It was only a matter of time before I ignored my promise of healthy meals and shoved a cheesecake down your throat.
Ahem…a cheesecake recipe I should say.
I mean, after a month after only eating salads (haha! as if…) this cheesecake was a welcome splurge. A girl needs balance, you know?
Cheesecake is one of those decadent desserts that making seems only fitting for the most special of occasions. My daughter’s birthday was one of those occasions, and since it is her favorite dessert, I had no choice but to make her one.
I mean, could you possibly resist that face?
The turtle cheesecake seemed like the logical choice with its buttery crust, and creamy cheesecake layered with caramel, chocolate and pecans. It is relatively an easy dessert to make for a really amazing result. It looks like you spent hours in the kitchen, and besides a few periods of cooling and chilling, it is not that labor intensive.
This dessert is so good that I think I need to change my ideas that it can only be for a special occasion. I mean, it’s a Monday? Let’s have some cheesecake!
- 4 cups vanilla wafers
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- 1½ cups of caramel sauce, store bought, or recipe below
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3, 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cups semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan
- Toast the pecans in the oven for about 4-6 minutes
- Remove and set aside
- Crush vanilla wafers in a food processor or a plastic bag
- Add melted butter until crumbs are crumbly and stick together with the butter
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of the springform pan
- Place springform pan on a baking sheet and bake for ten minutes
- Remove and allow to cool for ten minutes
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and blend completely
- Pour about ¾ cup of caramel on top of prepared crust.
- Sprinkle ½ cup of pecans on top
- Pour cheesecake batter over caramel/pecan layer.
- Melt ¼ of the chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth
- Take the melted chocolate and spoon a teaspoon into the cheesecake batter in various spots
- Take a toothpick and gently swirl chocolate into batter, being careful not to blend it in completely
- Bake cheesecake for 40 minutes or until just set.
- Chill for 3 hours or overnight
- Before serving, melt remaining chocolate chips and drizzle over cheesecake
- Drizzle leftover caramel over the top
- Sprinkle with remaining pecans
Want to make your own caramel sauce? This recipe is my absolute favorite! It will take this cheesecake over the top!
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