Salted caramel cheese cakes

This is a family favourite, made in component parts which can be dressed up or down to suit your needs.

A swft and easy salted caramel, which can be frozen or used as a sauce.

I serve this in glasses as its rich and decadent and also make too much and then make it into the ice cream recipe which will follow shortly . . . ( shhhh )

To make the frozen salted caramel centres:

Recipe:

1 cup of golden syrup

1 cup of slightly salted butter

1 cup of cream – double or single.

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt crystals, Maldon Salt, fleur du sel or similar.

Place a non stick pan on a low heat and add the golden syrup, as it thins in its warm bath add the butter and as that starts to melt add the cream.

Swirl the pan to mix but not burn. Remove from the heat. Alow to cook a little and then add  half the salt crystals, stir and taste. Add the remainder of the salt , or not, to suit your personal taste.

The sauce will keep for a week in a clean jar in the refrigerator ( not a chance of that in our house ).

Fill an ice cube tray with the cool caramel and freeze for a few hours to make frozen salty caramel centres.

To make the cheese cake ice cream

250g cream cheese

150g sugar

250 single cream

50ml clotted or thick double cream as available

the zest of 1 lemon and half the juice

1 pinch of salt

Place all together in a food processor and whizz briefly to make a satisfying goup, be careful not too over process.

Taste and add more sugar if required.

Refridgerate and then process in your ice cream machine or use the scratch and scrape method every few hours.

Remove for 30 mins or so to become semisolid before using.

For the crumb:

I used whole bran cereal and a few biscuits, in this case 2 digestives, 2 ginger nuts and the end of pk of bran flakes.

Mix with a tablespoon of melted butter, slightly salted butter is good for this or add a pinch of salt to your mix if using unsalted.

Crush the dry ingredients and mix with the melted butter. Use what you have and lightly spoon into your glasses, dont press down.

Dry caramel shards

1-2 cups of white, fine caster sugar

8-10 pistachio nuts if making the praline.

Place some water and ice cubes in a shallow baking tray to make a cold bath for your pan.

Have a silpat sheet or non stick baking sheet, alternatively two sheets of baking parchment on a baking tin will easily suffice.

Place the sugar into a dry non stick pan  (I use a frying pan) and place on the heat.

Do not stir or leave your pan as the sugar will be come golden and swiftly after that burnt and brown.

Swirl it gently to mix, if you must, and as soon as its a golden toffee colour put the pan onto the ice water bath to stop it from cooking further.

Carefully pour the sweet moulten magma caramel on to the prepared sheet, move the sheet a little to allow the toffee to spread as necessary and leave to cool completely.

At this point add the shelled pistachios to one corner of the toffee. Once cool snapped that part to make the praline, its easy enough to crush with a wooden spoon.

The cooled toffee will snap into shards and it is likely that you will personally need to quality control any little broken bits.

To fabricate:

Remove the frozen caramels from the freezer, test to see how frozen they are. Fat doesn’t set so they should have a little give or you may need to let them soften slightly.

With the cooled crumb in the centre of your glasses. Add a saltly caramel centre.

Carefully spoon over the softening cheese cake mixture.

Sprinkle with the pistachio praline add the chards – serve.

Enjoy  x