{"id":31776,"date":"2020-07-25T13:05:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T18:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/?p=31776"},"modified":"2020-12-14T14:18:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T20:18:32","slug":"turtle-cheesecake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/turtle-cheesecake\/","title":{"rendered":"Turtle Cheesecake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My turtle cheesecake is a decadent, smooth New York-style cheesecake loaded with chocolate, pecans, and caramel. It’s rich and creamy and made with a brown sugar pecan shortbread crust that people adore!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Slice<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is one of my favorite cheesecakes (not surprising since I love chocolate turtles<\/a> so much), and I can’t wait for you to try it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients and Equipment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The crust of this dessert is made with flour, pecan pieces, brown sugar, unsalted butter, and ground cinnamon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of the crust sits an amazing caramel pecan layer made from store-bought caramel and chopped pecans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s topped with two layers of cheesecake. You’ll need cream cheese, sugar, whole milk, large eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour to make both layers. You’ll also need semi-sweet chocolate chips to melt into the top layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it’s all done, you make the dessert even more decadent by topping it with caramel sauce, chopped pecans, and chocolate sauce or ganache<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most cheesecakes, you will need a spring form pan to make this recipe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How It’s Made<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start off by preheating your oven to 325 F. You will want to grease your spring form pan.<\/strong> Also, make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mix together all crust ingredients (flour, pecan pieces, brown sugar, unsalted butter, and ground cinnamon) until fully combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Adding<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of your pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brown<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once it’s entirely cool, tightly wrap the pan in aluminum foil all around the bottom and up the side. You’ll be baking the cheesecake in a water bath and you don’t want water to seep in and damage it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caramel Layer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, mix together caramel sauce and pecans and pour evenly over the cooled crust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pouring<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cheesecake Layers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now, you’ll make the cheesecake layers that go on top. Once the plain batter is mixed, you’ll divide it in two and create the chocolate batter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start by adding cream cheese and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"looking<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mix until fully combined, then add milk and mix until fully combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"looking<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, in a separate mixing bowl, mix eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and flour until fully combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"looking<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Add this egg mixture to the mixer and mix until smooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’re now going to divide the batter into two to make the chocolate layer. Remove three cups of batter and place them in a mixing bowl (I used the one I had the egg mixture in). Melt chocolate chips using a double boiler or in twenty second increments in the microwave, then mix the melted chocolate into the batter you removed until the whole batter looks chocolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"looking<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"looking<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pour the chocolate batter over the caramel pecans in the pan, then slowly and gently<\/em> pour the plain batter over that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pouring<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Put the pan into a glass baking dish and add boiling water to the dish (being careful not to get any on the cheesecake). Fill water to halfway up the side of the spring form pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cheesecake<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bake for one hour or until the edge of the cheesecake is set; the center should still jiggle a good amount when gently shaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake to finish baking with the residual heat for at least a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove from oven, cool to room temperature, then loosely cover and refrigerate overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next day, remove the side of the spring form pan. Pour or carefully spread caramel sauce all over the top, then add chopped pecans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"adding<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Finally, drizzle with even more caramel sauce and chocolate sauce<\/strong>. Let them drip down the side, and serve!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Turtle<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Expert Tips and FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve never really met a bad a cheesecake, but getting the perfect cheesecake consistency with a smooth top that has no cracks can be tricky. These tips will not only help with turtle cheesecake, but they will also help you make chocolate orange cheesecake<\/a> or any of your favorite cheesecakes turn out perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n