Imagine a creamy cheesecake swirled with apple butter and adorned with a brown sugar rum topping, and you’ll understand how self-indulgent I felt when I dipped my fork in for that first bite…especially since it was only 9:00 in the morning. Hey – you have to get photos when the lighting is good, and I couldn’t let that slice of heaven go to waste, right?
This is true company fare, guaranteed to get some “oohs” and “ahhs”. I’ll admit right now that I’m not much of a cheesecake lover (this is my first cheesecake blog in 3 years) but I absolutely went crazy over this. The subtle sweetness of the apple butter counteracts the tangy cheese flavor, and the topping? Well, I could just eat it with a spoon.
Scooping leftover topping out of the pan and into my mouth.
If you don’t have any apple butter on hand, you can do what I did and use a jar of applesauce to make your own. Just add sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to taste, and then cook it down slowly on medium low heat, stirring often. I usually get impatient and crank up the heat after a while; this works well, as long as you have a tall pan and a long spoon (because the mixture will spit) and you’re willing to stir constantly for 5 minutes or so. Cook it until you can run a spatula on the bottom of the pan and the apple mixture doesn’t fill in the space you created.
Fuzzy picture – sorry! But you can see it needs to be pasty, not juicy.
Try some on one of the leftover graham crackers.
The goal of making a cheesecake is to have it chilled and plated without a single crack. I’m not a perfectionist; that’s what toppings are for! This didn’t crack, but the spots where I brought the swirled apple butter to the surface sank just a bit. This isn’t a problem though, because the whole thing is covered with a thick layer of topping. See? No pressure.
| Apple Butter & Rum Cheesecake | Print |
- GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
- 2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- CHEESECAKE:
- 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate (thaw, but don't add water!)
- 2 teaspoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup apple butter
- TOPPING:
- 1½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup rum (I used dark, spiced rum)
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Heat oven to 350 F. Place one rack near the bottom and one in the middle or just above middle.
- Grease an 8-1/2" springform pan. (You may use a 9-1/2" pan - cheesecake will not be as tall.) Place a strip of parchment around inside ring, trapping it with the bottom of the pan if possible before latching.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter until thoroughly combined. With the help of a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup, press the mixture firmly and evenly into pan.
- Place in upper rack of oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove carefully and place on a rack.
- Fill a large cake pan with 1 inch of hot water and place on bottom rack to heat while you are mixing the cheesecake.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese well - for at least 2 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes, scraping the bowl often.
- Add the apple juice concentrate, flour, salt, and the sour cream, beating until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each is incorporated. Don't over-mix!
- Pour mixture over crust in pan.
- Put the apple butter in a pastry bag (or plastic zipper bag with tip cut off) and swirl throughout the cheesecake mixture, bringing the tip from the bottom to the top of the batter several times.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN DOOR, lower the heat to 325. Bake for 1 hour. don't remove the cheesecake, but wiggle it gently. It should be just slightly jiggly in the center.
- Turn oven off and prop door slightly open (I use a wooden spoon handle) for 1 hour.
- Move cheesecake to a rack and cool completely.
- Move to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours. (Overnight is better!)
- Remove the ring of the pan. Use a long flat spatula to loosen the crust from the bottom pan and slide it onto a serving plate.
- Generously pour warm topping over the top. You can serve the cheesecake as soon as the topping is firm, or refrigerate it for later.
- TOPPING:
- In a tall pan, combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter. Stir over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Cook at a low boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and wait a minute for the bubbles to calm down. Stir in the rum.
- Add the powdered sugar and cinnamon and whisk briskly until mixture thickens and a spoonful drizzled over the top keeps its shape for 10 seconds. (About 5 minutes.) It should be thick but pourable.
Line the sides of the greased pan with parchment.
Press the crust firmly and evenly into the pan.
Use a pastry bag to swirl in the apple butter.
Baked and chilled, ready to add topping.
Boiling the topping.
Add booze and powdered sugar, then briskly whisk (I love saying that!) until a drizzle holds its shape for 10 seconds.
Pour topping over chilled cheesecake. Dump it on generously!
Spread gently to the edges, adding more if needed. Let it drip!
It’s okay if it drips over the sides!
Let the icing firm up and cut yourself a big slice. Add a dollop of whipped cream if you’d like…or even a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. It will remind you a lot of apple pie.
Mmmmmm.
And just so you know, the recipe for the topping is very generous. If you have some left over you can:
- Eat it with a spoon, directly out of the pan
- Reheat it (add a little rum if it’s too thick) and pour it over ice cream.
- Stir it into boiling water for an improvised hot buttered rum. (Leave a little space for more rum!)
- Stir it into sauteed apples and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
- Eat it with a spoon (oh, did I say that already?)
Cheers! Lorinda