Pastry chef Intesar Bakr is owner of Sweet Delights pastry shop in Jeddah. She decided to gift Arab News her famous recipe of a salted caramel apple cheesecake pie. She loves salted caramel and says it is a magical sauce that can be added to anything and will make it taste and look appetizing.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
½ cup graham cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted melted butter
For the apples:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
For whipped cream:
¾ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powder sugar
For the caramel-pecan Llayer:
¾ cup salted caramel sauce
1 cup chopped pecans
For garnish:
Salted caramel sauce
Chopped pecan
For the cheesecake:
230 gr room temperature cream cheese
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 room temperature egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
Make the crust: Whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and use a fork to toss the mixture together until all of the crumbs are evenly moistened. Dump the crumbs into a 25cm pie pan and press them into an even layer over the bottom and two thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown then take it out of the oven and allow it to cool for around 10 minutes.
Pour the salted caramel sauce over the bottom of the crust, gently spreading it into an even layer. Sprinkle the chopped pecan evenly over top of the caramel layer. Place the pan in the refrigerator while the apples are prepared.
Reduce oven temperature to 175 degrees Celsius.
Make the apples: Melt the butter in a 30cm skillet, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, stirring to combine. Cook the mixture until it is gently bubbling. After about one minute add the apples to the pan and toss to coat with the butter mixture. Cook until the apples are very tender and just about all of the liquid has been evaporated in 15 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then add to the pan on top of the caramel-pecan layer, spreading the apples into an even layer. Return the pan to the refrigerator.
For the cheesecake: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until completely smooth. Add the egg and beat until completely combined. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat until completely smooth, for another 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the cheesecake batter over the apples in the pan, smoothing it into an even layer. Bake until the cheesecake is set and doesn’t jiggle in the middle for about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
For whipped cream: Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or hand mixer, whip together the heavy cream and powdered sugar in medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
Garnishing: Remove the sides of the spring form pan. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the cheesecake layer. Dollop spoonfuls of caramel sauce on top of the whipped cream. Use a butter knife or spatula to gently swirl the caramel into the whipped cream. Sprinkle additional chopped pecans on top. Serve immediately. Make sure to refrigerate the leftovers.
You can substitute store-bought caramel sauce for the homemade salted caramel with the recipe below.
Salted caramel sauce
Ingredients:
2 cups of granulated sugar
12 tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter and cut into cubes.
1 cup room temperature heavy cream
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)
Directions:
Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy saucepan with a capacity of at least 3 liters. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. You will see that the sugar will begin to form clumps but that is normal, you just need to keep whisking and as it continues to cook they will melt back down.
Stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted and swirl the pan occasionally while sugar cooks.
Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. It should look almost a reddish-brown and have a slight toasted aroma. This is the point where caramel can go from perfect to burnt in a matter of seconds, so keep a close eye on it.
As soon as the caramel reaches 175 degrees Celsius, add the butter all at once. Be careful as the caramel will bubble up when the butter is added. Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream into the caramel. Again, be careful because the mixture will once again bubble up viciously. Whisk until all of the cream has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce. Add the fleur de sel and whisk to combine.
Set the sauce to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then pour into a glass jar and let cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the sauce for up to two weeks and warm the sauce before using.
You can use that sauce for anything and my favorite thing to do is drizzle some over a French vanilla ice cream.
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