Caramel Apple Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for bunco last week. When I worked for Bon Appetit, we often served a caramel apple cheesecake at the executive meetings. I started craving this when the leaves changed colors. I looked on the internet for a recipe. After trying one of the recipes I found online, I was not impressed. So I used a basic cheesecake recipe I got from my friend Carlina and added apples along with some spices to really make the apple's pop. Then, I added a yummy homemade caramel sauce. My favorite fall cheesecake was born! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Crust:
1 pkg. of graham crackers
2 Tbsp. butter,melted
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. pecans

Filling:
3 pkg. cream cheese,softened
3 eggs@ room temp.
1 c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Apples:
1 granny apple
2 Sm. gala apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. sugar

Caramel Sauce:
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 c. dark brown sugar

Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350. Place crackers, sugar and pecans in food processor. Blend until it is a fine crumb. Add melted butter and mix until well blended. Firmly press in the bottom of a 9 in. spring form pan. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Filling:
Cream the sugar and cream cheese together. Slowly add one egg at a time and mix well. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Apples:
Peel and thinly slice apples. In a med. bowl, toss apples and spices. When well coated add lemon juice. Let apples sit for about 5 minutes.

Caramel Sauce:
Combine butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan over med. high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it reaches a boil, turn lower heat to med. and continue to boil until mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Turn down oven temperature to 325.
Place apples over baked crust, making sure they are even spread out. Drizzle 2 -3 Tbsp. over the apples. Pour the cheesecake filling over apples. Drizzle half the caramel sauce over the filling in a circular motion. With a butter knife gently drag the knife through the cheesecake. Make sure not to touch the apples on the bottom of the pan. Once the caramel has been well marbled through out, wrap the bottom of the spring form pan with tin foil. Then gently place the cheesecake in a larger pan filled w/ 1 - 2 inches on water. Place both pans oven and bake cheesecake for about 1 1/2 hours. Be careful not to open the oven too often. When the cheesecake is firmly set in the center remove from the oven and let it cool for a few hours. When it is completely cooled run a knife around the edge of cheesecake and remove the sides. Run a warm knife around the knife for a clean edge. Place cheesecake in freezer over night. A few hours before you are ready to serve it remove the cheesecake from the freezer and place in fridge. 1/2 hour before you are ready to serve carefully slice the cheesecake. Serve with the remaining caramel sauce drizzle over the top of each slice. Enjoy!