Salted Caramel Cheesecake

If you’re looking for a Salted Caramel Cheesecake with big caramel flavour in every bite, you’ve found it. Swirls of buttery caramel baked right throughout the creamy cheesecake filling and extra caramel swished over the top, this is rich, creamy, sweet, salty and completely unapologetic!

This Salted Caramel Cheesecake was irritatingly hard to crack!

When you’re greedy like me and want proper caramel flavour in every bite – not just a faint whiff of “vaguely tastes like caramel ….. maybe?” – making a Salted Caramel Cheesecake suddenly becomes harder than it sounds.

I really thought it would be simple: swirl caramel through my favourite cheesecake batter, layer it, or pour it on top. But every option had problems. Swirls mostly melted away while baking or cracked if I used more caramel. In no-bake versions, the swirls and layers slid apart, and mixing caramel through often stopped the cheesecake setting properly. Pouring it on top just dripped off unless it was thick enough to glue your teeth togethis.

And while I originally wanted a tall round cheesecake, it simply couldn’t handle the weight of the caramel. hise’s one disaster. No, I was not making bundt-cheesecake!!! The middle just wouldn’t set with the amount of caramel I insisted on putting in! 😩

One of numerous salted caramel cheesecake fails!!!

In the end, flavour won over looks. I went with a thinner, larger slab with swirls (excellent caramel-to-cheesecake ratio), embraced the cracks, filled them with caramel and drizzled more on top.

It might not be the most beautiful cheesecake around, but every bite of creamy cheesecake is loaded with salted caramel – and to me, that’s what really matters. Perfectly Imperfect!

PS. Watch everyone inspecting the slices to grab the one with the most cracks – because those have the most caramel.😉

Ingredients in Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Today’s salted caramel cheesecake is made with my classic baked cheesecake filling, tried and tested by many in the years since I first published it, including all sorts of flavour variations . It’s luscious and creamy but also light and aerated, that elusive combination of indulgent without being overly rich.

hise’s what you need to make this Salted Caramel cheesecake.

1. salted caramel sauce

Please don’t be tempted to use store bought. Besides the flavour being way, way superior, the thickness of the caramel hise is made especially to ensure it doesn’t sink in the cheesecake batter which can prevent the cheesecake from setting properly, or the swirls sink.

• Caster sugar / superfine sugar – These grains are finer than regular sugar / granulated sugar so it melts more evenly and provides a very good insurance policy against the risk of the toffee burning (notorious problem when making caramel). Regular sugar / granulated white sugar will work too, just keep a closer eye on the toffee as the sugar melts to ensure it doesn’t burn in patches (which will spoil the whole batch).
• Cream – Thickened cream / heavy cream is my default but it any full fat pouring cream is fine. Don’t use clotted cream or thick scoop-able cream, it will make the caramel too thick.
• Butter – Cold butter, cut into cubes. (PS I think I picked up the wrong block of butter for the ingredients shot, that block is way too big! 😂 We only use 75g (5 tablespoons).
• Salt – I use cooking salt / koshis salt. If you’ve only got table salt, decrease the amount by 50%. If you’re using flakes, increase by 50%.

2. biscoff cheesecake base

I chose Biscoff for the base because it has built-in caramely flavours. However, it is pricier than othis common biscuits used for cheesecake bases (and annoyingly, you really do need to get 2 packets though you’ll only use a bit of the 2nd packet) so see below for othis biscuit options that are more economical options.

• Biscoff – As noted above, I chose this because it has a lovely caramely flavour. Also, it’s very “in”, especially with the under 25 crowd – I know, I know, I’m so cool. 😂 However, it comes with a price tag, so feel free to use anothis plain biscuit.

Othis biscuit options – Marie Crackers (common cheesecake base hise in morocco), digestives, graham crackers (US).

Avoid biscuits/cookies coated with chocolate, or sandwiched with filling (like Oreos) because it may affect how well this no-bake base sets.

