If you’re looking for a show-stopping dessert for the holiday season, this is it.
This Salted Caramel Cheesecake is the definition of decadence, and it’s definitely meant for special occasions.
Rich, creamy cheesecake it flavored with a homemade salted caramel sauce, baked in a sweet graham cracker crust, and topped with more caramel and flaky sea salt – it’s enough to make caramel lovers weak in the knees.
And yes, I am speaking from experience. Salted caramel is one of my most favorite sweet treats on earth. Nothing beats it.
And since I am always on the fence when it comes to cheesecake (I enjoy it but would never pick it over other desserts), slathering it in salted caramel sauce definitely helps its case.
I think a lot of people find the idea of making cheesecake intimidating. I get it. I was one of those people. It is, after all, not a cheap dessert to mess up.
After lots of research and even more trial and error, I finally feel confident in my cheesecake-making abilities. Not only have I figured out the right combination of ingredients to yield a silky smooth and creamy cheesecake, but I’ve also done a ton of research on how to keep a cheesecake from cracking.
I’ll outline all of this for you!
Ingredients You Need to Make This Salted Caramel Cheesecake:
- Graham crackers
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Full-fat cream cheese – use full fat! It’s important.
- Homemade salted caramel sauce – I have only tested this recipe using homemade caramel, so I cannot guarantee that store-bought caramel would yield the same results. The homemade version is so worth it (and easier than you may think)!
- Full-fat sour cream – again, full fat is important!
- Vanilla bean paste or extract
- Eggs
- Flaky sea salt
How to Make This Salted Caramel Cheesecake:
For the Crust:
- Place roughly 15 graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine until fine crumbs form.
- Add in the sugar and salt and pulse to combine.
- With the machine running, slowly stream in the melted butter. Run until all the crumbs are moistened by the butter and beginning to clump together.
- Generously spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray on the bottom and sides. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper (I do one round piece for the bottom and a thin strip that runs around the sides). Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Press the crumb mixture into the pan, firmly packing it to form the crust. It should fully cover the bottom of the pan and up a couple inches on the sides of the pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you finish prepping the rest of the cheesecake.
For the Filling:
- Set a kettle or pot of water on to boil.
- While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining the blocks of cream cheese in a stand mixer (alternatively, you can mix it in a bowl with a hand mixer). Beat the cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. It’s important to thoroughly cream the cream cheese before adding the other ingredients – it makes for a silky smooth filling.
- After the cream cheese is smooth, stir it with a spatula to remove any excess air that may have been incorporated. Excess air can cause your cheesecake to crack during baking.
- Beat in the salted caramel sauce, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Again, scrape down the sides and stir the mixture with a spatula to remove excess air.
- Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, and beat after each addition until the filling is smooth and creamy.
- Take your spatula and once again stir the batter a few times, taking out any excess air that may have been incorporated.
Baking the Cheesecake:
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and place a large baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven. Carefully pour the boiling water (I find that using a kettle for this is easiest) into the baking dish and close the oven door.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and smooth out the top. Rap the pan gently on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles in the filling.
- Transfer the cheesecake to the oven, setting it on the middle rack above the baking dish with water, and close the door quickly so that all the moisture does not escape.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the cheesecake is puffed and set around the edges and has a slight jiggle in the center when you shake the pan. It will be golden brown on top because of the caramel in the filling. Start checking it around 1 hour (all ovens are different and actual cooking time may vary a bit).
- Turn off the oven and crack open the oven door. Allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven with the door open for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once it is cool, transfer the cheesecake to the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours (longer is actually better – I prefer to do it overnight).
To Serve:
- Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and gently and carefully remove the collar from the springform pan. Peel off any parchment paper that may be sticking to the cheesecake.
- Pour the salted caramel sauce in the center of the cheesecake, gently spreading it out to the edges. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over top.
- Slice with a very sharp knife and serve, garnished with whipped cream and additional caramel sauce, as preferred.
I promise you, if you follow the key steps for this recipe – including ensuring that all your ingredients are at room temperature, deflating the air out of the filling as much as possible, and very gradually and gently cooling the cheesecake down after baking – you will have success.
The actual process of making cheesecake is simple (with a short ingredients list), but once the cheesecake is baking, it gets a little fussy. I promise you, though, if I can do it, so can you!
And the resulting cheesecake is so, so worth it.
It’s creamy and rich with tons of caramel flavor throughout. The buttery graham cracker crust and salted caramel sauce really set the tangy cheesecake off in a beautiful way.
Other Cheesecake Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Snickerdoodle Biscoff Cheesecake
- No-Bake Cheesecake Cups with Caramelized Figs
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Cinnamon Roll Vanilla Cheesecake Pie
- Chocolate Stout Cheesecake
- No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Cups
Other Salted Caramel Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Perfect Salted Caramel Sauce (no thermometer needed!)
- Salted Caramel Pecan Pie
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie with Spiced Crust
- Salted Caramel Truffle Olive Oil Brownies
- Brown Sugar Chai Pound Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze
- Chocolate Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Salted Caramel Buttercream
This Salted Caramel Cheesecake is nothing short of spectacular, and it is totally deserving of your holiday celebrations.
