This show-stopping dessert combines two favorites: pumpkin pie and cheesecake! Not to be confused with a pumpkin flavored cheesecake, this is a layer of creamy cheesecake with toffee bits, topped with a smooth and perfectly spiced pumpkin pie. The best of both worlds! This has become a holiday tradition for so many people. Try it once and it might be your new tradition as well!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
- Springform Pan – If you don’t own a springform pan, now is the time to get one! You can use a 9 or 10 inch. I prefer a 9″ because I like the thickness of the finished dessert, but a 10″ will work as well. Your dessert will be slightly thinner than mine.
- Crust
- Graham cracker crumbs – I use cinnamon-sugar graham crackers in this recipe, but regular grahams work just as well, I just add a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon to the mix.
- Cheesecake
- Cream cheese – Regular or full fat is fine. Avoid fat free.
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Toffee bits – Such as Heath Bits ‘O Brickle or Skor bits. Make sure when you’re at the store you grab regular toffee and not the chocolate covered ones.
- Pumpkin Pie Layer
- Canned pumpkin
- Whipping cream
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Pumpkin pie seasoning
- Salt
- Eggs
- For Serving
- Sweetened Whipped Cream or cool whip.
- Toffee bits
How to Make a Layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake
- Start with the crust, which is your basic butter and graham cracker crumb mixture. Simply press it into the bottom of a springform pan.
- That goes in the oven to bake for a few minutes, and while it does you can mix up your cheesecake layer: cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and a few toffee bits.
- Spread the cheesecake layer over the baked crust and set it aside.
- To save yourself unnecessary dishes, give the bowl you were working in before a quick rinse and then whip up your pumpkin pie layer. In goes pumpkin, eggs, cream, sugar, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Then very carefully, and slowly pour the pumpkin layer over the cheesecake. You want to avoid pouring it all out in one big gush because it will mess up your layers. It actually works best to pour it out of the side of the bowl, or over the back of a spoon.
- Then it goes into the oven for 2 hours. Yes, two. We’re cooking low and slow. When the edges are set, but the center is still a little jiggly, just turn off the oven and crack the door, but leave the pan in the oven for about 30 minutes.
- After it comes out and cools completely, run a knife around the edge of the pan, but leave it in the pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve it, plop some whipped cream on top. I’m generally a proponent of using fresh sweetened whipped cream for this sort of thing, but you could also use Cool Whip, or the kind in a spray can if you’re serving it right away.
How to Garnish your Layered Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
There are lots of options to garnish this dessert. I love putting my whipped cream in a piping bag and piping dollops of whipped cream around the perimeter with an extra sprinkle of toffee.
- Another fun option is a chunk of toffee (as seen in the above photo and below). In the fall time, I buy pumpkin seed brittle at both Williams-Sonoma and Trader Joes and it’s a fun “extra” touch if you want to make this dessert look over the top!
- A drizzle of caramel sauce is delicious on top as well.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished pumpkin pie cheesecake in the fridge, tightly covered. Consume within 3-4 days for the best results.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients – One trick when making any kind of cheesecake is to have all of your ingredients at room temperature, or even slightly warm. Try to plan ahead and have things completely thawed out of the fridge.
- This is a great make-ahead dessert, which is especially helpful on busy holidays. Feel free to make it a day ahead and keep well covered in the fridge, or freeze it for up to a month. When doing either of these options, I prefer to add the whipped cream topping fresh right before serving, though if you really needed to, you could also freeze it with the whipped cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! Feel free to make it a day ahead and keep well covered in the fridge, or freeze it for up to a month. When doing either of these options, I prefer to add the whipped cream topping fresh right before serving, though if you really needed to, you could also freeze it with the whipped cream.
How long will fresh whipped cream hold its shape before serving?
If you’re worried about your whipped cream falling flat between decorating and serving, you can always make Stabilized Whipped Cream. It contains a little gelatin to help the whipped cream hold its shape. Heavy whipping cream with a high fat content will also hold up better than regular whipping cream or whipped cream from a can, each of which would need to be served pretty much immediately.
My dessert cracked- what happened??
I’ve never had this dessert crack on me, but others have reported it did! We are not using a water bath, as most traditional cheesecakes do, but I’ve never had a problem with cracking. The good thing is that it doesn’t affect the taste at all! Just top with a little extra whipped cream to cover the cracks 🙂
Layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake
A delightful layered dessert with a classic graham cracker crust, toffee cheesecake on the bottom and pumpkin pie on the top. Sure to please everyone!
Servings slices
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (200g) just short of 2 sleeves
- ½ cup butter, melted
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 oz cream cheese softened, 2 standard blocks.