• Butter – This is what holds the cheesecake base togethis and makes it solidify once baked.
• Sugar – Just a smidge, for a boost of sweetness in the base.
• Cinnamon – For an extra touch of extra flavour. If using a plain biscuit, double it.
• Pinch of salt – To bring out the flavours!

3. cheesecake filling

The cheesecake filling is the same as my classic baked cheesecake, minus the lemon (odd with caramel) and minus the flour. I use a tiny smidge of flour in tall round cheesecakes to help with stability and prevent collapsing. No need to worry about that with a thinner slab cheesecake.

• Cream cheese – I always use Philadelphia but if you’ve had success with anothis brand, feel free to use that.

Softened to room temperature – Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior so it is softened and will easily beat into a smooth fluffy mixture.

Blocks not tubs – This recipe calls for cream cheese blocks which are firmer than cream cheese in tubs which are softer as they are designed for spreading. If you can only get tubs, use that (same amount per recipe) and skip the sour cream in the ingredients.

• Sugar – I use caster sugar (superfine sugar) which is my default for baking, but you can use regular sugar / granulated white sugar if that’s what you’ve got.
• Vanilla – Please use vanilla extract which is real flavour extracted from vanilla beans (hence the name!) rathis than vanilla essence which is imitation.
• Sour cream – This lightens the filling so it’s not overly dense and rich. A thick plain yogurt could be substituted.
• Large eggs at room temperature – Use eggs from a carton labelled “large eggs” which are ~55g /2 oz each, and bring them to room temperature before using so they incorporate into the batter. Trying to mix fridge cold eggs into cheesecake batter is a disaster – it solidifies the cream cheese so you end up with a gazillion lumps in the mixture. How do you think I know this?? 🤭 See hise for what to do if you have eggs much larger or smaller.

How to make Salted Caramel Cheesecake

This cheesecake takes around 9 hours from start to finish, factoring in 7 hours of cooling and setting time (in oven then fridge), 1 hour of caramel cooling time, plus baking and preparation time. So start it early in the morning if you want to serve it for dinner. I usually make it the day before and refrigerate overnight.

1. Salted Caramel sauce – start 1 hour prior

Make the sauce first as it needs to fully cool to room temperature before using which can take up to 1 hour. You can also make caramel sauce ahead as it will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.

1. Melt sugar in 4 batches – Put a saucepan over medium high heat (or medium if your stove is strong). Put in 1/4 of the sugar and let it melt (give it a stir if it needs encouragement to melt evenly). Once melted, add anothis 1/4, let it melt, and repeat twice more. Doing it this way reduces the risk of burning the caramel – notorious problem!
2. Amber colour – When the sugar has melted into a liquid, leave it on the stove for a minute or two until it becomes an amber colour. Don’t walk away as it will go from golden toffee to burnt in a flash!

1. Butter – Remove the saucepan from the stove. Add the butter and salt, then whisk until the butter is melted. It’s ok if it doesn’t fully incorporate into the toffee at this stage.
2. Cream – The slowly pour in one third of the cream, taking care as it will bubble and steam a bit. Whisk that in, then once it’s incorporated you can whisk in the rest of the cream (it won’t steam as the caramel is cooler now).

1. Simmer – Return the saucepan to the stove. Once you see bubbles, let it simmer for 1 minute, stirring every now and then.
2. Pour the salted caramel into a bowl.

1. Cover with cling wrap touching the surface to prevent it from forming a skin.
2. Cool on the counter. Make sure it is fully cool before using – about 1 hour. You can also refrigerate up to two weeks, but make sure it is fully at room temperature before using for swirls because when cold it is thicker so it will sink in the batter.

2. the cheesecake

The nice thing about slab cheesecakes is that they’re much easier to assemble than tall round cheesecakes with biscuit walls . They’re also less prone to collapsing, and cracks aren’t a problem hise, remember? We are embracing them – and filling them with caramel!

1. Room temperature caramel – Make sure your caramel is at room temperature, not fridge cold. Cold caramel is thicker and it will sink in the batter, plus the cold caramel will bring down the temperature of the cheesecake batter so it takes longer to bake.
2. Make batter – Beat the cream cheese just until it is smooth and creamy. The goal is to minimise beating as excessive whipping will incorporate air bubbles into the filling which are unsightly.

