes work better with regular pie crusts, unless you make a very think graham cracker crust (which can get had to cut). I'm planning on using the Cook's Illustrated foolproof pie crust (it really works) only adding cinnamon to the recipe.
Aliyia P. November 16, 2015
Thanks for the info. I will do the same.
Aliyia P. November 15, 2015
Has anyone tried a graham cracker or nut crust such as pecan? I'd like to make this for Thanksgiving.
kevyn November 11, 2015
I have no trouble making pastry but this filling sounds like it'd be better in a graham cracker crust.
Tina November 11, 2015
Any suggestion for crumb crust? Or no crust?
