This Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie combines a creamy dulce de leche cheesecake layer with a rich pumpkin filling for a perfect fall dessert.
If you're looking for a dessert that combines the best of both worlds, this Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie is the perfect treat. It features two delicious layers: a creamy dulce de leche cheesecake layer topped with a pumpkin filling. This combination creates an indulgent, rich pie that’s both decadent and comforting.
The pie is built on a tender cream cheese crust with hazelnut, that has a flazy, nutty and buttery flavor. It really complements the sweetness of the dulce de leche and the autumnal flavor of the pumpkin. With the layers of flavor blending together, every bite is a delicious balance of creamy and smooth goodness.
This dulce de leche pumpkin pie is surprisingly easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time, making it the perfect dessert for any special occasion or holiday. It’s sure to impress with its elegant presentation and irresistible flavors, and it’s a great way to elevate your usual pumpkin pie.
Recipe slightly adapted from Better Home and Gardens.
Ingredients:
Hazelnut Pie Crust:
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup toasted, ground hazelnuts
pinch of salt
½ package (4 oz.) cream cheese, cold
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, cold
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon ice cold water
Cheesecake Filling:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
⅓ of a 14 oz. can dulce de leche (or to taste)
1 egg
1-2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur or vanilla, optional
Pumpkin Filling:
1 ¼ cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
½ cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur, optional
¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon)
2 Tablespoon dulce de leche
To garnish:
Whipped cream
Hazelnuts
How To Make the Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie
Start with really cold ingredients. Place the flour in the refrigerator or freezer to cool for a few minutes, and cut the cream cheese and butter and cut them into small pieces and also place them in the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes.
Toast the hazelnuts and cool. Pulse them in the food processor until finely ground, yet still has a bit of texture, not into a powder. (You will need to use about ⅓ cup of hazelnuts to end up with ¼ cup of ground hazelnuts, with a bit left over, which I used to decorate the pie later.)
In a food processor, combine the flour, ground hazelnuts and salt.
Add the pieces of cold cream cheese and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the cold butter pieces and pulse to combine, just a few times, until you have pea sized butter pieces dispersed in the dough.
Add the egg yolk and cold water and pulse to combine a few more times.
The dough will be very shaggy at this point. Dump it out onto a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper and quickly gather it together into a disc shape. Don't work it too much with your hands, or the warmth of your hands will melt the butter in the dough and we want it to remain in little bits distributed throughout the crust. Wrap the pie dough in the aluminum foil or parchment paper and chill for at least 1 hour. I like to make my pie crusts the night before.
In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a bowl and a hand held mixer, mix the softened cream cheese with the dulce de leche, until it's smooth and creamy. Adjust the amount of dulce de leche according to how sweet you would like it to be. Add the egg and the hazelnut liqueur or vanilla. Mix to combine.
To Assemble the Pie:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust into approximately 11 inches and place it in a 9 inch pie pan. (You may want to let the pie dough rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before rolling it out, if it was in there refrigerator overnight, to make it easier to roll out.)
Trim the really long pieces of pie crust off with kitchen scissors, leaving about ½ inch of dough hanging off the edge of the pie pan.
Fold the excess dough, so it will be underneath the edge of the pie plate.
Crimp the edges. I used this really neat wheat design.
Here's how to do it:
With kitchen scissors, make 45 degree diagonal cuts, every ½ -¾ inch, all the way around the crust. Then, simply bend every other piece in the opposite direction, pinching the end to make it slightly pointed.
Make sure that the edges of the crust are not hanging off too much from the edge of the pie plate, or they will break off very easily.
Pour the cheesecake filling inside the pie crust and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the Pumpkin Filling.
Pumpkin Filling:
In another bowl, combine the canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, 2 eggs, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut liqueur (if using) and the dulce de leche until evenly mixed.
Baking the Pie:
When the cheesecake layer has chilled, carefully pour the pumpkin filling over it and smooth it out.
Bake the pie in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes, then cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil, being careful not to break the pretty edge of the pie and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes, until the filling is set in the middle. Cool completely. (I would recommend making this pie the day before you plan to serve it and storing it in the refrigerator overnight. It will be so much easier to cut.)
Serve with whipped cream and more hazelnuts. I sprinkled the ground hazelnuts that I had left over from the pie crust around the edge of the pie and topped each slice with more toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts. I also added a splash of hazelnut liqueur to the cream when I was whipping it up.
Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Hazelnut Pie Crust:
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup toasted ground hazelnuts
- pinch of salt
- ½ package 4 oz. cream cheese, cold
- 1 stick 8 Tablespoons butter, cold
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tablespoon ice cold water
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ of a 14 oz. can dulce de leche or to taste
- 1 egg
- 1-2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur or vanilla optional
Pumpkin Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup canned pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1-2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur optional
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice I used cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoon dulce de leche
To garnish:
- Whipped cream
- Hazelnuts
Instructions
Hazelnut Pe Crust:
- Start with really cold ingredients. Place the flour in the refrigerator or freezer to cool for a few minutes, and cut the cream cheese and butter and cut them into small pieces and also place them in the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes.