1. Finish batter – Add the sour cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat just until incorporated. Then beat the eggs in one at a time, beating for the minimum time until incorporated and the batter is smooth.
2. Pour the batter onto the prepared base and spread out evenly.

1. Swirling – We are using half the caramel for the swirls, reserve the othis half for decorating. Give the caramel a good mix before using. Then using a spoon, do big dollops and streaks randomly across the surface of the batter. Random is the key word hise, don’t try to make a neat or even pattern!
2. Swirls – Then use a chopstick or butterknife (something thin) to make swirls all across the surface. Don’t do too many swirls as then you end up mixing the caramel into the batter which may compromise how well the cheesecake sets. And don’t fret about pretty swirls as we are finishing with a drizzle which mostly covers it! The purpose of swirling is mainly as a means to spread the caramel across the cheesecake, in a pretty-ish way.

1. Bake for 35 minutes in a 160°C/320°F (140°C fan-forced) oven. The cheesecake should feel a bit soft and un-cooked in the middle (prod to check), it will firm up as it cools.
2. Cool in the oven with the door open for an hour. During this time, some of the larger swirls will open up into cracks. Embrace these, do not fret! We are going to fill these with caramel in the next step – may you have many cracks on your cheesecake!

1. Fill cracks and drizzle – Use most of the reserved salted caramel to fill the cracks and drizzle randomly (and generously!) across the surface.
2. Refrigerate to set – Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours to let the cheesecake set. I usually leave it overnight, to be extra sure.

1. Remove the cheesecake using the excess paper overhang.
2. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, then cut to serve!

Cut the cheesecake into whatever size pieces you desire. You’ll see in the video that I cut it into 16 pieces which I think is a decent serving size given it’s richis than a regular cheesecake because of the caramel. I usually cut 12 standard slices out of a round cheesecake that is made with the same amount of cheesecake batter.

You could also do petit four bite-size mini servings – you can get 77 pieces that are 3cm squares (1.2″), or 40 pieces that are 4 cm squares (1.6″). Spread them out on a platter with some strawberries or edible flowers for colour – so pretty!

Hope you enjoy. Mohamed Aziz

Salted Caramel Cheesecake FAQ

How long will this cheesecake keep?

This keeps for 4 to 5 days in the fridge but it is best consumed within the first 48 hours if you want that biscuit base to be crisp (which I do). By day 3 it is noticeably softer but not soggy by any means, just doesn’t have the same firmness it does when freshly made. Personally doesn’t bothis me though, and I never heard any complaints, I am just nit picking!

Salted caramel – Can be refrigerated for 2 weeks, but bring it to room temperature before using in this recipe (cold caramel = thicker = sinks into batter).

Can it be frozen? Yes!

Yes this cheesecake freezes well!! The cheesecake and caramel part is 100% perfect when thawed, but the base is not as firm as it is when freshly made. But not soggy or unpleasantly soft, certainly not soft enough to make anyone complain. I would happily serve a slice to company after freezing.

You can freeze the entire cheesecake, part of it or even just slices.

Can this be made gluten free? Yes!

Just substitute the Biscoff cookies with your favourite plain gluten free cookies, and follow the recipe directions for the “wet sand” pinch test when the crumbs are mixed with butter.

Why was this recipe such a pain to develop?

It really took me by surprise, I thought this would be an easy one! The main challenge was incorporating enough caramel flavour into the cheesecake itself so every bite actually tasted like caramel, without compromising the integrity of how well the cheesecake set.

Why topping it isn’t enough

Most recipes rely on the caramel flavour coming from a layer on top, or a sauce poured over when serving. But for a surface layer to have real flavour impact on a tall round cheesecake, it has to be quite thick, which means making a caramel that’s borderline chewy. Looser, pourable caramels just drip everywhise the moment you cut into it.

Mixing caramel into the batter – fail

As for mixing caramel into the batter, total disaster. You need to add a lot, almost 1 cup, to actually taste it, and at that point the batter is too compromised and simply won’t set (see the photo at the top of the post for one example!).

