Caramel Cheesecake

This is a really nice cheesecake. It is smooth, creamy, slightly sweet and rich. The addition of the caramel layer adds a warm almost smoky depth to the cake which can be further enhanced by drizzling some caramel on the cake when it is being served. Very tasty indeed.

Ingredients: Base
1.75 cups of graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs sugar
½ stick unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients: Cheesecake
2 pounds (4 8oz. boxes) cream cheese at room temp.
1.33 cups sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. scotch
4 large eggs, at room temp
1.33 cups heavy cream
4 oz caramel (see recipe below)

Method: Crust
1.Grease a spring-form pan (9 inch, with sides that are at least 2 inches high). Wrap the bottom of the pan with two layers of foil.
2. Combine the graham crumbs, sugar and salt in a bowl, and then add the butter.
3. Mix the ingredients together with your fingertips, until all the crumbs have been covered with the butter.
3. Place the crumb mixture into the prepared tin, and press into the base and sides of the pan. Do not worry too much about covering up all the sides (the cake becomes stable as it gets colder).
4. Center a rack in the oven and heat the oven to 350F.
5. Bake the base for 10 min.
6. Place on a wire rack and let it cool.

Method: Cake
1.Reduce the heat in the oven to 325F.
2.Put a full kettle on to boil.
3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese for around 4 min at medium speed, periodically scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Beat in the scotch.
5. Add each egg separately making sure to beat the mixture for at least a min between each addition.
6. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and mix in the cream.
7. Place the baking pan, into a roasting tray that is large enough to accommodate the baking pan, and have space around the edges.
8. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and once again mix the batter.
9. remove 2/3 of the batter, and place it in a separate bowl. To the 1/3 left in the mixing bowl add the caramel and beat for a couple of min until it has been combine (make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl).
10. Put 1/3 of the plain batter on top of the crumb base and smooth the top down with a rubber spatula.
11. Add a layer of the caramel batter, and finis with a layer of plain batter, making sure to smooth the top.
12. Place the roasting pan in the oven and add the boiling water to it – making sure that the water comes ½ way up the sides of the pan.
13. Cook the cake for 1 hour and 30 min. The top of the cake may be brown, and the cake may have risen (mine did).
14. Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Leave the cake in the oven for another hour.
15. Carefully remove the cake from the oven and let the cheesecake cool to room temp on a wire rack.
16. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours.
17. When ready to serve, get a hair dryer and heat the sides of the pan, gently slip a butter knife between the pan and the cake and remove the cake from the tin.
18. Serve with a drizzle of caramel.

Mostly taken from the amazing “Baking: From my Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan pp. 235-7.