This is my take on a classic baked cheesecake with some extra special topping. It takes me back to my Grandma’s German cheesecake, made once a year for Shavuot when it is customary to eat dairy food, which we always looked forward to eating. I love the jewel-like broken caramel on top of this cake, and it gives a nice crunch too. If you love toffee sauce, double the quantities and keep a little jar in the fridge to heat as a sauce with ice cream and desserts.
Vanilla Cheesecake with Caramel Pecans and a Butterscotch Sauce
Servings
10 Servings
Ingredients
- 9 ounces 250-grams digestive biscuits or graham crackers
- 3 1/2 ounce 100-grams melted butter
- 2 1/2 cups 600-grams low fat cream cheese
- 7 ounces 200-grams caster sugar (superfine or granulated)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 ounces 300-grams soured cream
- 1 ounce 25-grams flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup 200-grams pecan nuts
- 4 ounces 120-grams caster sugar (superfine or granulated)
- 1 1/2 ounce 40-grams butter
- 2 ounces 50-grams soft brown sugar
- 1 1/2 ounces 40-grams caster sugar (superfine or granulated)
- 1 cup 225-grams golden syrup or maple syrup
- 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Base:
- Preheat the oven to 140°C /275°F/gas 1.
- Start by greasing and lining a 25 cm/10 inch spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
- Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or in a food processor and melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Mix butter and biscuits together and press into the tin evenly using the back of a spoon.
- Filling:
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, soured cream and flour together until smooth.
- Whisk the eggs in, one at a time, until well combined.
- Fill the cake tin with the mixture, place on a tray and bake for 60-80 minutes, or until the cheesecake is just set and lightly puffed up and golden at the sides.
- Leave to cool in the tin.
- Pecan Topping:
- Scatter the pecans on a lined baking tray and toast at 140°C /275°F/gas 1 for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn easily.
- For the caramel, put the sugar in a saucepan with enough water to just cover it. Heat gently until dissolved, and then turn the heat up to a simmer. Do not stir, but swirl occasionally to ensure that the sugar is cooking evenly. Be careful! Sugar reaches temperatures of 160°C /320°F and can cause very bad burns.
- When the sugar is caramel coloured, turn off the heat, add the pecans carefully, stirring until they are coated, and pour onto a lined baking tray to cool. Do not touch the nuts. When they have cooled, break into chunks or chop roughly.
- Butterscotch sauce:
- Put the butter, sugars and golden syrup into a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Stir and bubble lightly for 5 minutes.
- Add cream and vanilla extract. Boil for another minute, and turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- To finish the cheesecake, pour the slightly warmed sauce over the cheesecake and scatter the nuts over the top. Keep the cheesecake in the fridge until you want to eat it.
- Recipe Courtesy of Rachel Davies
Vanilla cheesecake with caramel, pecans, and butterscotch sounds like such a rich and tempting dessert combination. The mix of creamy, nutty, and caramel flavors gives a classic cheesecake a more indulgent twist. I like how the different toppings can add both texture and extra depth to each bite. This would be a lovely choice for a special gathering or celebratory dessert. A delicious-looking recipe for anyone who enjoys experimenting with classic cheesecake flavors.
without hyperbole, this was the most decadent, delicious and extraordinary cheesecake i have ever eaten, and my guests agreed – and one of them is inp articular a dessert aficionado! truly a slice (or two!) of heaven. a perfect blend of ying and yang, there could be no more perfect blending of flavors and texture. beyond amazing!!!
A couple of brands, like Symphonia and Tara, make lower fat (5%) cream cheese. Another delicious alternative is to make your own, by straining 3 or 4.5% leben (also called Eshel or Gil) through a cheesecloth overnight. Add a pinch of salt for every 200 grams of leben you use. The whey drains off and leaves you with a thick cream cheese with a fat content somewhere between 7 and 14%, depending on the original product and the final remaining weight. It’s not quite as low fat as the storebought low-fat, but yields a great texture for making cheesecake. It’s also extremely cost effective. You can also use sour cream, either 9 or 15%, to make delicious (not low fat!) cream cheese.
In Israel what would you use for low fat cream cheese?
Thank you looks delicious
Hi Rose. Digestive biscuits are very similar to graham crackers, and you can certainly use graham crackers in this recipe. Caster sugar is superfine sugar – finer than granulated but not as fine as icing sugar. Granulated should work fine if you can’t find superfine.
Enjoy your cheesecake and have a great Shavuot!
All the best, Helen.
can you please specify what are digestive biscuits…?? are they like lady fingers or graham crackers..?? and is caster sugar like icing sugar or regular sugar.?? recipe sounds great and l wouldlove tomake it for Shavouot..hope l get the reply asap by email..thanks a lot..Rose