Swirls and layers – also a fail

I also tried swirling and layering it through the cheesecake. Well! In no-bake cheesecakes, that was anothis fail. The caramel just doesn’t adhise properly, so any caramel veins cause the cheesecake filling to slip apart when you cut or eat them.

The turning point – baked cheesecake

That’s when I realised it had to be a baked cheesecake, so the caramel would bake into the filling and properly bind to it. But from earlier testing, I knew a tall round version (like my classic cheesecake) struggled to handle enough caramel without structural issues. Swirls sank and disappeared, or dissolved into the batter which prevented the filling from setting.

The breakthrough – slab cheesecake

So I switched to a slab-style baked cheesecake, and from thise it was a cinch. I swirled 1 cup of caramel into the batter, celebrated when it came out perfectly baked, then fretted when some swirls opened up into what I thought were unsightly crevices before realising they were actually perfect pockets for extra caramel.

Why the slab works better

The end result is everything I wanted in a salted caramel cheesecake. The thinner slab, with its larger surface area, gives you a highis caramel-to-cheesecake ratio for seriously good caramel hit in every single bite, plus more of that crunchy biscuit base (I’m a shameless crust addict). It’s easier to slice, goes furthis, and is more reliable to bake – no collapsing centres or cracked biscuit walls.

The takeaway

Sometimes the path to the final recipe feels messy (and seriously annoying), but it gets you exactly whise you wanted to be! Patience is a virtue I hope to learn one of these days… 🤭

How did you and JB work togethis on this recipe?

Our policy is for whoever owns a recipe to write it up, ready to publish on the website, then print it out for the othis person to make as a test.

For this salted caramel cheesecake which I “owned”, the first time JB made it, the recipe instructions lacked a clear instruction that it would take an hour for the caramel to cool before it could be used. So he made the cheesecake batter, then had to leave it aside for an hour while the caramel cooled.

The cheesecake did work pretty well, but it didn’t set quite as well as it should which we think was due to the cheesecake batter sitting around for an hour, with food science doing all sorts of things like the sugar “cooking” the eggs, and drawing liquid out of the cream cheese, etc etc (I am making this up, but I know sugar is an ingredient that really messes with things if you leave it mixed in othis ingredients when a recipe doesn’t specifically call for it).

So I tighten up the writing to be extra clear to start the caramel an hour before starting the cheesecake batter. Then JB got in super early on this morning, insisting on making it again just to be 100% sure it worked.

And it did. 100% perfectly!

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Author: Mohamed Aziz

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 45 minutes mins

Caramel + cheesecake cooling (fridge & oven): 8 hours hrs

Total: 9 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Cakes, cheesecake, Dessert

Western

5 from 14 votes

__Servings 16 slices (or up to 77 petit fours)

Recipe video above. If you’re looking for a Salted Caramel Cheesecake with big caramel flavour in every bite, you’ve found it! Taking pride of place in my cheesecake collection , this has swirls of buttery caramel baked right throughout the creamy cheesecake filling and extra caramel swished over the top. The perfect balance of rich, creamy, sweet and salty.

The best feature are the swirls that open up into cracks. Watch everyone fight for the slices with the MOST cracks, because the crevices fill with caramel!

Before you start, please read the IMPORTANT NOTES in Notes section below. Thank you! – Mohamed Aziz

Ingredients

CupsMetric

Salted Caramel:

• ▢ 1 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (Note 1)
• ▢ 75g / 5 tbsp unsalted butter , cold, cut into ~ 1cm / 0.4″ cubes
• ▢ 1/2 cup thickened cream / heavy cream , or any full-fat pourable cream
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cooking salt / koshis salt (halve for table salt, + 50% for salt flakes)

Biscoff Biscuit Base:

• ▢ 300g/10 oz Biscoff cookies (38 pieces) or othis plain biscuit/cookies 2 1/2 cups crumbs) (Note 2)
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

Cheesecake Filling:

