Salted Caramel Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Salted Caramel Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
These salted caramel swirl pumpkin cheesecake bars have a delicious brown butter graham cracker crust and have the most luxuriously silky pumpkin filling. The pumpkin filling is loaded with lots of warm, snuggly autumn spices and has the perfect amount of sweetness from the salted caramel swirl. If you find cheesecakes to be intimidating don’t be! These bars are so simple to make and are a dream to eat up. They are the perfect mix of pumpkin pie and caramel cheesecake all in one!
Move over pumpkin pie, these caramel pumpkin cheesecake bars taste like pumpkin pie but with the most silky cheesecake texture and the dreamiest brown butter graham cracker crust!
Salted Caramel Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Serving: Makes an 8x8 tray ~ 16 squares
Ingredients:
Brown Butter Graham Cracker Crust
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (113 grams or 1 stick)
9 full graham cracker sheets (140 grams)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (13 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
12 ounces of Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature (340 grams -1 ½ cream cheese blocks)
½ cup of white granulated sugar (100 grams)
½ cup of pumpkin puree (113 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ cup of salted caramel sauce, for topping
Method:
Make the Brown Butter Crust
First make the brown butter: Place the butter in a light colored pot over medium heat and let it melt down until liquid. Once liquid, constantly stir the mixture and scrape the bottom and sides. Keep a watch on the butter for the next 5 to 8 minutes as it starts to sputter, bubble and become warm golden brown. There will be a lot of foam so in order to check on the color of the butter, pull the pan off the stovetop for a moment to let the foam subside. Once the whey of the butter has turned into a nice golden brown and releases a nutty aroma, turn the heat off and set the butter aside to cool.
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (113 grams or 1 stick)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a blender or food processor grind the graham crackers until fine.
9 full graham cracker sheets (140 grams)
Add the graham cracker crumbs, dark brown sugar, salt into the butter until it achieves a wet sand like consistency.
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (13 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Brown butter
In an 8x8 pan lined with parchment in double hang style, pat down graham cracker mixture until smooth and uniform.
Place graham cracker crust into the oven for 5 –7 minutes until golden and slightly puffy. Once out of the oven, pat down any puffiness with the back of a flat cup and set aside to cool.
Make the Salted Caramel Pumpkin Filling
Keep the oven preheated at 350 degrees.
In a clean bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese and sugar and beat on medium low speed until the cream cheese and sugar mixture is no longer gritty and starts to look whippy and light. Do not overbeat as it creates excess air in your cheesecake which will leads to cracks and sinking as it cool.
12 ounces of Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature (340 grams -1 ½ cream cheese blocks)
½ cup of white granulated sugar (100 grams)
Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until smooth and homogenous.
½ cup of pumpkin puree (113 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add in the room temperature egg, the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until combined. Keep scraping the bowl down to ensure you haven’t missed mixing anything.
¾ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Once incorporated, pour mixture into your cooled graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Bang the pan against the counter to remove any air bubbles.
Take your salted caramel sauce and heat it up ever so slightly so it is runny rather than thick, this will make it easy to swirl into the cheesecake.
¼ cup of salted caramel sauce, for topping
Using a toothpick or skewer, swirl the caramel to create swirly patterns. Once swirled to your desire. Set it aside.
Prepare your steam bath: Take a bake safe dish and fill it with an inch or so of water. Place this dish/pan of water in the bottom rack of your oven.
Note: Rather than creating a water bath, I find that this method provides the same amount of moisture without worrying about the cheesecake getting wet. Why do we need this? Creating a steam like sauna set up prevents the cheesecake from cracking and provides more even cooking.
Next, place cheesecake into oven. Let it bake for about 20 to 23 minutes or just until set on the sides and slightly jiggly in the center. Keep a watch on it, because cooking times might vary based on your oven. Once you see a slight jiggle in the middle and it’s not sticky to the touch you can turn off the temperature of the oven and just let the cheesecake cool in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. This helps the cheesecake cool gradually without shocking it to too much temperature change.
Pull out he cheesecake from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Once cooled to room temperature, wrap the entire cheesecake pan in foil and let it chill in the fridge for at least another 4 hours. The more firm and solid your cheesecake the easier it will be to cut.
Once chilled, use the double hang parchment to gently lift the cheesecake out
Note: Remember the bottom of your parchment is oily from the non-stick spray so place it something easy to clean or disposable.
Using a warm knife, a clean towel to wipe and a container of hot water, start slicing the cheesecakes into 16 squares or 32 triangles. Wipe your knife between each cut and let it warm up in the container of hot water before slicing again. This will ensure you get sharp clean slices.
If you aren’t eating the cheesecake right away, keep the bars stored in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. It is best to let cheesecake come to room temperature 10 minutes before ready to serve.
Leftover cheesecake will last 3-4 days in the fridge in a airtight container. Enjoy!