- Toast the hazelnuts and cool. Pulse them in the food processor until finely ground, yet still has a bit of texture, not into a powder. (You will need to use about ⅓ cup of hazelnuts to end up with ¼ cup of ground hazelnuts, with a bit left over, which I used to decorate the pie later.)
- In a food processor, combine the flour, ground hazelnuts and salt. Add the pieces of cold cream cheese and pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the cold butter pieces and pulse to combine, just a few times, until you have pea sized butter pieces dispersed in the dough.
- Add the egg yolk and cold water and pulse to combine a few more times. The dough will be very shaggy at this point.
- Dump it out onto a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper and quickly gather it together into a disc shape. Don't work it too much with your hands, or the warmth of your hands will melt the butter in the dough and we want it to remain in little bits distributed throughout the crust. Wrap the pie dough in the aluminum foil or parchment paper and chill for at least 1 hour. I like to make my pie crusts the night before.
Cheesecake Filling:
- In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a bowl and a hand held mixer, mix the softened cream cheese with the dulce de leche, until it's smooth and creamy. Adjust the amount of dulce de leche according to how sweet you would like it to be. Add the egg and the hazelnut liqueur or vanilla. Mix to combine.
To Assemble the Pie:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust into approximately 11 inches and place it in a 9 inch pie pan. (You may want to let the pie dough rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before rolling it out, if it was in there refrigerator overnight, to make it easier to roll out.)
- Trim the really long pieces of pie crust off with kitchen scissors, leaving about ½ inch of dough hanging off the edge of the pie pan. Fold the excess dough, so it will be underneath the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edges. I used this really neat wheat design.
- Here's how to do it: With kitchen scissors, make 45 degree diagonal cuts, every ½ -¾ inch, all the way around the crust. Then, simply bend every other piece in the opposite direction, pinching the end to make it slightly pointed. Make sure that the edges of the crust are not hanging off too much from the edge of the pie plate, or they will break off very easily.
- Pour the cheesecake filling inside the pie crust and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the Pumpkin Filling.
Pumpkin Filling:
- In another bowl, combine the canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, 2 eggs, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut liqueur (if using) and the dulce de leche until evenly mixed.
Baking the Pie:
- When the cheesecake layer has chilled, carefully pour the pumpkin filling over it and smooth it out.
- Bake the pie in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes, then cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil, being careful not to break the pretty edge of the pie and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes, until the filling is set in the middle. Cool completely. (I would recommend making this pie the day before you plan to serve it and storing it in the refrigerator overnight. It will be so much easier to cut.)
- Serve with whipped cream and more hazelnuts. I sprinkled the ground hazelnuts that I had left over from the pie crust around the edge of the pie and topped each slice with more toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts. I also added a splash of hazelnut liqueur to the cream when I was whipping it up.
Hi Olga, I tried making this pie crust tonight to have it ready for tomorrow and I had some problems with it. When I blended all of the ingredients together, the doe was still too dry and I could not form it into a ball. I ended up adding another yolk and more water for it to come together. I left it in the freezer and will try to continue with the recipe tomorrow. I followed your instructions and had all of the ingredients cold. Could you suggest what would have gone wrong? I really want to make this for Thanksgiving this year since it will be my first time hosting Thanksgiving party. Thank you !
Hi Maryana,
If the dough is too dry, all you have to do is add a little bit of water. I would always err on the side of caution and add less water than you think you need. The dough will be more tender if you don't add too much water. Of course, the pie dough does need to come together, so adding a little bit of water just until you are able to pinch the dough between your fingers and it comes together is what I usually do and then knead it together quickly with my hands on the countertop.
Hi ,
I just made this pie by following your recipe. The pie I made turned out great testing however the crust on the bottom ( comparing to the top) appeared not fully cooked. Also the top of the pie cracked. Do you have any suggestions how to improve these problems ? I used glass pie dish.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Hey Olga! 🙂 I want to try this recipe! I love aanything cheeecake too 😀 I'm not a fan of plain pumpkin cake, but I think this would be the perfect twist. I'm curious about the hazelnut liqueur. Did you use it in your cake and did you notice that it made a difference? If so, please share which one you used. Thank you! 🙂
Shavuot, aka the dairy holiday, is this week, and I'm looking for inspiration. Do you think I could double/triple the cheesecake layer and bake as is? Debating between this and your ricotta cheesecake...
It should probably work out, Sveta. However, I can't really recommend something that I haven't personally tried myself. I would love to hear your experience if you do try it.