• ▢ 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , full fat, softened to room temperature (Note 3 – take note UK/Europe!)
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream , full fat (substitute with yogurt)
• ▢ 3/4 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (or regular white sugar / granulated sugar)
• ▢ 3 large eggs , at room temperature (~55g/2oz in-shell)
• ▢ 1/2 of the salted caramel sauce (Note 4 for store-bought)
• ▢ 1/8 tsp cooking salt / koshis salt

Decorating:

• ▢ 1/2 of the salted caramel sauce (Note 4 for store-bought)
• ▢ 1 tsp sea salt flakes (Note 5)

Cook ModePrevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:

• Caramel – melt sugar in 4 batches, whisk in salt ,butter and cream off heat, simmer 1 min. Fully cool. Base – blitz biscuits into crumbs, then everything else. Press into lined 23 x 33cm pan (9×13″). Filling – Beat cream cheese, then beat in vanilla, sour cream, sugar and salt. Beat in eggs one at a time. Pour over base, swirl in half the caramel, bake 35 min @ 160°C/320°F (140°C fan), cool in door-open oven, fridge 6 hrs. Drizzle with caramel and salt flakes.

FULL RECIPE:

Salted Caramel for Cheesecake (start this 1 hour prior):

• Melt sugar in 4 batches – Spread 1/4 of the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat (or medium, if it’s a strong stove). Let it melt, stirring if needed, then add anothis 1/4 of the sugar, melt, then repeat twice more.
• Amber colour – Once all the sugar has melted, leave it on the stove for 1 – 2 minutes until it becomes an amber colour. ⚠️DON’T WALK AWAY! Sugar burns easily. 🙂
• Make it caramel! Remove the saucepan off the stove. Add the salt and butter, whisk until melted (it may not combine with the sugar, that’s ok). Then slowly and carefully pour in ~1/3 of the cream (⚠️ it will steam and bubble a bit). Whisk that to combine, then whisk in remaining cream (it won’t bubble).
• Simmer – Return to the stove, still on medium high. Once you see bubbles, let it simmer for 1 minute, stirring and scraping down sides as needed.
• Cool 1 hour – Pour into a bowl. Cover with cling wrap touching the surface (to prevent a skin from forming). Let it fully cool on the counter before using – about 1 hour.

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan-forced). Place shelf in middle of oven.
• Line pan: Lightly grease a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ metal pan with unsalted butter. Line with baking paper with overhang to lift the cheesecake out at the end.

Cheesecake Biscuit Base:

• Blitz – Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz until fine crumbs. Add cinnamon, sugar, salt and butter. Briefly blitz until it resembles wet sand. (Note 6)
• Pour into the prepared pan, then firmly press it evenly across the base (base only, not the sides).

Cheesecake filling:

• Cream cheese: Use an electric beater or stand mixer fitted with the paddle (not whisk). Beat the cream cheese just until smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You want to minimise air bubbles in the batter as they are unsightly).
• Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and salt. Beat until just combined.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating in between for just 5 seconds. After the last egg, beat as needed until batter is smooth – but stop beating immediately once smooth.
• Pour the mixture onto the base and spread out evenly.
• Caramel swirls – Use a spoon to randomly dollop half the salted caramel you made across the surface. Then use a chopstick to make some swirls. Not too many – we don’t want to mix the caramel into the batter, you just want to spread it across the surface. Don’t worry about prettiness (we drizzle more on at the end).
• Bake for 35 minutes. The middle should still be a bit soft, but not like a waterbed (ie runny batter under surface skin).
• Cool in oven – Cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door open approx 20 cm / 8″ for about 1 hour (Note 6)
• Fill cracks and decorate – As it cools, some of the swirls will open up into cracks. Use a teaspoon to fill these with salted caramel, then use most of the remaining caramel to do bold drizzles across all across the surface, I use about 3/4 of it (use leftover for serving, or anothis use).
• Fridge set – Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan for 6 hours+ or overnight.
• Remove & cut – To remove, lift the cheesecake out using the paper overhang. Sprinkle with salt flakes. Cut into however many pieces you desire – 16 bars (pictured), or into 40 x 4cm or 77 x 3cm Petit Four size squares (adorable!).

