Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce

I made this recipe last year without the caramel sauce and it was soo good! We ate it all, before I even got a chance to blog about it and take pictures. Well this year, I decided to take the time and actually make the caramel sauce and boy is it worth it! It is amazing and everyone has loved it. This is definitely my all time favorite pumpkin recipe. I plan on making it again for Thanksgiving. I can't wait!

Pumpkin Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
Source: RecipeZaar via Good Eats N' Sweat Treats

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp. of butter, melted
1 cup of sugar, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of allspice (I used pumpkin pie spice)
caramel sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tbsp of sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter until crumbly. Put foil partway up the outside part of an 8-inch springform pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the springform pan. You don't want the crust to form all of the way up the back of each slice of cheesecake. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set aside until you are ready to fill it.

Cheesecake: In a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes. The top will turn a bit darker at this point. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool. When the cheesecake has reached room temperature, place in the refrigerator. Once the cheesecake has chilled completly, remove the pan sides and cut the cake into 12 equal slices. Drizzle each slice with caramel sauce.



Caramel Sauce:
Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:
Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir to just combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat. Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns deep amber, about 5-10 minutes. Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan add the cream and butter. Stir mixture to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps.