Salted Caramel Cheesecake with a Pretzel Crust

I know, I know – it’s a problem. But I told you that there’d be another salted caramel post. In fact, you oughtn’t be surprised to know that I had this in mind when I posted about salted caramel the last time.

I like cheesecake, but it isn’t my favorite dessert.  I know that some people adore a chocolate cheesecake, but I don’t like the tanginess of cream cheese against the smooth chocolate flavor.  I really only like cheesecakes with tart, fruity toppings, so salted caramel on top never sounded much like my thing. But I did think that the texture of cheesecake with some dark, salted caramel would be perfect. Enter marscapone – a soft, creamy cheese with a flavor more akin to butter than classic Philadephia.

This cheesecake is made with half cream cheese, half marscapone and sweetened with brown sugar and salted caramel. Baked atop a pretzel crumb crust and drizzled with more salted caramel, this cheesecake is less tangy than a traditional version, but equally (more?) delicious.

Ricotta Salted Caramel Blondies

Since I started including food posts on my blog, you might have noticed that I have a bit of a problem – I am hopelessly in love with salted caramel. As soon as I make one dish with salted caramel, I am thinking of the next thing to make. Salted caramel sauce on ice cream, salted caramel ice cream, salted caramels (which were the inspiration for a salted caramel latte at my favorite coffee joint), salted caramel butter cream frosting, pumpkin salted caramel blondies, pumpkin salted caramel ice cream, coffee salted caramel ice cream, salted caramel cinnamon rolls. Add these to the list. And don’t be surprised when you see future salted caramel confections.

When Butterscotch Cake, Hazelnut, and Salted Caramel Collide

When that happens deliciousness results.  Our friend Dave is visiting us (all of us – Highams and Cliftons) this weekend, so I’ve been mulling around some dessert options. Yesterday I decided I wanted some kind of hazelnut caramel to make butter cream with. Or to top ice cream with. I couldn’t decide. I also knew I wanted to make a yellow cake, only with butterscotch pudding mix included. This is what I landed on:

Foray into Food

Our first snow

I’ve always enjoyed learning new cooking techniques, but I am much more into it now that I have some time to tinker in the kitchen. A few friends and family who’ve been recipients of my blossoming foodie obsession have commented that I should do something with my skills. I don’t think I want to open any sort of restaurant or catering service. (We already run a bit of a bed-n-breakfast…does that count?) And I don’t think I want to start a food blog. So, at Jess’s latest suggestion, here’s my current plan: I’m going to feature cooking blogs on here as I’m inspired – like the way I do things normally. Who knows how often that’ll be? So read on or click away; salted caramels follow.