Caramilk cheesecake cake
A Caramilk cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of caramel mud cake, covered in cream cheese frosting with lashings of salted caramel.
I intended for this to be a new year's cake, but I ended up making it a tad bit late, let alone type up the recipe in time. The richness of this cake, however, makes it a decadent celebration cake for any occasion.
For those who don't know, 'caramilk' is essentially Cadbury branded caramelised white chocolate. Caramilk cream cheese then, is caramilk flavoured cream cheese. Unfortunately, the cream cheese was only sold for a limited time (in Australian stores - I cannot speak for any other country's stores) and is no longer available. Fortunately, I have memorised the ingredients - 69% cream cheese, 10% white chocolate, and 10% 'caramel flavoured sauce' (I'm guessing the other 1% would be air? Y'know, since air has weight. Though I could be completely off the mark). One could thus attempt to recreate this with non-spreadable cream cheese and the correct ratio of cream cheese: white chocolate: caramel sauce (yes, you can use REAL caramel sauce instead of 'caramel flavoured sauce'. The quality!).
As implied, the caramilk cream cheese was spreadable cream cheese, which is notorious for being generally unusable in baked cheesecakes. I suppose you could say this recipe was an experiment gone right. In order to account for the reduced amount of actual cream cheese per 250g, I used two tubs instead of one and used a block of cream cheese for, in my mind, added stability. I also ensured all of my cream cheeses were very soft, especially so that I could try to 'press' some air out of them to avoid cracking in the oven.
This cheesecake is a little different as it was still jiggly when it had finished baking. When it jiggles kind of like a Japanese cheesecake and not like raw batter, it is done. The edges will feel a little spongy when pressed lightly.
For the caramel cake, I used Taste's caramel mud cake recipe, x1.5. It's a simple recipe, resulting in a rich, moist cake. You can tell a cake is moist when it makes that ASMR-worthy, wet sponge-like sound when you press into it. It definitely did that.
I'd suggest making the caramel cake first if you only have one 20cm straight-sided pan (I used a springform pan) so that you can then make the cheesecake and leave it in the pan to chill overnight.
And here we observe my absolutely wild slicing skills and some runaway caramel because it was too warm that day
Recipe
For the caramel mud cake
From Taste
INGREDIENTS:
300g unsalted butter
300g white chocolate
300g brown sugar
270ml hot water
1 1/2tbsp golden syrup
3tsp vanilla
3 eggs
225g plain flour
225g self-raising flour
METHOD:
1. Line or oil a high sided 20cm round pan, or two 20cm round pans. Preheat your oven to 160°C.
2. Melt butter, chocolate, sugar, hot water, golden syrup, and vanilla in a large pot. Start on a medium-low heat, then feel free to increase to a medium heat when ingredients are starting to melt and are easier to stir and manoeuvre. Set aside to cool once melted and smooth.
3. With a whisk, quickly whisk in the eggs a little at a time, making sure they are well incorporated after each addition. You want to be especially careful if your mixture is still mildly hot as you don't want the eggs to cook. Sift in the flours and combine using the whisk in a folding motion until incorporated and mostly smooth.
4. Pour into your prepared pan(s) and bake for 50-60 minutes if using two pans, or 105 minutes if using one pan, or until a skewer inserted comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Cover with foil half-way through baking if they are starting to brown too much.
5. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Turn out on cooling rack to cool.
6. When cake is completely cooled, level the cake(s) and, if using the single pan, slice in half to create two layers.
For the caramilk cheesecake
INGREDIENTS:
250g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
500g caramilk cream cheese (or the appropriate substitution*), softened at room temperature
85g brown sugar
3tsp vanilla extract
250g sour cream
180g caramilk chocolate/ caramelised white chocolate
3 eggs
*For each 250g of caramilk cream cheese substituted, use a combination of 173g cream cheese, 25g melted white chocolate, and 25g caramel sauce.
I have not personally tried this substitution; it is simply based on the caramilk cream cheese ingredients. The cooking instructions would likely be closer to that of a traditional cheesecake due to using non-spreadable cream cheese instead.
METHOD:
1. Line a 20cm round pan (I used a springform pan) and wrap the outside in two layers of foil. The layers should reach all the way up the sides of the pan. Prepare a large roasting pan that the round pan can fit in for the water bath. Boil a kettle full of water. Preheat oven to 150°C. Ensure your oven rack is not too close to the heat source.
