Caramel Cheesecake With Hazelnut Crust

Total Time: 24 hrs 50 mins Preparation Time: 24 hrs Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups hazelnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups whipping cream
• additional toasted hazelnuts

Recipe

• 1 make this cake one day ahead.
• 2 for crust: wrap foil tightly around outside of a 9-inch round springform pan.
• 3 in food processor, blend hazelnuts and sugar together until ground finely.
• 4 mix in the melted butter until it forms moist clumps.
• 5 press onto the bottom of the pan only. do not coat the sides.
• 6 for filling: preheat oven to 350 f (325 f for dark pans).
• 7 using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl until well mixed.
• 8 add the eggs one at a time, and beat just until well blended.
• 9 pour filling into the pan.
• 10 bake until cheesecake is puffy and the edges are set. the center should still wobble ever so slightly when gently shaking the pan, about 50 minutes.
• 11 set pan onto a wire rack, and run a sharp knife around the edges.
• 12 cool cake completely.
• 13 remove the foil. cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• 14 for caramel sauce: mix sugar and water in a heavy-duty medium saucepan. heat over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• 15 raise the heat to high, and boil without stirring until the syrup becomes a deep amber color. while heating, brush down the sides of the pan occasionally with a wet pastry brush. also, occasionally swirl the pan. the whole process should take about 7 minutes.
• 16 remove from the heat and carefully add the cream (the mixture will bubble).
• 17 keep boiling until the sauce is reduced to 2 cups, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. cool completely.
• 18 evenly distribute 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce on top of the cheesecake, leaving a 1/2-inch border from the edges.
• 19 place hazelnuts around the outside edges.
• 20 cover and chill until the topping is fully set, about 2 hours.
• 21 (can be prepared 1 day ahead, if you keep cheesecake covered and chilled. refrigerate any remaining sauce.).
• 22 to serve: remove sides of pan, and transfer cake to serving plate.
• 23 rewarm remaining sauce just until pourable but not warm.
• 24 cut cheesecake into slices. pass around the sauce separately.