Autumn Cheesecake

Ingredients:

150g Graham Cracker (or Digestive Biscuit) Crumbs
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
50g butter, melted

For the Filling:
480g cream cheese, softened (or you can use my home-made cream cheese recipe to prepare your own)
2 large eggs
100g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Topping:
450g apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (weight after slicing)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
70g sugar
40g chopped pecan nuts

Method:

For the base, combine the biscuit (cookie) crumbs, sugar, butter and ground cinnamon in a bowl and mix thoroughly before pressing into the base of a greased 22cm diameter springform cake tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for 10 minutes before removing from the oven and setting aside (leave the oven on).

In the meantime, beat the cream cheese until soft then add the sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract then pour the mixture over the crust.

In a separate bowl toss the apples with the sugar and cinnamon. Spoon this mixture over the top of the cream cheese filling and sprinkle the pecan nuts over the top. Return to the oven and bake for about 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Now loosen the rim of the cake tin but allow the cheesecake to cool completely before removing the rim. Once cold transfer to a refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.