Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with Toffee Shards
What better way to have dulce de leche than in a cheesecake? I know at least 10 people who can vouch that this is a very good combination!
You can buy dulce de leche, but I heard it can go for around $7.50 a jar. So I bought 2 cans of condensed milk, home brand for $1.70 each, punched two holes in the top and cooked them for three hours on Easter Saturday night. Cooking instructions below if you want to know exactly how to do it. Doesn’t take much effort, just top up the water every 30 mins or so.
Mine could have gone darker, but I was just happy enough that it didn’t crystallise. The sour cream layer on top adds a tartness to offset the sweetness of the caramel. The base of digestive biscuits will have everyone swooning.
Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with Toffee Shards
Delicious Magazine
300g digestive biscuits
90g unsalted butter, melted
750g cream cheese, chopped
2 tbs cornflour
3 eggs
340g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 x 450g jars dulce de leche (see note)
600ml sour cream
1. Preheat oven to 200°C and grease a 23cm springform pan.
2. Finely crush biscuits in a processor, then pour in melted butter and pulse to combine. Press mixture into the base of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove pan from the oven and reduce temperature to 160°C.
3. Meanwhile, place cream cheese in cleaned processor with cornflour, eggs, 100g sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Process until smooth, then add one jar of dulce de leche and process until smooth and combined. Pour mixture over biscuit base, then bake for 45 minutes until set.
4. Meanwhile, place sour cream in a bowl with another 20g sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove cheesecake from oven and top with sour cream, then bake cake for a further 15 minutes until set. Leave in the switched-off oven with the door ajar until completely cooled, then chill overnight.
5. To make toffee shards, line a baking tray with a sheet of foil. Stir remaining 1 cup (220g) sugar and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a pan over low heat to dissolve sugar. Increase heat to high and cook until a light golden caramel. Quickly pour onto the tray, swirling to spread toffee. Set aside to cool, then break into shards.
6. Add 2-3 tbs boiling water to the remaining dulce de leche until you have a smooth sauce consistency.
7. When ready to serve, remove cake from pan and place on a platter. Decorate with toffee, then drizzle with the sauce.
Begin this recipe a day ahead.
You can use Crella dulce de leche (South American milk caramel), from gourmet food shops and delis. To make your own, remove and discard labels from 2 x 400g cans sweetened condensed milk, and use a can opener to make 2 small holes in top of each. Place in a saucepan, opened-side up, and add enough water to almost cover cans. Bring to the boil, then adjust heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3 hours, topping up with boiling water as needed. Cool, then open cans and scoop out caramel.
Phuoc'n Delicious
YUMMO! This looks great! You know, you don’t need to punch the holes in the condensed milk cans? Instead, all you have to do is fully submerge the cans under water, and boil for 1.5 hours – making sure the lid covers the saucepan. (This way you don’t need to check up on it so often and cook it for ages) Alternatively, you can cook it in a pressure cooker (if you have one) fully submerged for 30mins.
Iron Chef Shellie
Thanks for the tips Phuoc! I have a fear of exploding cans if I don’t punch the holes in them!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Shellie you temptress you! I could just reach into the screen with a fork and spear a mouthful (or several!) 😛
Food is our religion
The toffee on the cheesecake makes it look so artistic! Love it!
Erin@TheFoodMentalist
OMG yum! I feel I need to go for a run just looking at it! Love that you made your own dulce de leche! Yum
Miss T
so pretty! I know you can get canned caramel in the same section of the s/market as condensed milk – would that work?
Tina @ bitemeshowme
IT looks amazing shellie! I can only imagine how delicious it would taste. Mmm. Love the toffee shards on top as well. Lokks like restaurant quality! 😉
Nic@diningwithastud
Ooh I wondered what fab recipe you’d use the ddl with when I saw it on Instagram 🙂 YUM!!!
Lisa @ Blithe Moments
Mmmm, this looks delicious. I was so cross when my jar of Dulce de Leche got confiscated at the airport in Chile! I know you can make it without punching the holes in the can, but you are right, it is much safer to do it that way. A friend’s mother half destroyed their kitchen with an exploding can when the water got too low.
Iron Chef Shellie
OMG that is horrible about the exploding cans! I was so paranoid there might be explosions!!
and boo about your DDL being confiscated! 🙁
Leah
Why am i reading this and NOT eating this Shellie??!!! WHY????
Michelle
What happens to the condensed milk after boiling it? Does it become thicker? 😀
Iron Chef Shellie
It caramelises, and thickens. It makes the South American caramel, Dulce de Leche 🙂
Jennifer (Delicieux)
Oh my God, this looks amazing Shellie! You can’t go wrong with dulce de leche anything in my opinion.
PS we have the same plates 😉
Iron Chef Shellie
Lol! These are actually my parents’ plates!
Divine Grace
Gosh this was so delicious and I think I will always crave for this once I have tasted it…Thanks for the photos!
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
Its like you knew I wanted a dulce de leche dessert and make this hehe I ve been considering using the can method to make dulce de leche but like others worried that it ll explode lol gotta make sure I follow your instructions hehe 😉
Ashley
Mmmmm! This combo sounds amaaazing. I love your first photo in particular. Yum yum!
Janine
This must be fate because I just made some homemade DDL and was thinking of what to bake it in – the toffee shards totally elevate the cheesecake to another level!
marcellina
Wow! I can almost taste it! Mmmmmm! This is so gorgeous and it must taste fabulous! Can’t wait to make it!
msihua
Best Combination ever! YOU WIN!
Gourmet getaways
Oh God!!! I need dessert now!!
That looks absolutely delicious!!!
I used to always make the condensed milk in a can but one day I let it boil dry and burst the can! :0
I had condensed milk over every square inch of the kitchen :0 Luckily I was engrossed in another room!!
Iron Chef Shellie
OMG!!! I got some in my wallet so I can kinda imagine how it could paint a room!!
Cathy
Well impressed with Chris’s cheesecake efforts…the recipe came from taste.com.au
He even made his own toffee crumbs…Looks damn good but I could only managed a few mouthfuls before I felt ill…
April
Where’s my slice?! 🙂 Looks sooooo good!
Thanks for the inspiration to try making dulce de leche! Will try it soon. This method seems slightly less scary than putting a whole full can!
Sara (Belly Rumbles)
Sitting here drooling. What the perfect flavours for a cheesecake. Simon from The Heart of Food did an experiment ages ago of cooking times for a can on condensed milk to turn it to dulce de leche, was really interesting seeing how it changed over time cooked.
Lianne
This looks fantastic babe! (: I LOVE dulce de leche! Seeing your posts and tips makes me wanna make some! hehe Thanks for sharing! xx
panu
oh Lord. Deliver us from Iron Chef Shellie who is leading us to the path of unholy sin. On other news, this is another totally awe-inspiring recipe.
MoMo & Coco Dessert Correspondents
Can I just say that your blog is mouth-watering to the extreme! Love it! x