Caramel cheesecake

Rated FCH

(fat and cholesterol heaven)

As in many other households, the tradition in our house is for the birthday boy/girl/mummy/daddy

to chose the birthday meal of their choice.

So after discussions from the males in the house,

our old faithful and reliable, throw everything into the mixing bowl staple

of chocolate cake which would have taken 20 minutes to get ready got thrown in favour of cheescake.

In itself, no problem.

I have never met a cheesecake I didn't like (as long as you don't consider "Sara Lee cheesecakes" actual cheesecakes...)

and I like to cook them.

But it is worth considering, when you offer up a caramel cheesecake because you know hubby (aka birthday boy) loves caramel as much as lemon,

reading the recipe in advance.

So you know that:

1 You need butterscotch biscuits...which you don't have

2 you need 900 grams of cream cheese...which you don't have

3 The base is cooked and the filling is then cooked in a bain marie...and it is 42 degrees outside

so preferable to avoid using the oven

4 It requires extended refrigeration over the course of the recipe...and you are serving it up in 6 hours.

But I must say it is worth it.

"Caramel cheesecake" doesn't really cut it.

And while "Really unhealthy Cheesecake containing mega amounts of calories and fat" may be apt,

it doesn't do it justice.

So might I introduce to you:

The Scrumdiddlyumptious Caramelicious Cheesecake

Proceed with caution

(and an antacid)

BASE:

1 x 250 g packet of buttersnap biscuits (crushed finely)

2 tablespoons brown sugar (firmly packed)

100g unsalted, melted butter

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 23cm springform tin while hubby ducks up to the corner store to buy the biscuits that you don't have.

Mix base ingredients together and press firmly into base.

Wrap outside of tin in 3 layers of foil.

Bake 10-15 minutes and leave to cool.

FILLING:

900g cream cheese

1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

35 g melted butter

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cheese and sugar till smotth then beat in butter.

Add eggs singly until each is just blended.

Beat in vanilla.

Pour into tin and bake in a bain marie (in a container of boiling water halfway up the sides of the tin) 60-70 minutes (edges will have puffed up but centre is not completely set)

Chill in refrigerator overnight

Notes- funnily enough I did not have 900g cream cheese in my fridge. I did have 750g as my kids eat it a lot but I made the recipe with 500g and dropped the other ingredients in rough ratios (eg 3 eggs used)

I also did not have overnight so it got about 3 hours in the fridge before the topping was added.

TOPPING:

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cup cream

160g dark (or milk if you prefer) chocolate to grate over

Combine sugar and water in a sacuepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Bring to the boil and boil without stirring for about 10 minutes until mixture is a rich golden colour.

Add cream and reduce heat and simmer about 8 minutes.

Chill till thickened but not set (about 15 minutes)

Pour caramel over the top of the cake, don't burn yourself when you lick the pot, and decorate your cheesecake with grated chocolate. Chill at least 2 hours (up to 6) before serving.

This is one rich baby of a cheesecake.

I might say that I think the reduced filling quantities were the way to go as the base and caramel thickness were great with the filling quantity that I had made.

Close your eyes, blot Jenny Craig from your mind and enjoy!