Ritz Carlton Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ritz Carlton Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce – even pumpkin haters will love this cheesecake. We ate it at the hotel and didn’t realize it was pumpkin! It was AMAZING! Gingersnap crust, sugar, corn starch, cream cheese, butter, eggs, heavy cream, vanilla, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice. Can make ahead of time and freeze for later! Top your slice with a dollop of whipped cream and caramel sauce. Perfect for your holiday meal!

Post Updated 10/6/19

slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce

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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

This is the most amazing cheesecake ever! We had this a few years ago when we had Thanksgiving at The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island. Everyone had a piece of this cheesecake and loved it. It didn’t have a sign next to it telling us what kind of cheesecake it was. We asked the waitress and she said it was pumpkin. We all said, “No, we didn’t have a pumpkin cheesecake.” She said that was the only kind of cheesecake they were serving. Who knew we all liked pumpkin cheesecake?!

I asked the hotel for the recipe and they kindly sent it to me. For all you pumpkin haters (myself included), you can’t taste the pumpkin in this cheesecake. I tell everyone it is “Spiced Cheesecake” so people will try it before they pass judgment. Everyone loves it. This cheesecake is great on its own, but it is over the top amazing with the homemade caramel sauce! I had to give most of this cheesecake away so I wouldn’t eat it all myself. I had no self-control around it.

slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce

How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake from Scratch

This Pumpkin Cheesecake is surprisingly simple to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Once the crust is done, start on the cheesecake batter. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together cornstarch, sugar, and butter. Add the cream cheese and beat well. You want the mixture to be light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. You will want to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Finally add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice. Pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling into the crust and bake. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack before refrigerating.

To make the caramel sauce, cook butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns a medium amber color. Slowly whisk in heavy cream. Remove from heat. Cool and drizzle over cheesecake.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

  • I used gingersnap crumbs for the crust. Feel free to substitute graham cracker crumbs if you prefer.
    • Use a food processor to process the cookies or crackers into fine crumbs.
    • If using a graham cracker crust, add some ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
  • I like to wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil. This will keep the butter in the crust from seeping out and getting all over the oven.
  • Make sure to buy canned pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling for this recipe.
  • I don’t have pumpkin spice. What can I use instead? Pumpkin spice is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
    • Here is what I use for my homemade pumpkin spice mix: 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp ground cloves. Feel free to mix up the amounts according to your personal preference.
  • I recommend using full-fat cream cheese in this recipe.
  • This cheesecake is NOT baked in a water bath. I’ve never had any issues with the cheesecake cracking. It will puff up a little bit, but it settles down and looks perfect after it cools off.
  • I like to refrigerate the cheesecake overnight. It helps the cheesecake set up and it tastes better cold.
    • Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before unlocking the springform pan.
  • Can use store-bought caramel topping if you prefer.
  • Can pumpkin cheesecake be frozen? Yes! You can make this cheesecake ahead of time and freeze for later. Take the cheesecake out of the freezer the night before serving so it can thaw. If you are in a hurry, let the cheesecake thaw on the countertop for about 30 minutes. You can also freeze any leftovers for later.
  • Store the cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce

Ritz Carlton Pumpkin Cheesecake for Thanksgiving

This classic cheesecake recipe was a huge hit with my family full of pumpkin haters. We were in shock at how good it was. It has now become a holiday tradition. We can’t have Thanksgiving without this amazing cheesecake. Top each slice with some fresh whipped cream, chopped pecans, and drizzle of caramel sauce! If you are feeling extra indulgent, add a sprinkle of sea salt flakes to put the caramel sauce over the top! Give this a try, even if you don’t like pumpkin. I promise there isn’t a ton of pumpkin flavor.