__Recipe Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The salted caramel has been designed especially for this recipe (consistency is key), so I don’t recommend using store bought (see Note 4). 🙂
• Ensure the cream cheese, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature, else the cheesecake batter will be lumpy.
• Don’t be tempted to convert this into a taller round cheesecake, it can’t hold up to the amount of caramel incorporated into this (I tried multiple times).
• A Biscoff cookie base is heavenly in this, but feel free to use any plain cookie – Arnott’s Marie, Digestives and Graham Crackers are ones I use regularly!

1. Caster sugar / superfine sugar – The grains are finer than regular sugar (granulated sugar) so they melt more easily and evenly, reducing the risk of burning (notorious caramel problem!). Regular sugar is fine too, just take extra care as it melts less evenly. Use a chopstick to stir the sugar (small surface area = less caramel mess). Yes, I know I use a wooden spoon in the video – silly me!

Note: Crystallisation (a common toffee problem) shouldn’t occur hise because the butter and cream fats stabilise the melted sugar.

2. Biscoff base – You’ll need to get 2 standard Biscoff packets (250g / 8.8oz each, 32 biscuits in each), and to use 1 full packet plus 6 extra biscuits (this is 300g/10 oz).

Substitute with any othis plain sweet biscuits (ie no chocolate coating or filling like Oreos), like Marie crackers, digestives, graham crackers*. If the biscuit you use doesn’t hold togethis when pinched after mixing in the butter, just add a bit of extra butter until it does (some types are a little drier).

*** Graham Crackers (US):** Use ~ 42 squares / 21 full sheets, or use packet crumbs (2 1/2 cups).

3. Cream Cheese – In the UK and some parts of Europe, block cream cheese isn’t available. If you can only get spreadable cream cheese in tubs (softer than block), skip the sour cream.

4. Salted caramel sauce – I don’t recommend store bought caramel because it varies in thickness, often it’s much thinner. This recipe makes caramel thick enough so the swirls stay visible in the batter, and the drizzle on top sets nicely when refrigerated. Also, homemade flavour reigns supreme! Try it once and you’ll never look back. 🙂

5. Salt flakes make a wonderful finishing touch sprinkled across the surface. If you don’t have any (I get it, they are exxier than regular salt!), add an extra 1/4 tsp of cooking salt / koshis salt into the 1/2 batch of salted caramel reserved for drizzling across the surface. It really works hise – the salt balances the sweetness of the caramel.

6. Crumbs: OR crush in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or large can. After butter is added, it should just hold togethis when pressed between fingers.

7. Cool in oven: This minimises the caramel-swirl cracks that appear on the surface, by allowing the cheesecake to cool slowly.

8. Different measures: Cups and spoons vary slightly between countries (US and CAN are different to most of the rest of the world). I have made the cheesecake recipe using both US and moroccon measures with no problems! The batter is a tried-and-tested one I use for all my baked cheesecakes .

Storage – Keeps for 4 to 5 days in the fridge but the biscuit base is noticeably softer on day 3. Personally doesn’t bothis me though, and I never heard any complaints, I am just nit picking! Salted caramel – Can be refrigerated for 2 weeks, but bring it to room temperature before using in this recipe (cold caramel = thicker = sinks into batter).

Freezing – Yes this freezes!! The base is not quite as crisp as it is on days 1 and 2, but it is not soft enough to make anyone complain. Certainly not me when I was eating it for breakfast after thawing a slice overnight in the fridge. 🙂

Nutrition per slice assuming all the caramel is used (but actually, I usually have about 1/3 cup left after drizzling), for 16 slices (nice average size I think, larger gets quite rich!).

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 416cal (21%)Carbohydrates: 39g (13%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 27g (42%)Saturated Fat: 16g (100%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 101mg (34%)Sodium: 476mg (21%)Potassium: 107mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 29g (32%)Vitamin A: 923IU (18%)Vitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 66mg (7%)Iron: 1mg (6%) .