caramel – Food Notes

I’m not a big fan of Christmas pudding or Trifles, so I always go a bit ‘untraditional’ when it comes to Christmas dinner dessert. It’s actually often a cheesecake because you can make them in advance, they aren’t fussy to do and are usually delicious. This Salted Caramel Cheesecake from Delicious Magazine was particularly lush! It’s a perfect dessert for any occasion and though I find baked cheesecakes, to be particularly comforting at winter time.

Salted caramel cheesecake

Serves 10 – 12 | Prep 40 minutes | Cook 1.5 hrs | Requires overnight resting
A little effort

You’ll need:

Oil for greasing

For the base:

250g dark chocolate digestive biscuits;
2 tbsp cocoa powder;
60g unsalted butter, melted.

For the filling:

600g full-fat cream cheese;
300ml soured cream;
397g tin Carnation Caramel;
flaked sea salt, to taste;
2 medium eggs;
3 egg yolks.

For the Caramel Glaze:

100g caster sugar;
75ml double cream;
25g salted butter;
flaked sea salt, to taste.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Lightly oil a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Whizz the biscuits and cocoa to fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mixture has the texture of wet sand, then press into the bottom of the cake tin. Chill the base while you make the filling.

For the filling, whip the cream cheese, soured cream and caramel in a large bowl. Add sea salt to taste. Lightly beat in the eggs and yolks until smooth, then pour on top of the biscuit base. Smooth the top, then bake for 1¼-1½ hours until the cheesecake is cooked but still has a good wobble in the middle. Don’t worry if it puffs up and cracks a bit – it will sink back down as it cools.

When cooked, take the cheesecake out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 45 minutes, then remove from the tin and chill overnight.

Just before serving, make the glaze. Put the sugar in a heavy-based frying pan over a low heat and melt, without stirring, until it turns a rich red caramel colour. Add the cream and butter, stirring constantly (be careful in case it spits) until combined. Leave to cool for a few minutes, stirring often. Add a little salt to taste if you like.

To serve, drizzle the caramel over the top, then cut into wedges.

Original recipe from Delicious magazine, issue Christmas 2013, available online here.

I love a bit of baking during the weekend. I find it to be a lovely way to relax after a busy week and be a bit creative. I actually don’t eat a lot of cake and don’t really have a sweet tooth, but I find baking to be a great way to bring a smile to a friend’s face, say thank you and just an all around good way to bring a bit of happiness to those around me. After all, almost everyone loves cake.

I made this double-caramel treat of a traybake for a picnic this weekend and brought in the leftovers at work. It was very well received and gone within a few hours after dropping it at the office. It was also easy to make so even if you are new to baking, this should be straightforward. The original recipe is from Olive Magazine, and I have modified it ever so slightly.

Salted Caramel Traybake

Tip: I made this traybake Gluten-free by substituting the regular self-rising flour with Gluten-free self-rising flour (I use Doves Farm which you can find in most large supermarkets).

Makes 16 squares | Takes 1hr and 15 mins + cooling | A little effort | Vegetarian | Gluten-free (see tip above)

You’ll need:

4 tbsp Ready-made salted caramel sauce (I used Waitrose’s one);
175g butter, softened;
150g light muscovado sugar;
175g self-rising flour;
1/2 tsp baking powder;
2 tbsp ground almonds;
3 eggs.

For the toffee icing:

150g butter, softened;
200g (golden) icing sugar;
4tbsp ready-made salted caramel sauce;
Chocolate or caramel sprinkles for decoration (optional).

To make the cake, first heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Spread the salted caramel on to a baking paper lined 23cm square tin. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft. Sift in the flour and baking powder and start mixing slowly adding one egg at a time. Add the almonds and mix well. Beat the mixture until smooth. Spoon into the tin and level the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and let it cool completely. The caramel should have been absorbed by the cake, but if there is any remaining on the baking paper just spread it onto the cake.

To make the icing, beat the butter until it’s very soft and then start beating in the icing, adding it in batches. When half of it has been incorporated, beat in the salted caramel and the remaining icing sugar. Beat until smooth. If the icing is too stiff, add a bit of milk to soften – it should be easy to spread on the cake. When the cake has cooled completely, spread the icing on the top. Sprinkle with the chocolate or caramel sprinkles if you wish and cut into 16 squares. The cake will keep for a couple of days in an air-tight container.

Original recipe from Olive Magazine, issue May 2014, available here.