Best Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

A pumpkin cheesecake is what I bring out when a pumpkin pie feels too expected, and I want the dessert to carry the table on its own. This is a pumpkin cheesecake with Biscoff crust rather than the usual graham, and that spiced-caramel base is the thing people notice first, before they get to the pumpkin at all.

The filling is baked slowly in a water bath so the top stays smooth and the middle sets soft rather than cracking. If you have made a plain cheesecake before, you already know most of what you need here. The pumpkin puree and a teaspoon of cinnamon do the rest.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The Biscoff crust brings its own spice and a little caramel edge, so the base tastes of something on its own rather than sitting there as a plain crumb layer.
• Baking in a water bath keeps the top from cracking and gives you that even, custard-soft set through the middle.
• Canned pumpkin puree carries the flavor without watering the filling down, which is the difference between a cheesecake that slices cleanly and one that weeps.
• It’s a make-ahead dessert by design. It needs at least four hours in the fridge and is happier left overnight, so the work is done well before anyone arrives.
• The toppings are yours to decide. Caramel sauce, crushed Biscoff, whipped cream, or white chocolate chips all work, and you can dress each slice differently.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

Cream cheese. Use full-fat blocks, softened to room temperature. Low-fat tubs hold more water and give you a looser, less creamy set, which shows up badly in a baked cheesecake. This recipe uses three and a half cups, so soften it all before you begin, or you’ll be fighting lumps.

Pumpkin puree. Canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced. Canned puree stays smooth and consistent. If you roast your own, puree it well, or the filling turns gritty.

Biscoff cookies. Three cups go into the crust, crushed sandy in a food processor and bound with melted butter. They set the spiced-caramel tone of the whole dessert. A graham, gingersnap, or Oreo crust will stand in if you use the same amount, but the Biscoff version is the one I’d point you to first.

Cinnamon. One teaspoon is the recipe’s only warm spice, so the pumpkin and the Biscoff carry the rest. If you’d rather build a fuller pumpkin-spice profile, see the note in Variations.

Eggs and flour. Five eggs added one at a time, plus a third of a cup of flour, set the filling and keep it sliceable. Add the eggs slowly so you don’t beat too much air in. Too much air is what puffs a top and then sinks it.

How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

Prep the Pan and Crust

Heat the oven to 390F. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan in a large sheet of foil, bringing it right up the sides so no water can seep in during the bake.

Crush the Biscoff cookies to a sandy crumb, mix in the melted butter, press the mixture firmly into the base of the pan, and bake for 10 minutes.

Mix the Filling

Drop the oven to 230F and bring a pot of water to a boil for the water bath. Beat the cream cheese, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and brown sugar until fully smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each, then add the flour and mix only until it disappears. Stop there. Overmixing at this stage beats in air and cracks the top later.

Bake in a Water Bath

Let the crust cool for a few minutes, then pour the filling over it. Set the springform pan inside a large baking tray and pour the boiling water into the tray so the pan sits in it.

Bake for 90 minutes. The cheesecake is ready when the edges are set, and the center still has a slight jiggle. It keeps cooking as it cools, so pull it while that jiggle is there rather than baking it firm.

Cool and Chill

Turn the oven off, open the door a crack, and prop it with a wooden spoon. Leave the cheesecake to cool completely in the oven, which lets the temperature drop slowly and helps prevent cracks. Then move it to the fridge for at least four hours, and preferably overnight, before you decorate and serve.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Soften the cream cheese fully. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps that no amount of mixing fully clears, and the extra beating you’d do to chase them adds the air you’re trying to avoid.
• Wrap the pan well. A single torn spot in the foil lets water into the crust and turns the base soggy. Use one large sheet and bring it high up the sides.
• Judge doneness by the jiggle, not the clock. A slight wobble in the center at 90 minutes is what you want. A cheesecake baked until the middle is firm is a cheesecake baked too far.
• Cool it slowly in the oven. The propped-door cool-down is the step most people skip and the one that does the most to keep the top from cracking as it sets.
• Decorate cold, just before serving. Caramel sauce and crushed Biscoff go on once the cheesecake is chilled and set, so the toppings sit cleanly rather than sinking into a warm surface.

Recipe Variations

• Build a fuller pumpkin-spice flavor. I use a single teaspoon of cinnamon. If you want the warmer, rounder spice most people associate with pumpkin desserts, a homemade blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves stands in well. This changes the flavor rather than the structure, so it’s a safe swap, though I haven’t tested it for this recipe.
• Swap the crust. Graham cracker, gingersnap, or Oreo crumbs all work in place of Biscoff as long as you keep the same amount. Gingersnap leans further into spice; Oreo takes it chocolatey. I’ve tried these, so these are supported swaps.
• Finish it with white chocolate. The white chocolate chips are listed as an optional topping in the card, so this one is tried as part of the recipe. Scattered over the caramel while decorating, they add sweetness against a cold slice without a competing flavor.

How to Store Leftovers

Keep leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge, where it holds well for up to a week. If you’re covering it with plastic wrap instead, press the wrap against the cut surface so it doesn’t dry out. As with any cream cheese and egg dessert, don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours before it goes back in the cold.

To freeze, set the slices on a tray until solid, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and foil to guard against freezer burn. Frozen this way, slices keep for up to two months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight. Whether from the fridge or the freezer, let a slice sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving so the texture softens and the flavor comes forward.

What to Serve With Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is rich, so I keep what goes around it simple. A drizzle of caramel and a few crushed Biscoff cookies over the top is usually as far as I take it, with unsweetened whipped cream on the side to cut the density.

Coffee or a spiced black tea does more for it than another sweet thing would. If you want a second baked cheesecake on the table for a crowd, my baked strawberry cheesecake gives you a fresh, fruit-topped contrast to the pumpkin and Biscoff here.

FAQs

More Cheesecake Recipes to Bake and Chill

If this one lands well, here are a few more from the same corner of the site worth making next.

• When I want two fall desserts folded into one, I make my apple pie stuffed cheesecake, which sits on the same Biscoff crust and adds a spiced apple layer under a streusel top.
• For a night when I’d rather hand everyone their own portion than slice a whole cake, I turn to these mini cheesecakes, baked the same custard-soft way in individual tins.
• On a day I don’t want to run a water bath at all, my no-bake Biscoff cheesecake keeps the same spiced-caramel flavor and sets in the fridge instead of the oven.
• And when chocolate is more the mood than pumpkin, my no-bake Oreo cheesecake is a cookies-and-cream version set on an Oreo base.