Decadent Turtle Cheesecake

One of my favorite desserts is cheesecake. Years ago I was looking through one of my mom's cookbooks and saw a recipe that looked delicious ~ a turtle cheesecake. It has an Oreo crust and chocolate, caramel and pecans on top. The cake itself is not very tall once it cooks, but each piece is rich enough that you don't need to eat a lot. I often want to try new cheesecake recipes, but this one is usually requested whenever someone hears I'm making a cheesecake. Give it a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Decadent Turtle Cheesecake

From Favorite Brand Name Best-Loved Chocolate Recipes Cookbook, page 222

2 cups crushed chocolate cookies or vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces cookies)

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

OR

Oreo pie crust

2½ packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

2 Tablespoons whipping cream

Caramel and Chocolate Toppings (recipes follow)

½ cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 450˚.  For crust, combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan.  Or you can use a pre-made Oreo pie crust from the grocery store.  If you use one of these, keep the edges of the foil pan up to prevent the filling from overflowing while baking.

For filling, beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy.  Beat in sugar, flour, salt and vanilla; mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Blend in cream.  Pour over crust.

Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 200˚.

Continue baking 40 to 60 minutes or until set.  Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool completely before removing rim of pan.  Meanwhile, prepare Caramel and Chocolate Toppings.

Drizzle cheesecake with toppings in any order you desire.  I put the toasted pecans on first and then the caramel followed by the chocolate.  This way the pecans are held in place.  Refrigerate.

Caramel Topping:  Combine ¼ (14-ounce) bag caramels (about 12-14 caramel pieces) and 1/8 cup whipping cream in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth.

Chocolate Topping:  Combine 2 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate or 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, ½ teaspoon butter and 1 tablespoon whipping cream in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Add a little more whipping cream if it is too thick.

Makes one 9” cheesecake.

 

Photo by JoJo

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