Outstanding Cheesecake Recipe!

[Oscarman]

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

1 ½ cups graham wafer crumbs
6 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup caramel flavored topping sauce
1 cup chopped pecans

3 pkgs (250g each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (regular or light) softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
8 sq. Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 325°F (160°C). Mix crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Pour caramel sauce over crust. Top with chopped pecans. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate; pour over pecans. Smooth top of cheesecake mixture. Bake for 50 minutes or until centre is set. Remove from oven and run knife around sides of pan to loosen.

Cool at room temperature. Chill overnight. Cake can be frozen.

Garnish cheesecake with additional chopped pecans and chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Drizzle extra caramel sauce over top.

Baking Time: 50 minutes, Yield: 10 Servings

Note:
- toast the pecans to develop the flavor
- replace the sugar with 50/50 mix of white and yellow sugar for richer flavor
- Always use good quality chocolate!

[Marty]

Good Stuff... Funny thing about cheese cakes. My in-laws just had a vistitor from Poland. The lady was probably in her 60s, she made some old school cheese cake last week, the type I remember when I was a kid there. It was not made from cream cheese, but from hard/pressed cottage cheese (aka farmers cheese(?), looks a bit like a cross b/w feta and ricotta, and it's crumbly, but taste wise, it's creamy and somewhat neutral, it has definite texture to it though). Then she ground it up few times up and mashed the cheese. Then she did some voodoo magic. This thing rated near the perfect 10 for me. It was unbelievably good. I told her to write down the recipe exactly before she went back. I will get it and post it here. I ate about 10 pieces. I really like the texture of the cheese, it wasn't perfecly smooth, but it had these tiny "lumps" of the cheese - quite interesting.

I would try this recipe, but my wife won't let me buy philadelphia cream cheese because of the hydrogenated oils it contains heheh

I guess I can always sub the cheese from health food section :wink:

Originally Posted by Oscarman

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

1 ½ cups graham wafer crumbs
6 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup caramel flavored topping sauce
1 cup chopped pecans

3 pkgs (250g each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (regular or light) softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
8 sq. Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 325°F (160°C). Mix crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Pour caramel sauce over crust. Top with chopped pecans. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate; pour over pecans. Smooth top of cheesecake mixture. Bake for 50 minutes or until centre is set. Remove from oven and run knife around sides of pan to loosen.

Cool at room temperature. Chill overnight. Cake can be frozen.

Garnish cheesecake with additional chopped pecans and chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Drizzle extra caramel sauce over top.

Baking Time: 50 minutes, Yield: 10 Servings

Note:
- toast the pecans to develop the flavor
- replace the sugar with 50/50 mix of white and yellow sugar for richer flavor
- Always use good quality chocolate!

[Oscarman]

A pastry chef friend of mine does a Italian Ricotta Cheesecake - probably more similar to what you are talking about. It includes Amaretto, sultanas and has some texture, yet it is creamy and still has a lightness to it. I think it is hydrog fat free - your wife would surely approve!

The problem with creamcheese based cheescakes (besides the life-sucking, artery-clogging fat content) is that they can be very heavy, stoggy and dry so you end up needing a gallon (3.78 litre) of sauce, a ton (907.18 kg) of whip cream, etc just to get them down!

[andersonii85]

Originally Posted by Oscarman

The problem with creamcheese based cheescakes (besides the life-sucking, artery-clogging fat content) is that they can be very heavy, stoggy and dry so you end up needing a gallon (3.78 litre) of sauce, a ton (907.18 kg) of whip cream, etc just to get them down!

Man, I hear that! I just ate some cheesecake that I picked up at BJ's the other day and it was so dry I almost drank a gallon of milk! BTW- I'm lactose intolerant and it made for an interesting night...lol.

-J