Recipe: Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake

For the New Year’s Eve dinner at my friend’s place, I decided to make the most decadent cake I ever ate. Caramel. Pecan. Turtle. Cheesecake. My first encounter with this cheesecake was in Boston over summer. I went to Cheesecake Factory and since this has the best of both worlds (chocolate AND caramel in one) this was my first cheesecake I tried from there. I fell in love. When I found the recipe I knew I had to try it. The concept is easy: you bake a brownie for the crust, you pour a cream cheese mixture on top, swirl it, bake it and top it with caramel, nuts and chocolate. So let’s get started!

This is what we’re going for minus the whipped cream and chocolate frosting

I found the recipe here. There’s a few things you’ll need. I have added some other measurements to account for the conversions when you’re using a scale rather than cups and teaspoons. It also helps me with doing my groceries.

Crust

• 10 tablespoons butter (or 150 grams) Make sure your butter is unsalted
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or 75 grams)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt (optional)

Filling

• 1 pound cream cheese (or 454 grams)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream (or 60 grams)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups caramel sauce (I made this myself, melting2x 185 grams of light colored caster sugar with 2x 100 grams of butter and then I added 50 grams of left over cream cheese to stir through it)
• 1/2 cup chocolate sauce (Made it myself by melting 2 bars of dark chocolate with 75% cocoa with 50 grams of butter)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (75 grams)

You’re also going to need a 9 inch or 24 cm spring form lined with baking paper and the sides covered in butter. I used a food processor (top right) to chop the pecans, my mixer for beating in ingredients, two bowls, a scale and other measurements and three (!) au bain marie set ups. Au bain marie is where you take a pan, fill it with water and boil the water. You then put another bowl or pan (make it something metal) in the water. This way your ingredients will melt instead of burn and it’s THE way to make chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. The caramel sauce should be boiled once everything is melted though so that takes a separate step. On to how to make the cake

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. (or 170 Celsius, for my oven even 180)
• Start the crust by beating the eggs with the vanilla.
• Place the butter, cocoa and sugar into a metal bowl or top of a double boiler.
• Heat over a pot of water, stirring constantly, until butter has melted.

Ingredients for the brownie crust, plus au bain marie set up and eggs with vanilla

• Whisk in the eggs.
• Beat in the flour and pecans.
• Pour into a 9-inch (24 cm) cake round and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.

• Amp up the heat in your oven to 350 F or 180 – 200 C. And preheat oven again.
• Beat the cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until well-blended.
• Pour the mixture over the brownie crust.

Ingredients for the cream cheese mixture & everything mixed together

• Mix 1/4 cup caramel sauce with 1/4 cup chocolate sauce.
• Pour this mixture on top of the cheesecake filling. Use a knife to swirl, being careful not to touch the brownie crust.

Ingredients for the chocolate and caramel sauce & the mixture & the cake before it goes into the oven.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until filling has set.
• Top with a layer of caramel sauce.
• Sprinkle with pecans.
• Drizzle with remaining chocolate syrup.

The cake right after it was done baking & topped with caramel & pecans. I also swirled some chocolate sauce over it to complete the look.

The final result!

Blurry picture, but not bad huh? It tasted deliciously and was cooked to perfection. Some tips to make sure your cheesecake doesn’t collapse:

• After baking the cake, leave it in the oven to cool for 4 – 8 hours before finishing it off.
• Make sure you set the cake in the fridge overnight so it has plenty of time to settle.