Caramel Turtle Cheesecake

The perfect cheesecake for caramel fans.
One of my other bucket list cheesecakes is modeled after my favorite candy ever: caramel turtles. Chewy caramely goodness, who could ask for more? The plate can even be decorated prior to adding the cheesecake for that added bit of fancy.

This gourmet cheesecake begins with a triple nut crust covered with a thin caramel cream layer, and a chocolate filling. Sugar Free Pecan Delight candy and fresh whipped cream can be used as an optional garnish.

Of major importance before we even begin: You are looking at a full-on gourmet cheesecake that took me incredible effort to put together. As such, while it might seem unfair to saddle you with such a multi-step process, it is worth it. This is a special occasion gourmet, rich, decadent cheesecake. I myself have an incredibly difficult time eating more than a small portion at a time due to its richness. So while you might scoff at the serving size or the amount of prep work, ingredients and steps, this recipe is not your average cheesecake recipe. Anything worth doing is worth doing with panache.

My preferred spring form pan for this one is the 12″, since it allows easier slicing and for the 16 servings with greater ease.  I haven’t had to add extra nut crust to cover the larger spring form, nor have I had to add baking time, but please note that your experience and times for baking may vary with changes in spring form size.

This recipe does call for pecans in place of almonds, due to the more dense flavor of the pecan. Purchase pecans in the baking aisle.

Please see this post for standard cocoa conversions for semi sweet chocolate, depending on how you plan to proceed (with low carb products or with unsweetened cocoa). This recipe will require a full 8 ounces of ganache.

For Splenda users: Replace bulk of sugar alcohols with Splenda baking mix to taste.
Stevia and other sweetener users: Replace erythritol with stevia based on your product to taste.

Portion Control: You can freeze this cheesecake in slices (I use cling wrap and then bag after the cheesecake has been in the fridge for at least a day so dry it slightly) or you can bake into smaller cheesecakes for portion control. 

At only about 4 net carbs, this is really a wonderful dessert and a little goes a long way, due to its richness.

Cleochatra’s Gourmet Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cheesecake

For the Crust:
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup pecans
2 Tbsp erythritol
4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup low carb Caramel Sauce*
4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

1 cup chopped pecans

For the Filling:
4 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1/2 cup erythritol
1 cup xylitol
4 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces) low carb chocolate chips or four ounces Lindt 85% chocolate bar**
4 Tbsp cream
2 Tbsp butter

Making the crust:
Process nuts together until resembling coarse crushed graham crackers. Mix nuts, butter and sweetener. Press in bottom of a 9”-12” spring form pan. Place in fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

Blend caramel topping with cream. Spread over crust. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped pecans over caramel.

Making the Filling:
Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a mixer, beat cream cheese with erythritol and xylitol on medium for about one minute. On low, add eggs, one at a time, until just blended. Finally, add sour cream and vanilla and beat just until blended (10-30 seconds).

Melt chocolate chips with heavy whipping cream and butter in microwavable bowl on high for 30 seconds. Stir until a thick chocolate liquid forms. Add to cheesecake batter and blend.

Pour into crust. Bake until set, 75-90 minutes. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before moving to chill in the refrigerator.(I usually remove the sides of the spring form after it’s been in the fridge for an hour or so).

Optional: Pipe room temperature chocolate ganache and caramel sauce over cooled cheesecake to decorate. You can also add a chopped Russel Stover Sugar Free Pecan Delight to each slice as garnish (see image below).

Makes 16 servings.

Nutritional Information for one serving using Lindt chocolate bar: Calories: 439, Carbohydrates: 25g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar Alcohols: 20g, Net Carbs: 4g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 41g

Nutritional Information for one serving using Chocoperfection chocolate chips: Calories: 508, Carbohydrates: 31g, Fiber: 7g, Sugar Alcohols: 20g, Net Carbs: 4g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 47g

Nutritional Information for one serving using semisweet cocoa substitute: Calories: 448, Carbohydrates: 26g, Fiber: 1.5g, Sugar Alcohols: 21g, Net Carbs: 3.5g, Protein: g, Fat: 47g

Russel Stover Pecan Delight  as garnish adds: Calories: 75, Carbohydrates:9.5g, Fiber: 0g, Sugar Alcohols: 7.5g, Net Carbs: 2g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 6g

Fresh whipped cream with erythritol adds roughly 2 carbs 

*I used Walden Farms Calorie Free Caramel Dip for this recipe. If you have no caramel dip, you could skip the caramel step altogether, or substitute the caramel layer with a chocolate ganache and a sugar free caramel syrup as the sweetener in the ganache. Make sure to account for the difference in the nutritional information.

**Both Lindt 85% chocolate and the Chocoperfection chocolate chips yield a quality result for chocolate in a recipe. It is important to note here that you can also make your own cocoa chocolate substitute. To use cocoa conversion, see this post

Feel free to use the recipe for your own private purpose at home, but please only link to this recipe online to prevent my having to compete with my own work for pageviews. Thanks so much.