White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cheesecake

By Johanna

Sweet and delicious white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake with homemade caramel is worth the steps and cooking time. Your friends and family will rave about this dessert!

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup toasted, chopped Macadamia nuts (toast on a sheet pan at 350 degrees for 6 minutes)
• FOR THE CARAMEL:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
• 24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 ounces white chocolate (a bar cut into chunks or a package of chunks if you can find them)
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce
• 1/2 cup Macadamia nuts, toasted (toast as above in crust layer)
• FOR THE GARNISH:
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• More caramel sauce for drizzling

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Make the caramel first. In a small saucepot, melt the butter and sugar together over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and golden brown, about 7-10 minutes. The longer you cook it, the stronger the flavor it is. If you don't want a really strong caramel, cook it closer to 7 minutes. Let it cool about 2 minutes and then whisk in the cream carefully. It may have a tendency to puff up and boil.

Mix the crust layer ingredients together. Spray a springform pan with non stick spray. Spread the crust mixture on the bottom of the springform pan. Cook the crust layer 8-10 minutes or until it's slightly firm in the center and not as sticky.

Meanwhile, for the cheesecake layer, in a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until soft. Scrape down the sides, add in the sugar, and beat again until combined. Scrape the bowl down again and add in the remaining ingredients. Mix until well incorporated and smooth.

Gently spread half of the cheesecake mixture over the crust layer. Drizzle in some caramel, all the white chocolate, and most of the Macadamia nuts (leave some for garnishing). Spread the remaining cheesecake mixture over the top.

Make a large foil tent to cover over the cheesecake pan. This will keep your cheesecake white. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour. Remove foil tent and cook in five-minute increments until the center is set. Refrigerate or even freeze until cold.

When the cheesecake is cold, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar in a mixer until stiff. Put a dollop of whipped cream on the cheesecake slices, drizzle caramel over, and the remaining Macadamia nuts.