2. Using the paddle/ flat beater attachment on a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and caramilk cream cheese on a low speed until smooth and combined. Use a spatula to press the mixture against the side of the bowl to knock any air out, then scrape the sides down.
3. Still on low speed, beat in the sugar and vanilla until smooth and fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and beat again.
4. Gently melt the chocolate over the stove or in the microwave, allow it to cool for a couple of minutes, then beat it into the mixture with the mixer running on low speed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring they are fully incorporated after each addition.
5. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared round pan and place it into the roasting pan. Place the entire thing in the oven, then pour the boiled water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the round pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes, but start checking at the 50 minute mark. The cooked cheesecake should be mildly jiggly like a sponge cake or Japanese cheesecake, but not like raw batter. The edges should be spongy if lightly pressed, and the top should be lightly browned. Cover with foil at around the 60 minute mark if you're worried about browning.
6. Once cooked, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in there to cool completely, with the door ajar. Once fully cooled, place in the fridge to chill overnight. It should now have deflated to be completely flat and feel sturdy to the touch.
For the salted caramel
(Makes approx. 1 1/2c)
INGREDIENTS:
150g brown sugar*
150g castor sugar*
135g salted butter, at room temperature, cut into roughly 3x3cm pieces
3/4c (187ml) thickened cream
1 1/2tsp salt
*Feel free to use 300g of the same sugar instead. I find that brown sugar gives a deeper taste, but I didn't want it to be too overpowering so I used half brown and half castor.
METHOD:
1. Melt sugars in a large saucepan over low to medium-low heat, stirring continuously. This may take a while, so be patient.
2. Once sugars are melted, whisk in the butter, a little at a time. I find it helpful to add it a couple of pieces at a time and take it off the heat temporarily to whisk them in until fully incorporated before adding the next pieces. Be careful as the mixture will bubble and may splatter when the butter is first added. It's normal to see the butter separating from the sugar - just keep whisking, but be careful of splashing the melted butter up and out the sides of the pan.
3. Once all the butter has been fully incorporated, slowly stream the cream in whilst whisking. Again, the caramel will bubble.
4. Boil the caramel until your desired consistency. I boiled it for roughly 2-3 minutes on a lower heat. Test the consistency by dripping a little but of it onto a cold plate. The caramel will bubble and rise rather rapidly whilst boiling if you're not careful.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Allow to cool at room temperature then transfer to an airtight container and put in the fridge to chill further.
For the cream cheese frosting
INGREDIENTS:
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
220g icing sugar (both pure and mixture are fine)
METHOD:
1. Beat the butter and cream cheese with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, until pale and smooth. Beat in the vanilla.
2. Sift in the icing sugar a quarter at a time, beating between each addition. To avoid sugar dust in your face, stir or fold the sugar in roughly before beating. Beat until smooth.
To assemble
INGREDIENTS:
1 batch caramel mud cake
1 batch caramilk cheesecake
1 batch cream cheese frosting
1 batch salted caramel
Extra caramilk chocolate for decoration
Cracked sea salt for decoration
METHOD:
1. Spread a small dollop of frosting in the middle of the serving dish and place a layer of cake on top. If you used two pans, place a layer bottom side down. If you used one pan, place the top layer any side down.
2. Spread 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top and drizzle with salted caramel.
3. Place the cheesecake on top of that layer and repeat step 2.
4. Place the final layer on top, bottom side up. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting just to seal the crumbs in. Refrigerate it until the frosting is firm to the touch. Roughly 20 minutes.
5. Frost the cake with a thicker layer of frosting and smooth out the sides. I placed it on a turntable and applied the frosting with an offset spatula, then used a pastry scraper to fully smooth it out. I decided to go for a spiral pattern on top, but you may do a design of your choosing.
6. Decorate the top with salted caramel, shaved chocolate curls, and salt if desired. I placed some caramel in a piping syringe with a small tip and piped the drips around the sides of the cake for more controlled drips. I then simply followed the spiral I had indented into the frosting. I used a cheese slicer to create the chocolate curls. Finally, I sprinkled cracked sea salt around on the caramel.
This cake is best served a few minutes out of the fridge.
Enjoy!