YUM.
@yestoyolks ✨Salted Caramel Cheesecake✨ Ingredients listed below (full recipe on yestoyolks.com)! A true show stopper of a dessert that is totally worthy of your holiday celebrations! Silky, rich caramel cheesecake is baked in a buttery graham cracker crust and then topped with homemade salted caramel sauce and flaky sea salt. It is incredibly decadent and ridiculously delicious. A caramel lover’s dream! Ingredients: Graham crackers Granulated sugar Unsalted butter Cream cheese Sour cream Salted caramel sauce Eggs Vanilla Flaky sea salt FULL RECIPE on yestoyolks.com! #foodtiktok #recipes #cookingvideo #cookingtiktok #recipeideas #recipesforyou #cozyfall #cozyfood #cheesecake #cheesecakelover #saltedcaramel #holidaydessert #holidaybaking #thanksgivingrecipes #thanksgivingdessert ♬ so this is love – soft girl aesthetic
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Salted Caramel Cheesecake
- Total Time: 2 hours (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
This Salted Caramel Cheesecake is a show-stopping dessert that is worth every bit of effort and every single calorie. Silky, rich caramel cheesecake is baked in a buttery graham cracker crust and slathered with homemade salted caramel sauce and flaky salt. It is a caramel lover’s dream!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (roughly 15 crackers)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling:
- 4 (8-oz) blocks of full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup homemade salted caramel sauce
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
For Serving:
- Additional 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce
- Flaky sea salt
- Whipped cream
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place roughly 15 graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine until fine crumbs form.
- Add in the sugar and salt and pulse to combine.
- With the machine running, slowly stream in the melted butter. Run until all the crumbs are moistened by the butter and beginning to clump together.
- Generously spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray on the bottom and sides. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper (I do one round piece for the bottom and a thin strip that runs around the sides). Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Press the crumb mixture into the pan, firmly packing it to form the crust. It should fully cover the bottom of the pan and up a couple inches on the sides of the pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you finish prepping the rest of the cheesecake.
For the Filling:
- Set a kettle or pot of water on to boil.
- While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining the blocks of cream cheese in a stand mixer (alternatively, you can mix it in a bowl with a hand mixer). Beat the cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. It’s important to thoroughly cream the cream cheese before adding the other ingredients – it makes for a silky smooth filling.
- After the cream cheese is smooth, stir it with a spatula to remove any excess air that may have been incorporated. Excess air can cause your cheesecake to crack during baking.
- Beat in the salted caramel sauce, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Again, scrape down the sides and stir the mixture with a spatula to remove excess air.
- Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, and beat after each addition until the filling is smooth and creamy.
- Take your spatula and once again stir the batter a few times, taking out any excess air that may have been incorporated.
Baking the Cheesecake:
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and place a large baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven. Carefully pour the boiling water (I find that using a kettle for this is easiest) into the baking dish and close the oven door.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and smooth out the top. Rap the pan gently on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles in the filling.
- Transfer the cheesecake to the oven, setting it on the middle rack above the baking dish with water, and close the door quickly so that all the moisture does not escape.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the cheesecake is puffed and set around the edges and has a slight jiggle in the center when you shake the pan. It will be golden brown on top because of the caramel in the filling. Start checking it around 1 hour (all ovens are different and actual cooking time may vary a bit).
- Turn off the oven and crack open the oven door. Allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven with the door open for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once it is cool, transfer the cheesecake to the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours (longer is actually better – I prefer to do it overnight).
To Serve:
- Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and gently and carefully remove the collar from the springform pan. Peel off any parchment paper that may be sticking to the cheesecake.
- Pour the salted caramel sauce in the center of the cheesecake, gently spreading it out to the edges. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over top.
- Slice with a very sharp knife and serve, garnished with whipped cream and additional caramel sauce, as preferred.
Notes
- I highly recommend using a homemade caramel sauce for this recipe. While store bought is probably OK, I haven’t tested this cheesecake using it, so I cannot guarantee the results. The homemade recipe is easier than you may think and SO worth it.
- Using full-fat dairy and room temperature ingredients will ensure that your filling mixes together easily and smoothly – this results in a creamy cheesecake.
- All the steps outlined in the baking section are important. We want to gradually cool down the cheesecake – this reduces the chance of the cheesecake cracking. We don’t want the filling to seize from the drastic drop in temperature. Opening the oven door for 1 hour allows it to gradually and gently cool. The subsequent steps continue the gradual cool-down process. Cheesecake is not a baked good that can be rushed – so make sure you allot enough time for cooling.
- Leftover cheesecake will keep in the fridge for up to a week. I also have frozen individual slices with great results.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: cheesecake
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
I have a question about the “Baking the cheesecake” step 7. It says: “Once it is cool, transfer the cheesecake to the oven for a minimum of 4 hours (longer is actually better – I prefer to do it overnight).”
Is this correct?
Oh my gosh, no! I am so sorry. That should say “transfer to the FRIDGE.” I will fix it. So sorry for the confusion!