World number one Trump had led 5-3 at the interval after the early session.
As the evening session commenced, it was clear early on that the Barbican crowd were rooting for the underdog Hawkins, who is ranked number 20, but a swift break of 62 saw Trump pick up where he left off to make it 6-3.
Hawkins then had two attempts at the black to pull himself back within two frames before things started to go awry for the 2011 champion.
A sudden surge and a series of surprising missed long shots - the sorts that were comfortably finding the pockets earlier in the day - saw Hawkins suddenly just one frame behind at 7-6 after potting a solid 83-0 in the 13th frame.
Yet a break of 53 from Trump followed by a tidy century put the favourite just one frame away from his second UK Championship title.
Needing to reel off four straight frames to register his first major title, Hawkins battled back to 9-7 with a break of 75 before applying as much pressure as he could muster in the 17th - forcing Trump into requiring several snookers that never came - ultimately making it 9-8 on the scoreboard.
But despite his best efforts, Hawkins fell short in a thoroughly entertaining 19th and final frame as an under-pressure Trump dug deep to survive several snooker attempts en route to securing the 30th-ranking title of his glittering snooker career - by the skin of his teeth.
Trump's early surge
Earlier in the day, Trump opened the match with a confident 73 break.
However, the underdog Hawkins, a humble qualifier known for his resilience, fought back with a stunning 116 clearance and a 70 break to level the score at 2-2.
The momentum shifted in Trump's favour as he produced a brilliant 102 break to regain the lead and extended it to 5-2.
Hawkins, who had just concluded a gruelling semi-final victory over Mark Allen, showed admirable determination to reduce the deficit with an 81 break.
Despite Hawkins' efforts, several missed opportunities, particularly in the fifth and sixth frames, hampered his progress towards a first Triple Crown title for Hawkins.
As well as the coveted trophy, Trump pockets a healthy top prize of £250,000.
'Not enjoyable'
"It's such a hard game; the way Barry battled today, considering what happened yesterday, was incredible," a triumphant Trump told the BBC after his victory.
"Fair play to Barry, he made it so difficult for me.
"He had a chance to go level and the game could've changed. I was not enjoying myself in the seat at 9-8, I just wanted it to be over.
"I was sitting there thinking 'this could be the worst loss of all time'. It has been a really good tournament for me, I played some good stuff and I battled through."
"It's been a great week," Hawkins said.
"If someone had told me I'd get to the final, I'd have took it. I missed the boat a bit. I wasn't clinical enough in the balls.
"Once I was in the final, you want to win. Today was a great game. I've lost to the best player in the world. He's number one for a reason. Just a fantastic player. It's no disgrace losing to that man there."