Apple Sauce Cheesecake

I fell in love with cheesecake, badly; and I know I’ve said it before but I can not help saying it again 🙂 The first two cheesecakes that I prepared in my life – which was about two years ago – were no baked. After that, I discovered baked cheesecake and since then I do not prepare it otherwise. For the crust I usually choose oatmeal cookies or Oreo cookies. I tried various combinations for the filling. My favorite remains the one with Philadelphia, but I use whatever I have in the fridge – Mascarpone, Ricotta, cottage cheese, eventually with the addition of sour cream, if necessary.

The filling for a good cheesecake must be creamy, with some fat in it (because otherwise it’s dry) and it must be baked just long enough to get set, not burned. And of course it must be combined with fruits and / or chocolate. I made cheesecake with mix of berries, blueberries, limes, coconut… chocolate and Oreo… Today I present to you a baked cheesecake with applesauce topping, which my youngest daughter – who is my reliable tester 🙂 – described as divine. And it really is. The creamy, noble filling fits perfectly with applesauce. Overall, it feels a sweet-sour balanced taste and a dreamy flavor 🙂 It’s a memorable dessert, easy to make and suitable for preparing and eating in any season 🙂

Ingredients Apple Sauce Cheesecake

►For the crust

• 200 g oatmeal cinnamon cookies
• 100 g melted butter (60% fat)

►For the filling

• 200 g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 250 g Ricotta
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 100 g sour cream (20% fat)
• 50 g all purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 35 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice

►For the apple sauce

• 2 medium sized apples
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 100 ml water
• 30 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Directions Apple Sauce Cheesecake

►Preparing the crust: Prepare a 16 cm diameter baking pan, butter it and cover the base with a disc of baking paper. Crumble the cookies and mix them with the melted butter. Transfer the mixture into the pan and press evenly to the bottom using a glass or a potato mashing tool.

►Preparing the filling: Mix Philadelphia and Ricotta. Add – one at a time – sugar, vanilla, sour cream, flour, eggs. Finally add lemon juice and homogenize. Pour the mixture into the pan, on top of the crust.  Bake for about 30 minutes into the preheated oven, at 175 Celsius. When ready, remove from oven and allow to cool. Leave in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours – better overnight for the cheesecake to set and therefore it can be easily removed from the mold.

►Preparing the apple sauce: Wash the apples (do not peel) and cut into thin slices (about 3 mm thick). Dissolve the starch in water, add lemon juice and sugar. Stir and add the apple slices. Put everything into a pan, on medium heat, until the mixture boils and thickens, then remove from heat, add the cinnamon and leave to cool.

Assembling and serving Apple Sauce Cheesecake

Place the cheesecake onto a serving plate. Arrange apple slices on top, then pour the sauce over the cheesecake. I decorated with apple chips prepared like here.