I Killed The Caramel. Again.

Remember my caramel troubles just a few weeks ago? Well, it's now official. Any caramel making skills I once had are gone.

I found a recipe for a lovely new cheesecake and tried it out when we had friends call through a couple of weeks ago. I chose a caramel cheesecake, partly to see if I could get my caramel mojo back but mostly because I love caramel. Love it. LOVE. IT. Like I'd marry it if I could. Hubby isn't quite so keen on caramel so I figured he'd eat his serving of dessert on the night and then any leftovers would be mine. Boy did I figure wrong. First off I couldn't get my caramel to do that caramel-thing. It didn't completely die but it wasn't far off. Then I wasn't actually all that keen on the finished product. Everyone else liked it and Hubby lurrrrved it. So he got the leftovers and I missed out. Oh well, I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere!

Seriously, this is a nice cheesecake. It was very rich so a tiny bit is well and truly enough. It has a yummy chocolatey base, a terrific baked filling and a totally over-the-top rich dark chocolate topping. It would be perfect for a special occasion or if you were feeding a crowd. Just don't kill the caramel.

Caramel Crunch Cheesecake

from The Australian Women's Weekly Cheesecakes Pavlovas and Trifles

125g plain chocolate biscuits

60g butter, melted

2 x 250g packets cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

3 eggs

1/3 cup (80ml) cream

1 tablespoon plain flour

50g bar chocolate-coated honeycomb, chopped finely

caramel filling

30g butter

1/4 cup (50g) firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon golden syrup

2 tablespoons hot water

chocolate topping

150g dark eating chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup (60ml) cream

Line base of 21cm springform tin with foil. Line side with baking paper.

Process biscuits until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add butter; process until just combined.

Using one hand, press crumb mixture evenly over base of prepared tin. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to slow. Beat cheese, sugar and rind in medium bowl with electric mixture until smooth; beat in eggs, one at a time. Add cream and flour; beat until smooth. Stir honeycomb and the caramel filling into cheese mixture.

Place tin on oven tray, pour cheesecake mixture into tin, Bake in slow oven about 1 1/4 hours or until just firm. Cool in oven with door ajar.

Spread the chocolate topping over cheesecake. Cover cheesecake refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Remove from tin just before serving.

Caramel Filling: combine ingredients in small saucepan; stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Boil, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes or until a deep caramel colour; cool.

Chocolate topping: combine chocolate and cream in small saucepan, stir over low heat until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth; cool.