Hi Bakers,
What kind of crazy person makes toffee and then melts it down into a sauce…Me. That would be me and boy am I glad I did! This cheesecake is a toffee lover’s gluten-free dream. This is a super creamy cheesecake with a graham cracker crust all topped with buttery, rich, toffee! The topping is a lot like caramel but even better. It has the complex flavor of browned sugar and butter in a sauce so rich and velvety you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. Be sure to start this recipe at least the day before you want to serve it, it needs many hours to chill properly. I like to bake the cheesecake one day and make the toppings, decorate and eat it the next. This is a many step process but each part if fairly simple. I added the prep times to each step to help you understand the time you would need. I also included the original recipe’s instructions at the bottom of the page for an easier version if that works better for you. Enjoy every bite of this tasty beauty ~Carolyn
Gluten-Free Toffee Cheesecake
recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes one 9” cheesecake
Crust (~10 minutes prep)
1-1/2 cups gluten-free graham crackers plus more if needed to get the right consistency
1/4 pecans, raw
1/4 cup white or brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Using a food processor,* pulse the crackers, nuts and sugar into fine crumbs. Add butter and pulse again until well combined. Mixture should be the texture of damp sand. If it’s too wet, add in a few more crackers. Press firmly into the bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a 9” springform pan. Chill in the freezer until ready to use.
Cheesecake Filling (~10 minutes prep)
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature/softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs + one egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Make the filling by beating the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Scrape the sides as needed. If your cream cheese is not blending well, stop beating it. Let it sit out a bit longer to make sure it’s warm enough to blend out any lumps. Add the sugar and beat well. Add eggs and mix throughly. Beat in vanilla and lemon. Pour into the chilled crust and smooth out the top. Place the springform pan on a sided baking tray to catch any spills. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the sides are firm but the center jiggles a bit. Let if sit at room temperature for an hour or until it’s cooled. Cover and chill in the refrigerator 6 hours or overnight. Prepare the toffee candy while the cake chills or the next day.
Toffee Candy (~15 minutes prep)
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
Add all ingredients to a heavy bottomed saucepan. Clip a candy thermometer to the side or use cold water to test doneness. Heat over medium while stirring until the mixture reaches 305F or hard crack stage. To test for doneness without a thermometer, I pour a small amount of toffee into a cup of ice water and wait a moment for it to harden. When removed from the water, the toffee should break cleanly with a crack which means it’s done. Pour candy out onto a buttered baking pan or one lined with silicone and spread it out. Break into large shards. Let harden on parchment paper or other non-stick surface. Save the remainder of the toffee (about 3/4) to make the sauce and some for decorating.
Toffee Sauce (~15 minutes)
3/4 batch of the toffee candy, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup milk
Add the toffee and milk to a medium-sized saucepan. Heat on medium/medium high heat**, stir frequently as the toffee dissolves into the milk. Cook until candy has dissolved and the the sauce is smooth and thickened. Add more milk if needed to achieve the right consistency. If the sauce is too thin, cook a bit longer but remember, the sauce will thicken as it cools. Let cool slightly and pour over chilled cheesecake.
Garnish
whipped cream
semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
Decorating
Pat off any condensation on top of the cake and spread the toffee sauce on top. Give the sauce 15 minutes to set up. Spoon a circle of whipped cream in the center. Arrange toffee pieces into the cream in a circular pattern. Leave the ends sticking up. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate. You can also dress each slice as you serve it. Store cake in the fridge until ready to eat.
Easier Version (original recipe instructions)
2 chocolate covered toffee candy bars
2 jars Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Sauce or your favorite
The original recipe uses caramel sauce and a store-bought toffee bar to top the cheesecake. I like Trader Joe’s brand salted caramel sauce. Buy two jars to cover the top of the cake. Heat the sauce slightly if needed to make it more pourable. Pour caramel over the top of the cheesecake and spread to cover. Garnish top of cheesecake with whipped cream and broken bits of a toffee bar.
*IF you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the crackers and nuts with a rolling pin and a plastic bag.
**Lower heat if needed to prevent burning.