Caramel apple cheesecake

Caramel apple cheesecake (Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 12

Crust

1 pkt rice cookies, crushed

115 gr butter, melted

1 tbsp icing sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake filling

Apple filling

1 ½ tbsp butter

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes

3 tbsp brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake batter

600 gr cream cheese, at room temperature

4 eggs

125 gr brown sugar

2 tsp corn flour

Step 1: Prepare the biscuit base

Grease a 20 cm diameter spring form pan and line the base and sides with baking paper. Put the rice cookies in a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter, icing sugar and ground cinnamon. Blitz until the mixture comes together. Press the biscuits into the base of the tin and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling. Preheat your oven to 180 C (160 C if using fan forced).

Step 2: Prepare the apple filling

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and apples. Stir to combine. Cook the apples for about 3 minutes, or until tender. Set aside to cool.

Step 3: Prepare the cheesecake batter

Put a kettle full of water on to boil. In a clean food processor, blend the cream cheese, brown sugar and cornflour adding the eggs one at a time. Continue to blend until smooth.

Step 4: Assemble the cheesecake

Place the cooked apples on the biscuit base. Gently pour other cheesecake batter over the apples. Wrap the tin in a few layers of foil to prevent water seeping in from the water bath.

Step 5: Prepare the water bath

Place the tin in a deep baking dish and pour in the boiled water around the cheesecake so that it comes halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin. Be careful not to splash the cheesecake.

Step 6: Baking and setting the cheesecake

Cook the cheesecake for about 45 to 55 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the outside is set and there is a slight wobble in the centre. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and return it to the oven. Turn the oven off. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour. Place the cheesecake on a wire rack and transfer to the fridge, covered in cling film when cool.