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 bag toffee bits, divided
Pumpkin Pie Layer
- 15 oz can pumpkin or use homemade, it's 1 ¾ cup
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- ⅔ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs
For Serving
- Sweetened whipped cream
- reserved ½ bag toffee bits
Instructions
Crust
- Heat oven to 300℉. Spray a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. A 10" pan will also work, it will just be a shorter dessert overall. I prefer the 9" if you have one.
- In a small bowl, mix crumbs and butter. Press in bottom of pan and up about ½-1" the sides. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Cheesecake Layer
- In large bowl, beat room temperature cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in 2 of the eggs. Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits. Spread over crust. Clean out your bowl.
Pumpkin Layer
- Mix pumpkin, ¾ cup whipping cream, ⅔ cup sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt and remaining 3 eggs just until blended and smooth. Slowly and carefully spoon over cheesecake layer.
Cook and Chill
- Bake for 2 hours or until edge of cheesecake is set at least 2 inches from edge of pan but center still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door a crack. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes.
- Run a sharp knife around edge of pan. Cool 30-60 minutes at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
- To serve, run knife around edge of pan again; remove side of pan. Pipe sweetened whipped cream* around edges of cheesecake; sprinkle with remaining toffee bits. Slice and Serve!*You most likely bought a pint of whipping cream for this recipe and used part of it in the pumpkin layer, pour the rest in a bowl with a big spoon of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla and whip it up for the topping.
Notes
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- Store finished pumpkin pie cheesecake in the fridge, tightly covered. Consume within 3-4 days for the best results.
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- Use room temperature ingredients – one trick when making any kind of cheesecake is to have all of your ingredients at room temperature, or even slightly warm. Try to plan ahead and have things completely thawed out of the fridge.
- This is a great make-ahead dessert, which is especially helpful on busy holidays. Feel free to make it a day ahead and keep well covered in the fridge, or freeze it for up to a month. When doing either of these options, I prefer to add the whipped cream topping fresh right before serving, though if you really needed to, you could also freeze it with the whipped cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 481kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 149mg, Sodium: 309mg, Potassium: 186mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 37g, Vitamin A: 6972IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 74mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 481kcal
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Questions & Reviews
I just wanted you to know I made this for Thanksgiving and it turned out wonderfully. I’ve read everyones posts about the cracking and the mixing of layers so I tried a couple of things and it turned our perfect for me!! After I made the cheesecake layer I put it in the refridgerator to set for about 10 minutes (basically as I cleaned up my mess and started making the pumpkin pie layer). Then I spooned on the pumpking layer and my layers turned out fine. I did a little reasearch on baking cheesecakes and one tip I tried was I made sure to add the eggs very last to the cheesecake and I mixed it as little as possible (apparently over mixing the eggs can cause cracking) and mine didn’t crack! I was so excited. Let it be known I am not an experienced chef or baker (I have never even really baked much of anything before) and these things worked for me. I love your website. Anything I make from it turns out so good! Thanks again!
I made this 2 weekends ago for friends and it turned out delicious, but it cracked. I followed the directions to a T, so I am not sure what happened. I have also made another one of your cheesecake recipes and did the waterbath and that one cracked too!! Maybe I am not experienced enough to be baking?? 😉 I am going to try this pumpkin one again this weekend. Even if it cracks, I’ll still eat it 🙂
I made this last week end and it was fantastic! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing.
This was a HUGE hit, today! Thanks for the recipe!
Ok, am I the only person who didn’t read carefully and bought the chocolate covered toffee bits? I noticed at the last minute the night before THanksgiving and wasn’t about to go searchign around town after I had already started. I’ve got 2 pies now to bring to the feast. I hope it tastes ok. I’m worried now.
Mine cracked too! I’m a pastry chef but I like to follow recipes before I figure out how to fix them. Of course, maybe I should have tried this before I wanted to serve it for Thanksgiving! Oh well! I’m sure it’ll still taste good. Next time I’m just going to take it out and not let it sit in the oven after cooking.
Im doing your recipe and Im so excited! Way to impress the in-laws right? haha. I used the chocolate health bars chips, so I hope I didn’t mess with genious here. Im waiting for this thing to cool and its still warm, and its been like 2.5 hours. Im gonna go ahead and refrigerate it, so again this should be interesting
This pie is AMAZING! I made it for Thanksgiving Eve pie night where there were many pies to eat and mine was gone before the party was over!
This was so good. I made it for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but couldn’t wait to taste it. There is none left. I have to think of something else to take because if I make another one it won’t make it. I just don’t want to share it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!
I just made mine and it looks gooood! i have to wait til tomorrow to take the pan off but I have a feeling its going to be perfect (at least the batter was good)!