Who Says Less is More? Lusciously Extravagant Caramel Cheesecake with Marshmallow and Spanish Peanuts
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Pumpkin pies are traditional fare at my Thanksgiving table, so I always try to make an additional dessert that lends a twist of the unexpected—a sinfully delicious show-stopper that dazzles the crowd.
One of my all-time favorites comes from Chef Catherine Christiansen, our Beyond Wonderful baking expert. She conjured up a rich, creamy cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce, freshly whipped marshmallow fluff and salty Spanish peanuts. Each bite is an adventure in taste and texture: sweet, salty, smooth and crunchy. Definitely a close your eyes, savor and moan kinda confection.
Having baked this several times I can tell you that it’s a great make-ahead dessert—in fact, that’s the key to its success. I make the caramel sauce and marshmallow fluff first and refrigerate them. The next day I bake the cheesecake and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Assembly is a breeze, and that’s a good thing when a hungry crowd is circling.
It occurs to me that making the sauce and fluff could be intimidating if you’ve never made them before. Do not fear as they are both super simple. First, the caramel sauce is basically warm cream and melted sugar. Master the sugar and you’re home free. Always melt your sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, lowering the flame as needed to prevent burning. Shake the pan as the sugar melts; do not stir it.
Usually one cooks the sugar until it is golden brown, but this recipe requires that you achieve a deep sable color. Be patient. Do not up the heat when you get bored, or you’ll burn the sugar and have a foul-smelling kitchen. Not to mention that you’ll have to start the process over again.
The marshmallow fluff is easy, easy, easy. In fact, your electric mixer does all the work. Just drop a couple of egg whites and some corn syrup into your mixer and beat them on high speed for five minutes until tripled in volume. Mix in a bit of vanilla and confectioner’s sugar and you have fluff. Originally I thought that this would be overly sweet but it is not. Go figure. The supermarket variety has always been too sweet for me. Perhaps that’s because it is made with flavor enhancers and stabilizers.
When it’s time to plate the cheesecake, know that the caramel sauce should be slightly warm so that it drizzles easily. Use a tablespoon or soup spoon to drizzle the sauce back and forth across the plate, then set a slice of cheesecake on top. The marshmallow fluff topping is up to you—to pig or not to pig. Be generous with the Spanish peanuts as they make all the difference in this magical confection.
I guarantee your holiday guests will gobble this up faster than you can say “food coma”. And if they don’t, it means more cheesecake for you. Now that’s something to be thankful for.
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February 22nd, 2010 at 4:22 pm
thank you so much for this reciepe! I am going to try it tomorrow
.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I tried it, didn’t work out well. I did it exactly per reciepe. I have done a lot of cheese cakes in the past.
The grahm cracker crust needs about 3 times the butter. Then bake it for 10 minutes.
DO NOT cook the cheese cake at 350! Cook it at 250 in a water bath for about 2 hours, or until set, then cool outside fridge, then cool inside fridge so that it doesn’t break.
The smaller the container you cook in, the lower the oven tempature.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Hi Rachel!
I’ve sent your comments to Chef Catherine Christiansen, who created the recipe. She’s the best person to address the issues you’ve raised,
I’ve asked her to respond here but if she emails, I’ll pass the message to you.
That said, I’ve made the dessert three or four times and not had any issues. The only comment I get from some guests is that the cheesecake itself is not sweet like others. That’s because of the marshmallow and caramel.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Hi Rachel!
Sorry the cheesecake did not work for you! I’ve made it several times without a hitch. The crust is a little different than most, I tried to cut the butter as much as possible as the rest of the cheesecake is quite rich. Feel free to add more butter if it works better for you, but 3 tablespoons is usually adequate to get the crumbs to come together. As for baking times and temps, 350 will get the job done, but if 250 works better for you and you have the time and patience to bake for 2 hours, go for it! You could also place a pan of water on another rack of the oven to keep moisture in the oven as it bakes, I’ve found that water baths often leak into the cheesecake, no matter how well you wrap the pan in foil. Take care! Cathy.