Snickers Cheesecake
I have been wondering, lately, if everyone has favorite foods the way I have favorite foods. For example, Butterfingers are my favorite ‘kid’ candy bars. I say “Kid,” because there are some more grown up candy bars that I would not dream of sharing with children, selfish being that I am, when it comes to my candy.
Snickers, however, are my favorite frozen candy bars, beating out Butterfingers. It isn’t as if I would turn down a frozen Butterfinger, since this will never happen, but it just isn’t the same as a frozen Snickers bar for me.
I was at a meeting the other day and there was a candy dish, sitting in the middle of the table, filled with Twix and Snickers. I was ecstatic, as I recalled that two of the four people at the table do not eat dairy (yes, they are still my friends)! The fourth person, thankfully, was very busy taking notes, which meant that I would not have to fight anyone for the Snickers bars that I, happily, consumed leaving the Twix to fend for themselves.
This in turn reminded me that I had not baked a Snickers Cheesecake in a while, and I knew what I was going to do next. Tell me the truth: wouldn’t you have thought the exact same thing?
Shoshana was heading to Publix, “Where Shopping is a Pleasure,” so I thought I would make her trip there even more pleasurable as she purchased the Snickers bars and caramels. It took a phone call to decide which caramel was really the soft kind as they felt like rocks at the store; but may this be our biggest obstacle.
What makes this cheesecake so special is that it stays true to a Snickers bar all the way through. There are peanuts in the crust and Snickers bars in the filling. The caramel layer over the cheesecake is fab, but I think it is enveloping the entire cheesecake in chocolate that seals the deal, literally and figuratively.
Snickers Cheesecake is definitely not a cheesecake to snicker at!
| Snickers Cheesecake | | Print |
- Crust:
- 5.35 ounces graham crackers (10-1/3 crackers)
- ¾ cup lightly salted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Filling:
- 4 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces Snickers (large bars or fun size bars,) roughly chopped
- Caramel layer:
- 3 ounces soft or chewy caramels (i.e. Werther’s, Farley)
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Chocolate topping:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ cup light corn syrup
- 10 ounces semisweet chocolate
- For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325°.
- Combine the graham crackers, peanuts and sugar in the food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until mixture is finely processed. Add the melted butter and pulse to blend. Pour into a greased (i.e. Pam) 10” cake pan and press down on the bottom and ½” up the sides of the pan. Set aside.
- For the filling:
- Blend the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping down as needed. Add the eggs and then the vanilla. Lastly fold in the Snickers bars. Pour into the cake pan, smooth the top and bake in 325° oven for 50 minutes.
- Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- To turn cheesecake out of pan:
- Wrap a 12” cardboard round with plastic wrap and set aside. Place the cheesecake pan in a baking or roasting pan that is large enough to fit the cheesecake pan in. Add very warm water to the larger pan up filling it halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Let sit for 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer the cheesecake pan to a dishtowel and dry off the water. Immediately place the wrapped 12” cardboard round on the top of the pan. Invert the cheesecake and, holding the cardboard round and the cheesecake pan tightly, firmly rap the cheesecake (upside down) onto a countertop. Carefully lift the pan off of the cheesecake. Place the serving plate, or a 10" cardboard round, onto the crust of the cheesecake and turn the cheesecake over, holding onto the 12" cardboard round as you do this. Remove the 12” cardboard round.
- For the caramel layer:
- Melt the caramels either in the microwave (highest power for one minute) or on the stove. Add the whipping cream and stir, melting further if needed. Pour over the center of the cheesecake. This will spread out as you pour it, but you will also need to use the back of a spoon to evenly spread the caramel. The caramel layer does not cover the entire surface of the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before topping.
- For the chocolate topping:
- Melt the butter, whipping cream and corn syrup until it simmers. Turn the stove off and add the chocolate chips. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes and then stir until it is smooth. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cheesecake and, using a small metal spatula, spread the chocolate over the sides of the cheesecake and then smooth the top of the cheesecake. The entire cheesecake is covered with chocolate when completed.
- Refrigerate until set.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Work quickly when spreading the caramel layer as it will start to harden rapidly.
- This cheesecake may also be prepared in a traditional cheesecake pan.
- Once the cake cools, remove the sides of the cheesecake and refrigerate until firm before topping with the Caramel Layer.
- Allowing the cheesecake to sit out for 30-45 minutes before serving allows the caramel to drip down when sliced, which is out of this world!
