I love baking and cheesecake is one of my specialties. I am sharing my secrets and this is the Cheesecake to bring when you want to wow a crowd! While Turtle Cheesecake looks gorgeous and tastes even better, it is not a hard to do recipe at all. The best part is that this dessert is a lot easier to make than you might expect! I promise you if you follow the recipe below you are for sure going to wow the crowd.
WHAT YOU NEED:
24 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)
6 Tbsp. butter melted
1 pkg. (14 oz.) caramels
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chopped pecans
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) brick cream cheese, softened
1 can of condensed milk
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs
2 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
sea salt
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
PREHEAT oven to 325°F.
APPLY a large, square sheet of heavy-duty foil. Place your springform pan in the center and wrap the edge of your springform pan with foil.
MIX crush the oreo cookies in a large freezer-weight ziploc bag. You can use a rolling pin or mallet to crush them. Alternatively, you can also pulse them in a food processor. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-10" springform pan. Press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 8-10" springform pan.
MICROWAVE caramels and heavy cream in small bowl on HIGH 1 min. increments and stir until caramels are completely melted, stir after each minute. Pour 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over this crust and spread it out lightly with a spatula. Refrigerate the caramel coated crust for 10 minutes. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.
BEAT cream cheese, condensed milk, sour cream and vanilla with mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed just until each one is blended.
POUR the mixture over the refrigerated crust.
PLACE the spring-form pan into a large roasting pan for water bath (also known as a bain marie) which is used to regulate the baking temperature of the cheesecake. Tip: Make sure that the larger pan has high sides, so when you pour water into the larger pan the water can come halfway up the side of the springform pan without reaching the top of the larger pan.
BAKE 1 hour 10 min. to 1 hour 15 min. or until center is almost set. Run a knife around the edges of the pan while it is still warm to loosen cake from pan. Let it cool down at room temperature and then refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before removing the sides of the pan.
MICROWAVE reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate chips with heavy cream on HIGH 1 min. increments and stir until chocolate is completely melted, stir after each minute. Drizzle over cheesecake. Sprinkle the pecans across the top of the cheesecake. Add a pinch of sea salt for the perfect touch. Enjoy!
How to make a perfect cheesecake: Best trick ever! 3 Tips:
1. Always, water bath (also known as a bain marie) it is used to regulate the baking temperature of the cheesecake. Since the temperature of water never exceeds boiling point (it turns into steam), which keeps the cheesecake baking at an even, slow temperature. This prevents the cheesecake from overcooking (especially around the edges). The steam created by the water bath also further protects the baking cheesecake, keeping the air in the oven moist and humid to prevent the top of the cake from drying out and cracking.
2. When baking in a water bath, always wrap the pan in foil so none of the water leaks in.
3. As soon as cheesecake is out of the oven, run a knife around the inside edges of the pan, to loosen the cake.
