Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

So, I have decided that since this is my very first post I am going to post my favorite dessert. Cheesecake. Mmmm. I made two different ones, Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake for my Mom (it was Mother's day after all), and Nutella Peanut Butter for Courtney and I.

My mom in all her wisdom, got the Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake recipe from Kraft Canada. I love all of their cheesecake recipes, especially the New York style. Although I like to change up some (ok most) of the ingredients, especially now that I have gone gluten-free.

First things first. I used 1 1/2 cups of Kinnikinnick Graham Style Crumbs and 1/4 cup of melted butter for the crust. Then baked it on 350 F for ten mins. I didn't even notice the difference between regular and gluten-free graham crumbs (I'm pretty positive no one else noticed either.)

Then poured on 1/2 cup of caramel sauce. Here's where I made my mistake. I used cold caramel sauce on a hot crust, making the crust crack then later when I baked it again it baked the caramel to the dish. It says to add pecans to the crust at this point in time, but due to allergies we had to skip that step.

Anyways. In the mean time, beat 3 packaged of cream cheese and 3/4 cup of white sugar in a bowl.

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, then proceed to add melted chocolate.

Pour the delicious mixture into the crust. Then bake at 350 for 50 mins. Let cool. And decorate with pecans, whip cream, or chocolate shavings.

Here's the full recipe.

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

1 1/2 Cups Kinnikinnick Graham Style Crumbs

1/4 Cup margarine melted

1/2 Cup Sunset Gourmet Old Fashioned Creamy Caramel Sauce

1/2 Cup chopped pecans (optional)

3 Pkgs Philadelphia Cream Cheese softened

3/4 Cup sugar

3 eggs

8 squares of Bakers Semi Sweet Chocolate melted (I used a cup of Hershey's Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips)

Mix graham crumbs and margarine, pat down into a spring form pan (or in my case, a pie plate) bake at 350 for 10 mins. Pour caramel sauce over it. Beat cream cheese and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in melted chocolate. Pour on top of crust and bake for 50 mins on 350.

Next time I make this cheesecake, I'm going to layer the caramel on top of the cheesecake instead of in the crust, for cleaning purposes. Or maybe mix it in like the chocolate. Either way would be delicious.

This dessert was a perfect ending to a wonderful Mother's day meal.

- Chantal