Salted Caramel Cheesecake

By Trish Rapley - 9th October 2024

Serves 10-12 people

This stunning and divine salted caramel cheesecake is designed to leave you wanting more. Its creamy, rich cheesecake layers meet the perfect balance of sweet and salty caramel.

Each bite is a heavenly experience topped with a luscious drizzle of fresh caramel and decadent dark chocolate. This dessert is not just a treat; it's a celebration of flavours that will tantalise your taste buds and leave you craving more.

Perfect for any occasion, this cheesecake is sure to impress!

For the Crust:

350g malt biscuits

150g unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake Filling:

675g cream cheese - room temperature

⅔ cup sugar

300ml thickened cream

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 lemon - for zest

800g "homemade caramel"

For the Caramel Sauce:

2 cups sugar

170g butter - unsalted

240ml heavy cream

For Decoration:

Sea salt flakes

1 block dark chocolate - melted

NOTES

For the crust, I use an Easy Glide Fondant Smoother to get that even height all over.

Before I whip the thickened cream, I place

my mixing bowl in the freezer. It helps whip it up well, but firm too!

Once it is beaten, I again place it back into the freezer until I am ready to fold it into my mixture.

I use Cadbury Chocolate, being Australian, it's the best product for quality, but any of your favourite brands of chocolate will be fine to use.

The caramel sauce can be made either the same day or a day before. It's important not to add warm caramel sauce to the cheesecake filling it will spoil it.

Caramel sauce tips!

Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

To reheat the caramel, microwave for 30-second intervals, heating just until warm and pourable.

Method:

Prepare the Crust:

Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan or round tin with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides.
Place the malt biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed.
Either in the microwave or on a stovetop, melt the butter.
Pour the crushed biscuits into a medium mixing bowl, add butter, and combine well.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press the mixture over the base evenly.
Place in the fridge to set.

Prepare the Caramel Sauce:

Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a saucepan. (The sugar will begin to melt in a minute or two. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and will start to melt at the edges of the pan.)
As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be medium amber in colour), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.
Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate.
Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the Cheesecake Filling:

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer or kitchen master, whip the cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add granulated sugar and beat until well combined.
Add the sour cream and lemon zest, and beat until well combined.
Mix in half of the cooled, caramel sauce until smooth - this is done over medium speed to ensure the cream cheese isn't overbeaten.
In a separate mixing bowl add the vanilla essence and cream whipping well until thickened using a hand mixer - remembering the cream needs to be firm but not over-whipped.
Combine the fresh thickened cream mixture with the cream cheese filling by folding it in, not stirring. Stirring it will remove the thickness from the cream cheese.

Assemble the Cheesecake:

Remove the crust from the fridge.
Pour the cheesecake filling into the baking tin and tap on the bench to help level it out.
Pour the caramel and cooled melted chocolate over the top.
Place in the fridge either for 6-8 hours or overnight to set.