Prep: 20 Minutes
Cook: 1 Hour 12 Minutes
Total: 8 Hours (includes refrigerator time and cooling in the oven)
Yield: 2 Medium Cheesecakes
Ingredients:
Crust:
* 2 Cups of graham cracker crumbs (about 2 1/2 sleeves of crackers)
* 4 TBSP of white sugar
* 8 TBSP of butter, melted
Cheesecake:
* 11 oz white chocolate chips
* 1/2/ cup half and half
* 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1/2/ cup sugar
* 3 eggs, at room temperature
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 cup roughly chopped macademia nuts, plus more for topping if desired (left these out)
Caramel: (I used my favorite caramel recipe)
* 1/4/ cup water
* 1 cup sugar
* 3/4/ cup heavy cream
* 3 1/2 TBSP butter, cut into 12 cubes
* 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the butter and stir until all of the crumbs are moistened. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan (i used a regular pie/cake pan) and about half an inch up the sides. bake in the oven until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove and let cool. Or purchase a already made graham cracker crust.
3. In a double boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water , combine the white chocolate and half and half. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Side aside. (I used a glass bowl in the microwave cooking 1 minute at a time. Take out and stir after each minute. Do not overcook, just melt.
4. Take the springform pan with the crust and wrap it tightly in foil, completely covering the bottom and the sides. She wraps hers three times to avoid water from leaking into the springform pan. I put foil around the edges.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the sugar and mix to combine. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing and scraping the bowl in between additions. Add in the chocolate mixture and the vanilla and mix just until combined. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the mixer with a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are combined. Stir in the 1 cup of macadamia nits if adding. Pour mixture into the crusts.
6. Place the pan in a larger pan or roasting pan and place it in the oven. Fill the outside pan with about 1 inch of hot or boiling water. Bake the cheesecake until the outside is mostly set and the middle just barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour. Turn off the heat and prop the oven door open with a ptot holder or kitchen towel. Let the cheesecake cool completely in the oven, then remove and cover in the refrigerator. until chilled thoroughly.
7. To make the caramel, pour the water into a heavy saucepan. Pour the sugar in the middle of the pan, making sure nnot to coat the sides of the pan with the sugar. Turn on the heat to medium-low and cook, not stirring, until the mixture turns an amber color. Turn off the heat and add the cream. It will spit and sputter, so you will want to stand back. the mixture may seize, but take a whisk and stir vigorously until it is smooth. Start adding in the butter, 1-2 cubes at a time, letting the butter melt about halfway before adding more butter. Once all the butter has been incorporated, stir in the salt. Transfer the caramel to a glass jar and refrigerate until it thickens and cools completely.
8. To serve cheesecake, run a knife around the outside of the pan. Carefully remove the outer edge of the springform pan, and place the cheesecake on a serving plate. You can either pour the caramel on the whole cheesecake and garnish with additional macadamia nuts, or add the caramel to individual slices.
9. Store the cheesecake covered in the refrigerator.
Sharon's Caramel:
* 1 cup of Butter
* 1 cup karo syrup
* 1 can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 cups brown sugar
Melt the butter in a glass bowl in the microwave. Add all ingredients and mix. Cook for 2 minutes, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking and stirring at 1 minute intervals until the caramel is not longer grainy. Try to keep it from boiling, only cook for 1 minute at a time. Once cool, drizzle or cover your cheesecake. Once this caramel is cooled or refrigerated, it will be to hard to serve on cheesecake without reheating so make sure you put what you want on the cheesecake before it is has set up. (This caramel is great for ice cream but does not set enough and/or is too sticky for candy caramels.)
Enjoy!!!
How to keep cheesecake from cracking
1. Water bath greatly prevents cracks in your cheesecake. The problem is that it usually always leaks into the pan unless you use a regular cake/pie pan and not a springform pan. It will not matter if you are not removing it from the pan to serve. When using an oreo or brownie base, the small amount of water that leaks in can make the crust a little fudgier which can be good if that's what you like. If using springform pan, wrapped with 3 layers of aluminum foil.
2. It is very important to have all ingredients at room temperature. Take the eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese out of the refrigerate way ahead of time. You can fake it if you need to. Let the eggs rest in warm water for 10-15 minutes to bring to room temperature. You can also microwave the cream cheese. Use 5-10 second increments to ensure you do not over do it to bring the cream cheese to room temperature.
3. Don't overbake the cheesecake. The middle should still jiggle a lot when you turn the oven off.
4. Some people swear by just reducing the oven temperature and letting the cheesecake bake for longer with no water bath.
5. Cracks come from quick and drastic temperature changes. The water bath keeps the cheesecake from baking too quickly, and leaving the cheesecake in the oven keeps it from cooking too quickly. Placing a warm cheesecake in the fridge may also cause cracks.
6. Even if it cracks, it still tastes great.
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