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Homemade Dulce De Leche Cheesecake is rich and decadent.  Its filling is lightly sweetened by rich dulce de leche, the crust is crisp and buttery and its topped with toffee pieces for a pleasant crunch.  This is the perfect dessert for a special occasion and it’s sure to impress even the toughest critics.

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake

I have mentioned previously, in my white chocolate raspberry cheesecake post that cheesecake is my absolute FAVORITE dessert to make.  Hands down.  I have tried a bazillion combinations and it never ceases to impress.  People are always so impressed that you can make cheesecake from scratch, but it truly is not too complicated, and while the baking and cooling takes awhile, it really only takes a few minutes for it to come together.

This dulce de leche cheesecake is inspired by one that I tasted at the cheesecake factory.  I felt like I was going out on a limb when I made my cheesecake selection.  I usually stick to fruity flavors and occasionally branch out with a peppermint or candy bar flavor.  This dulce de leche sounded good, but it was really pretty simple and I wasn’t sure it would meet my expectations.  I was SO wrong and now it’s my current favorite flavor of cheesecake.  This dulce de leche cheesecake recipe doesn’t taste enough like the original for me to call it a “copycat” but they are both incredibly delicious in their own way.

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I go into a LOT more detail about the intricacies of how to make a proper cheesecake in my other cheesecake post, so I won’t bore you with too many details here.  I will make just a few notes for success, as a reminder though.

Cheesecake Keys to Success

• Springform Pan: Seriously, just invest in a springform pan.  They are cheap, and they make cheesecakes so much better.  You are able to get super tall and delicious cheesecakes and you don’t have to worry about the filling oozing out of the pie pan that you tried to use instead. When you bake a cheesecake in a pie pan, it’s usually too small for all of that filling.  Overfilled cheesecake pans lead to cracking, which seems to be everyone’s biggest fear when it comes to cheesecake.  A springform pan is a seriously easy solution to the problem.  While we are on the subject of pie pans, especially don’t use a pie pan with a storebought crust.  Graham cracker crust is a cinch, and tastes amazing made at home.  Okay. Rant Over.
• Water bath: I don’t have any special equipment that I use to bake my cheesecake in a water bath.  I do find that wrapping the springform pan in tin foil and baking it in a half sheet pan with super hot water also helps to prevent cracking.  It’s an easy step to ensure you get a beautiful crack-free cheesecake.
• Let the pan cool in the oven: The last thing I do to prevent cracks is letting the cheesecake cool for an hour in the oven after it finishes cooking.  This way it comes down in temperature nice and slowly and doesn’t have the abrupt temperature change of putting the cheesecake straight into the refrigerator after it bakes.

One more quick note about this recipe.  Dulce de leche can be made from scratch super easily using a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Check out this article for a step by step.  I must admit, that I didn’t actually make my own dulce de leche for this recipe (sigh).  I am sure it tastes better made from scratch, but you can also find dulce de leche in a can right by the sweetened condensed milk.

This recipe would be seriously perfect for Valentine’s Day which is right around the corner.  Your significant other will be your singing your praises.

Do you have any perfectly romantic dishes up your sleeves? Let me know your plans in the comments, and as always, thanks for reading!

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Dulce De Leche Cheesecake

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

This rich cheesecake sweetened with decadent dulce de leche and topped with crunchy toffee candy is sure to impress even the toughest critics. 

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Ingredients

Crust

• 16 Graham Crackers, crushed small
• 4 Tbsp Butter melted
• 1/4 C Granulated Sugar

Filling

• 24 ounces (3 packages) cream cheese softened
• 2/3 C Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 eggs +1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 C Dulce De Leche, (+ more for topping)

Topping

• 1/2 C Toffee Pieces
• 1/4 C Dulce De Leche

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Crust

1. Wrap a 9 or 10-in Springform pan tightly with tin foil. Wrap it again for good measure. This will ensure no water gets in from the waterbath while you bake the cheesecake.
2. Crush Graham Crackers in a food processor until fine
3. Add melted butter and sugar and pulse until well-blended. Push graham cracker mixture into the bottom of pan and set pan aside until ready to use.  You may also choose to build your crust up the sides.  This cheesecake will only go about halfway up the springform pan.
4. Refrigerate crust while you make the filling so it has time to "set"

Filling

1. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and being careful not to overbeat.
3. Add cornstarch, vanilla, dulce de leche, and heavy cream. 
4. Pour filling mixture into prepared crust.
5. Put a half sheet pan on the top rack of your oven. Fill it with the hottest tap water you can get (I usually use a liquid measuring cup to do this).
6. Put the cheesecake on the sheet pan and bake for ~60-70 minutes in a 325 degree oven. When the cheesecake is finished it should still jiggle slightly in the very center of the cheesecake.
7. After the baking is complete, turn off the oven and leave it cracked slightly and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven slowly for about an hour. Then transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator and cool for at least 4 more hours.
8. Once the cheesecake has cooled, top with toffee pieces and drizzle with dulce de leche before serving. 

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