Caramel Cheesecake

This was a special dessert I made especially for my wonderful boyfriend. He loves cheesecake and all things caramel. When I said why not make a caramel cheesecake, he starting basically worshiping me. Apparently he didn't think it was a doable thing to make? Oh well, it make me look like a hero! So I took over his kitchen and made it. He was a fabulous sous chef though=) And, whenever I needed to return home and the cake was still in the oven, he took direction very well and made it through the multistage cooling process. This so fun for us to do together and I'm sure we'll be baking more together in the future!


I had it for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and for a bedtime treat. See how versatile this can be???? Also, I used a different crust recipe than provided because he won't eat nuts. "It's not the flavor, it's the consistency". Ughhhh. I used cinnamon graham crackers for mine which was a subtle yet nice hint.

The cake may have been a tad undercooked, but I like a lot of my baked goods that way. Hehe. I was luscious and creamy and to die for. King Arthur wouldn't steer you wrong, and neither would I!


Caramel Cheesecake
from King Arthur Flour Blog

Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup pecan meal or ground pecans
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Filling
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 /4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Pralines and Cream Flavor, optional (I omitted)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup cream or half & half

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9" spring form pan.
2) Mix the crust ingredients till crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 1" up the sides of the prepared pan; prick with a fork.
3) Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, till light golden brown. Remove it from the oven; reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
4) Mix the cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and flavor at low speed until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
5) Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.
6) Stir in the caramel sauce and cream.
7) Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300°F and bake 15 minutes more, until the edges of the cake are set, and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2" from the edge reads 170°F.
8) Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 hour.
9) Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it at room temperature for 1 hour.
10) Refrigerate for 8 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Yield: 12 servings.