Well, I know it may look really awful, but it’s not that bad, trust me. At first, I added tons of photos, but that’s just me, you know? I like to add photos of practically every step. It might be a little too much, but I’m really so visual. What can I say? The list of ingredients is really not as crazy as it looks. Many of them are listed twice and even three times because they are needed in more than one step. Also, most of them are pretty common ingredients, things you probably already have in your cupboards.
Honestly, this cheesecake may take a bit of time to prepare, but it is really super easy to prepare. You won’t even get so many dishes dirty …
And in the end, it’s so fiendishly decadent that you’ll find it’s worth every second in the kitchen… and every calorie!
Every single bite brings velvety and crunchy, sweet and salty, spicy, and chocolaty perfection to your mouth. This cheesecake has the perfect balance of everything.
Once you have tried it, you will probably find that you want to do it again and again. At least if YOU don’t, your friends, other family members, co-workers, and anyone else who has been lucky enough to get a taste of it will ask you for it!
Ingredients
Garnish
- Salted Caramel
- Praline
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 cup whipped cream
Chocolate Glaze
- 3/4 cup (115g) cacao paste
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) full fat sour cream
- 2 tbsp raw honey
Cheese mixture
Salted Caramel
- 1½ cup salted caramel
Graham Crust
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 2½ cups graham cracker crumbs
Praline
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
Salted Caramel
- Start making the salted caramel so that it has enough time to cool down.
Praline
- Combine the walnuts, brown sugar, pecan nuts, butter, and salt in a small bowl.
- Cook this in a large pan over medium-high heat until the butter starts to bubble.
- Continue cooking for a full minute, stirring frequently, then transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and set aside to cool completely.
Graham Crust
- Preheat your oven to 375 ° F
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Remove the ring and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Fold the excess paper back under the plate and bring the ring back into position with the other hand while holding it with one hand. Put the excess paper back under the plate, but don't cut it off.
- Grease the side of the pan with some ghee or butter
- Put graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and sugar in the bowl of your food processor and blend until it has a texture that resembles coarse sand. Then add melted butter and continue processing until everything is well mixed. Press the pan's bottom and side and bring the crust almost to the edge of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool
Cheese mixture
- Bring 4 water cups to a boil.
- Whisk the cream cheese in the mixer until it is super smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and continue until everything is well mixed. Turn off the motor to scrape the sides once or twice to ensure the last bit is incorporated.
- Then add sugar, Vanilla extract and lime or lemon juice and blend until everything is very well blended.
- With the engine running, add the eggs one by one through the feeding tube and make sure that each egg is well incorporated before adding the next. Stop to scrape off the sides as needed.
- Once the mixture is smooth and eggs are completely incorporated, then add the salt and starch and mix well.
- Put about half of this mixture in a bowl (you see about 3½ cups) and set aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of the previously prepared salted caramel to the cheese mixture still in the food processor and mix until well blended. Pour this into a large glass measuring cup and reserve.
- Pour the previously reserved cheese mixture back into the food processor.
- With the engine running, pour 1 cup of melted cocoa paste (or unsweetened chocolate) through the feeding tube and mix until completely incorporated.
- Pour half a cup of the salted caramel over the crust and spread it gently with a spatula, not quite to the edge.
- Pour the reserved chocolate cheese mixture over the caramel, and then sprinkle a little more than half of the crunchy praline over the chocolate cheese mixture.
- Next, pour the salted caramel cheese mixture very carefully over the chocolate dough. You may even want to pour the dough onto a large spoon (as opposed to directly over the dough) to break the fall.
- Finally, drizzle about 1/4 cup of salted caramel over the last layer of cheese dough. (Save a little to garnish the finished cake)
- Place the cake over a piece of aluminum foil and fold it over the pan so that the outside is completely covered. Now place your cake in a grill pan and carefully pour some boiling water into this grill so that it goes up about 1/4 of the way on the side of the pan. Place the rig on the middle rack of your oven, lower the temperature to 350° F and bake your cake for 25 minutes. At this point, lower the temperature again to 250° F and bake your cake for another 75 minutes.
- Turn off the oven and open the door. Leave the cake in the oven for about 1 hour or until it is cool enough to be handled with bare hands, then slide it out of the oven.
- When the cheesecake is completely cooled, pass a knife around the edge and chill it uncovered for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Chocolate Glaze
- Bring sour cream (or cream), milk, honey, butter, and vanilla extract to a boil over medium heat.
- Pour this immediately over the finely chopped chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir it gently with a whisk until smooth.
- If the cream wasn't hot enough to completely melt the chocolate, melt it in the microwave in 30 seconds, mixing well between each burst until it is completely melted but not hot. You can also do this over a water bath.
- Pour this chocolate frosting over the cooled, unmolded cheesecake and spread gently with a spatula, not quite to the edges.Send to the fridge for a quick trip while you whip the cream!
Garnish
- Pipe small swirls of whipped cream around the top, bottom, and center of the cake.
- Sprinkle the leftover crunchy praline and a handful of mini chocolate chips over the whipped cream and drizzle the entire cake with some salted caramel.
- If you have any of this salted caramel left over, decorate the plates with it.
- Store this cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and it will keep for up to a week.
