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Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Rich, smooth and creamy spiced pumpkin cheesecakes are perfectly sized! There's a cinnamon graham cracker crust, salted caramel sauce and whipped cream topping. These are absolutely irresistible and are a must-make during the holidays!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup (120g) graham cracker crumbs (about 15 squares)
- 2 tablespoon (25g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon (42g) salted butter, melted
Cheesecake batter:
- 13 oz (375g) full-fat block-style cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (3g) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (160ml) pure pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) fancy (light) molasses
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping:
- ½ cup (120ml) 35% heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon (4g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon skim milk powder (optional for stabilizing the cream)
- cinnamon for sprinkling
1 x recipe for Rich Salted Caramel Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Here are parchment paper liners that I like to use for these cheesecakes as they won't stick at all to these ones.
- Make the crust. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter in a medium bowl. Add a pinch of salt if you’re using unsalted butter. Stir well to combine evenly, then spoon it into the paper cups in the muffin pan, dividing evenly among them. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons for each cup. Press the crumbs down firmly into an even layer (I use the back of a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon to do this).
- Bake for 7 minutes then remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
- Make the cheesecake batter. Add soft cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until very smooth. Add sugar and flour and beat until smooth and glossy and no lumps of cheese remain. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add pumpkin puree, molasses and spices and beat until well combined and very smooth.
- Divide the filling evenly among cups, pouring it on top of the baked crust layer. The cups will be very full.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, transfer cheesecakes to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, spoon 1-2 teaspoons of salted caramel sauce on top of each chilled cheesecake, then pipe or spoon a dollop of whipped cream over top. Grate some fresh cinnamon over top for decoration.
