tasty tuesday: salted caramel cheesecake

I've been crushing on this combo of salt and caramel for a LONG TIME....and I just keep finding new and delicious ways of eating it!  So of course when I came across this recipe for salted caramel cheesecake on Joy the Baker's blog I just had to make it!  And it did not disappoint!

And it gave me a fantastic excuse to use my mini cheesecake pans....I even have ones shaped like hearts!   I also tried these babies out in little ramekins, which turned out to be such a cute way to serve this delightful dessert.

First you make a super simple crust...with just 2 ingredients!

Then just mix the rest of your ingredients together, and you're almost there!

Your cheesecake will probably slightly brown at the edges, and may even crack!  But don't even worry about it, because the caramel will cover everything up.

And, as you can see below, I like to stick a knife into the center of mine to ensure that it's cooked completely!  I'm really not a fan of gooey cheesecakes.

Then it's time for you to make some caramel!  Don't be scared, it's super easy...and the most difficult thing about it is the waiting.  But please do be super careful, as hot sugar on your skin does NOT feel good!

You'll let your sugar cook until it starts to turn amber, then you'll add in the butter and heavy cream!  Be sure that you use a LARGE saucepan, as this mixture will foam quite a bit when you add the butter and cream, and you don't want it to overflow.  Remove the pan from heat, and keep whisking until caramel has cooled slightly.  Allow to cool completely before pouring over cheesecake.  (Keep any extra you don't use on the cheesecakes in the fridge for other desserts, such as pouring over ice cream!

Then pour as little or as much as you'd like over each cheesecake, sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt, and serve!

Salted Caramel Cheesecake
adapted from: Joy the Baker
makes: 4 mini cheesecakes, OR one 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/4 Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup Butter OR margarine (melted)

For the Cheesecake:
2 blocks of Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
1 1/3 cups Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
2 large Eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP Heavy Cream

For the Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
Water (just a bit with the sugar so that your sugar is all wet)
3 TBSP Butter (cubed)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons Whipping cream (at room temperature)

Coarse Salt (for sprinkling on top)


Directions:
For the Crust:
1)  In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter with a fork.
2)  Press gently into your pan(s).

For the Cheesecake:
1)  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese well, ensuring that there are no lumps present.
2)  Mix in sugar, vanilla and salt, and mix well.
3)  Beat in eggs one at a time.
4)  Slowly beat in cream, and continue mixing until mixture is nice and creamy.
5)  Pour into your pan(s).
6)  Bake at 350 degrees for: 50-60 minutes for a 9-inch pan, OR 35-40 minutes for mini cheesecakes (or until the center of each cake has set...aka: is no longer wiggly!).

*To bake all four of the mini cheesecakes and ramekins, I placed them all onto a baking sheet, making them easier to handle, and ensuring that there would be no danger of them tipping between the oven rack wires.

For the Caramel:
1) Place sugar in a large saucepan, and add just enough water so that the all of the sugar is wet.  Cook at a medium heat until the sugar turns a yellowish-brown colour.
2) Add the butter and stir it in until melted.
3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool completely (it will thicken as it cools!)

To assemble:
Once your cheesecakes have baked, and are completely cooled (this may take several hours, and I recommend popping them in the fridge!), drizzle/pour/dump caramel over each cake!  **Leave this part until right before you serve the cakes....because otherwise they may get a little soggy.   And finally, sprinkle a teensy bit of coarse salt over each one, and serve!

I hope you enjoyed this sweet and salty adventure!

And be sure to keep an eye out for more salt + caramel combos coming up soon...Jordyn and I have been brainstorming like crazy for new dessert ideas containing these delicious flavours!

p.s.  kelsey ♥