Bathing my cheesecake!

I really wanted something sweet today after a long work day so I decided on Caramilk cheesecake.

To start, one needs a basic cheesecake recipe.

I use the following for a round or square tinfoil pan (8"):

• 2 bricks of Philly cream cheese (softened to room temp)
• 2 eggs (also at room temp)
• 1/2 up white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese and sugar together till well-mixed.  Add eggs one at a time and mix in to batter.  Stir in vanilla.

You can add a base - graham cracker crust, brownie base (my fav), a shortbread crust or pecan shortbread crust (another fav).  The crustless cheesecake is yummy enough on its own!

Now add your flavour ingredients (plain cheesecake is also yummy!)

For the Caramilk cheesecake, I use half a pkg of chocolate chips (mix into batter) from a Caramilk Fondue kit (thank you Giant Tiger!). Pour it into a pan. I then drizzle the caramel (1/4 to 1/2 a bag) over the cheesecake and swirl it around using the tip of a sharp knife to drag the caramel through the batter.

I make flavours based on the desire of the moment.  Chocolate caramel is a fav - just stir  good quality melted chocolate into the batter.  For apple pecan cheesecake, top with cooked apple slices then a crumb mix of butter, flour, pecans and brown sugar and, if possible, drizzle with caramel when cooked (the pecan shortbread base is best here).  you can always use the old standby of cherry or blueberry pie filling as a topper as well or try fresh berries.

Place the cheesecake pan inside another larger pan (I use a large, beat up former cake pan)  and fill the larger pan with water to just below the edge of the batter.  This water bath allows the cheesecake to cook at an even temperature and results in a creamy, yummy cheesecake!

Bake until the centre springs back - 35 - 40 minutes?  Sadly, I bake by touch, taste and feel and rarely remember to time my recipes.

Here is the before pic.