Since you can’t have only one dessert during the holidays, here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this delicious cheesecake:

Coconut Pecan Chess Pie

Coconut Pecan Chess Pie recipe –  two favorites in one dessert! Quick and delicious homemade chess pie loaded with coconut…

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Pumpkin Spice Heath Bar Cake – OMG! This cake is to-die-for!!! Even pumpkin haters can’t resist this delicious cake! Pumpkin…

Lemon Buttermilk Icebox Pie

Lemon Buttermilk Icebox Pie – to-die-for delicious!!! SO simple and it tastes amazing! We made two of these pies in…

Cake Mix Toffee Bars

Cake Mix Toffee Bars – only 5 ingredients!! Cake mix, eggs, butter, toffee bits, and sweetened condensed milk. I took…

slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce

Ritz Carlton Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce

Yield: 12 people
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Ritz Carlton Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce – even pumpkin haters will love this cheesecake. We ate it at the hotel and didn't realize it was pumpkin! It was AMAZING! Gingersnap crust, sugar, corn starch, cream cheese, butter, eggs, heavy cream, vanilla, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice. Can make ahead of time and freeze for later! Perfect for your holiday meal!

Ingredients:

Crust

  • cups gingersnap crumbs
  • 5 Tbsp sugar
  • cup melted butter

Cheesecake

  • cups sugar
  • 5 tsp corn starch
  • 4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 6 large eggs
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice

Caramel Sauce

Instructions:

Crust

  • Combine all ingredients and press against sides and bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. (I use a measuring cup to do this – works great!)

Cheesecake

  • Preheat oven to 325ºF.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend sugar, cornstarch, and butter. Add cream cheese, beat until soft, scrape the bowl well. On first speed add eggs slowly, scrape the bowl well. Add cream and vanilla. Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to the cheesecake batter.
  • Pour in the pan (may have some leftover batter) and bake for 45 minutes, rotate bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until cheesecake has risen and feels firm on top.
  • Cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Caramel Sauce

  • Caramelize butter and sugar in a saucepan until medium amber color. Whisk in cream, may splatter hot liquid. Cool and drizzle over cheesecake.

Notes:

I used gingersnap crumbs for the crust. Feel free to substitute graham cracker crumbs if you prefer.
I like to wrap the bottom of the springform pan with foil. This will keep the butter in the crust from seeping out and getting all over the oven.
This cheesecake is NOT baked in a water bath. I’ve never had any issues with the cheesecake cracking. It will puff up a little bit, but it settles down and looks perfect after it cools off.
I like to refrigerate the cheesecake overnight. It just really helps the cheesecake set up and it tastes better cold.
Before serving, prepare the homemade caramel sauce. Serve the cheesecake with the caramel sauce. SO good! You can use store-bought caramel topping if you prefer.
You can make this cheesecake ahead of time and freeze for later. Take the cheesecake out of the freezer the night before serving so it can thaw. If you are in a hurry, let the cheesecake thaw on the countertop for about 30 minutes. You can also freeze any leftovers for later.

Steph

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slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce
slice of pumpkin cheesecake on a plate with caramel sauce

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Comments

  1. What temperature does this bake at? I am halfway through making it and realized there is no oven temp listed 🙁

  2. Thank you for sharing this! It received rave reviews on Thanksgiving day! I used the ginger snaps for the crust which really was a great touch, instead of using graham crackers. I used 6 eggs and substituted an equal ammount of vanilla paste for the extract. I beat it for a while to make it fluffy. It was more mousse-like which was very welcome after a turkey dinner! Next time I will wrap foil around the base and a bit up the sides because my pan leaked butter. I highly recommend this recipe.

  3. I am making this for Thanksgiving and just noticed the 5 1/2 eggs – how do you split an egg? I think this cheesecake looks absolutely delicious and can't wait to see how it turns out. Also, since I am going to travel with it, should I wait to put the caramel sauce on until right before we serve it?

    1. Whisk up the egg and use half of it. I have a scale and I weigh the egg and then pour half into the batter.

      I would add the caramel sauce right before you serve it, but it will be fine either way.

  4. Do you think you could make this using an already prepared graham cracker pie crust? I don't have a Springform pan but would love to try this!

    1. Sure! This will probably make 2 or 3 cheesecakes using the pre-made crusts. Just don't overfill the crusts and you should be fine.

  5. I just made a cheesecake this week, so now I'd like to try a piece of yours too because you can never have too much cheesecake! 🙂

  6. This looks delicious!! I love pumpkin cheesecake and usually make Emeril's recipe. In fact, it's in his online holiday cookbook that I pinned from you :-). How do you think this would be with a chocolate crust?

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