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Salted Caramel Cheesecake

This white chocolate salted caramel cheesecake is silky smooth, and the perfect balance of salty-sweet. It has melted white chocolate added to the batter for extra sweetness and creaminess, and a graham cracker pretzel crust. It's topped with homemade salted caramel sauce for the ultimate treat!
5 from 16 votes
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Chill Time 8 hours
Total Time 10 hours 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 14 slices

Ingredients
 

For the Salted Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
  • 5 tablespoon (70 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla

For the Crust

  • 8 (120 g) graham crackers, full sheets
  • 2 ½ cups (120 g) mini pretzels
  • ¾ cup (168 g) melted butter
  • 2 tablespoon (25 g) granulated white sugar

For the Cheesecake

  • 32 oz (907 g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
  • 2 tablespoon (16 g) corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
  • cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 8 oz (226 g) white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 egg yolks, at room temperature

Instructions
 

For the Salted Caramel Sauce

  • Add the granulated white sugar to a large sauce pan and heat it over medium low heat. As the sugar is heating it will crystalize and then eventually all melt down and turn golden in color. When most of the sugar has melted, but there are still a few crystalized clumps, turn the heat down to low so the melted sugar doesn't burn. (Melting all the sugar takes around 20 minutes.)
    1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
  • Once all the sugar has melted and turned golden in color, add in the butter right away. Stir quickly until the butter is incorporated.
    5 tablespoon (70 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • Then add in the room temperature heavy cream and stir quickly again to incorporate everything together. (At this point if you see the butter and cream start to separate from the sugar, turn the heat up to medium low and stir vigorously to combine everything together. This can happen if your butter and cream aren't room temperature.)
    ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
  • Lastly, add in ¼ tsp-½ teaspoon of sea salt (depending on your preference) and the vanilla and stir to combine.
    ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Stir until everything is combined together and let the caramel simmer on the stove for 2-3 minutes to allow it to thicken a little more. Once it has become thicker, it should coat the back of a spoon thickly, remove it from the heat, pour it into a small bowl and allow it to cool completely.

For the Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  • Prepare your 9 inch springform pan for its later water bath by wrapping the bottom and sides of it with a decent amount of tinfoil. You want to make sure the tinfoil goes up about two inches on the sides of the pan so no water seeps into the pan as it bakes. I always use too much (around 8 layers) just so I know it’ll be okay.
    Spray the sides with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  • Pulse the graham crackers and pretzels together in a food processor until they are finely ground.
    8 (120 g) graham crackers, full sheets, 2 ½ cups (120 g) mini pretzels
  • Add in the melted butter and sugar and pulse to combine.
    ¾ cup (168 g) melted butter, 2 tablespoon (25 g) granulated white sugar
  • Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about an inch up the sides of the pan.
  • Bake for crust for 10 minutes and then let it cool completely while working on the cheesecake batter.

For the Cheesecake

  • Preheat oven to 350° F if not still preheated.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch together with a paddle attachment for two minutes on medium speed until everything is smooth and there are no lumps. (You can alternatively use a hand mixer). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed well.
    32 oz (907 g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar, 2 tablespoon (16 g) corn starch
  • Add in the vanilla bean paste, sour cream and melted and cooled white chocolate and mix for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl again.
    8 oz (226 g) white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled, ⅓ cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
  • At this point, stop and put a pot of water on the stove to start boiling. You will want enough water to go about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the springform pan.
  • Next add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time to the cheesecake batter. Mix on low speed, ensuring that each is fully mixed in before adding the next. As soon as the last one is fully mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do not over mix the batter.
    3 eggs, at room temperature, 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan with the crust.
  • Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan in the oven. Slowly pour the boiling water into the pan around the cheesecake being careful not to splash the cheesecake.
  • Bake at 350° F for 1 hour. When 1 hour is up, turn off the oven and crack the oven door open using a wooden utensil. Let the cheesecake stay in the oven for 1 more hour. The cheesecake will continue to bake as it is cooling.
  • Once the 2 hours are up, remove from the oven and go around the edges of the pan with a butter knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan. Let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter, and then refrigerate until completely cold, 8 hours or overnight.

Serving the Cheesecake

  • Once the cheesecake has chilled, carefully remove it from the springform pan and transfer it to a serving plate.
  • Top it with the salted caramel sauce and enjoy!
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Keyword cheesecake, salted caramel, salted caramel sauce, white chocolate
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