I've recently moved in with my boyfriend and despite it being a rented property, I feel more at home than I have in several years. One of the best parts of having our own place is the freedom to have people over whenever we want and cook awesome meals. Last Sunday we had my dad and Stepmum over for a gigantic Sunday lunch. My boyfriend was in charge of the meal, and I made desserts. I saw a brownie bottom cheesecake on Pinterest and I was like 'hell yeah!' so I decided to make one. A rich chocolately brownie layer needs a light cheesecake on top, this cheesecake is very light and almost mousse like which is the perfect companion. The caramel sauce is very rich and you only need a little drizzled over, but wow is it tasty!
I lined a springform tin with foil and greaseproof paper. If you are using a springform or loose bottomed tin, line it really well as this is going in a water bath later. I didn't line mine enough and some water got through, but I managed to dry it out enough afterwards, although it did make the brownie a little bit more moist than I would have preferred!
I started with the brownie base and I used my go to brownie recipe, which I made two thirds of the quantity of. You can find the recipe in my Speculoos Topped Chocolate Brownie post. I omitted the chocolate chips.
While the brownies were baking on 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes, I made the cheesecake topping by first mixing together 575g full fat cream cheese, 3 egg yolks, 135g caster sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps.
In my food mixer I beat the whites from the 3 eggs until stiff and then folded them into the cream cheese mixture.
I took the brownie out of the oven and smoothed the cheesecake mixture on top. I placed the tin into a larger tin filled with water to create a water bath or bain marie. This stops the brownie from over cooking while the cheesecake bakes.
I put it back in the oven and baked it for 40 minutes on the same temperature (180C/350F/Gas Mark 4). I let it cool fully to room temperature before putting in the fridge overnight. You can eat it straight away of course, but I made mine the day before.
To make the caramel sauce I found a great recipe on The Guardian. I started by heating 150g caster sugar in a pan until golden brown.
I took it off the heat and stirred in 75g butter, then 150g light brown sugar and 75g golden syrup, then 200ml double cream.
I put it back on the heat and let it simmer for 4 minutes. I took it off the heat and let it settle for 1 minute, then poured it into a jug and left it too cool completely. It'll thicken up nicely.
When serving the cheesecake, drizzle over some caramel sauce before tucking in! This is a really delicious twist on a standard cheesecake and is so light and really moreish.
I am linking this recipe up to Cook Blog Share over at Supergolden Bakes.
