Creole Cream Cheesecake With Caramel Apple Topping Recipes

CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL APPLE TOPPING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, pecans, butter and brown sugar. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. pie plate; set aside., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in extracts. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust., Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight., For topping, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and lemon juice. Cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until apples are tender. Add brown sugar and cinnamon; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until brown sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Serve with cheesecake.

CREOLE CREAM CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL-APPLE TOPPING

Steps:

• Make the crust:
• Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and butter to combine. Pat the mixture into a 10-inch springform pan, pressing the crumbs firmly in an even layer on the bottom and making sure they come at least halfway up the side of the pan. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the crust is fragrant, dry, and toasty. Let cool, then wrap the entire outside of the pan tightly in two layers of foil, all the way to the top.
• Make the filling:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the plain cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed for about 4 minutes, until incredibly smooth and light. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the Creole Cream Cheese and vanilla paste and beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl once more. Decrease the speed to medium and beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Mix just until the batter is smooth and uniform. Continuing to mix past that point, even though the batter won't look different, only incorporates extra air, which will cause the cheesecake to bubble excessively and the surface to crack as that air tries to escape during the baking process.
• Decrease the oven temperature to 350°F. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and tap the pan gently on the counter a few times to remove any large air bubbles. Place the springform pan in a large baking or roasting pan (just big enough for the springform pan to fit in) and set the pan on the middle rack in the oven. Fill the pan with enough hot water to reach the rim of the springform pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the sides of the custard are set and the middle is still just slightly wobbly. Generally, if the entirety of the custard is fully set, your cheesecake is overbaked. Don't panic-it'll still be delicious, and you'll do better next time!
• Let the cheesecake cool in the water until it is about room temperature. (You don't want to have to try to grab the pan out of hot water if you can help it.) However, if you're worried that your cheesecake might be slightly overbaked, you'll want to pull it out rather quickly, and let it cool at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing. The cake can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 4 days.
• Make the topping:
• In a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan, heat the butter until melted. Stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and honey and let cook until bubbling. Add the apples and toss to coat. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger; stir to combine. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the apples just start to soften. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and transfer to a bowl to cool completely before use. The filling can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

APPLE CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Reserve 3/4 cup of apple pie filling and set aside.
• Spoon remaining pie filling into crust. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth then add eggs and mix well. Pour over apple filling in crust.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
• Mix reserved apple filling and caramel topping in a small saucepan. Heat for about 1 minute. Arrange apple slices around outside edge of cheesecake. Spread caramel sauce evenly over. Decorate with pecan halves around edge. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Chill until ready to serve.

APPLE-TOPPED CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and side of 9-inch springform pan with shortening or cooking spray.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, pecans, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until blended. Press dough on bottom and 1/2 inch up side of pan. Bake 12 minutes or until set. Cool 15 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat all filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth; spread filling over cooled crust. In another bowl, toss apples with 1/4 cup sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Arrange apples in circular design over filling. Brush apples with 2 tablespoons of the caramel topping.
• Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Bake 1 hour longer. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Just before serving, run small metal spatula around edge of pan; carefully remove side of pan. Drizzle each piece of cheesecake with 1 tablespoon remaining caramel topping. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.