Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Autumn in full swing at Britannia

The leaves have quickly created a rainbow of colours lining the neighbourhood paths.  For the past few weeks, the air has been unabashedly crisp and cool, a sign that it's finally time to pull out the warm scarves and toques that have stayed tucked away in my suitcase since April.  Can you believe we're already headed into the last two months of 2011?

Bottom right: probably the happiest sushi you'll ever find!

Shie celebrated her birthday with us this weekend.  It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly five years since we all first met in our dorm rooms.  She brought us to a Japanese restaurant located in the the most random location: Shaughnessey "Hotel."  A bit of a strange hotel, but within is a true hidden gem.  Excellent sushi and perfect miso saba (mackerel).  The waitresses, after finding out it was Shie's birthday, lit a candle and brought out lovely sesame ice cream for us, as well as very spontaneous (but "kawaii") pumpkin-shaped sushi pieces for the birthday girl to take home.  Afterwards, we headed back to my place for a second surprise dessert: caramel apple cheesecake.

The birthday girl

 Simple, indulging, and an ode to fall and everything lovely that accompanies it (yes, even a drizzle of rain receives a warm welcome, so long as it's not a daily occurrence).  This cheesecake can be made ahead of time; in fact, I think the flavour improves overnight.  The caramel recipe is courtesy of Michael Smith, and makes much more than is needed. Freeze or refrigerate if you have extra.  One note is that my caramel ended up being runnier than I was hoping for - I'm not sure what went wrong, so hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Regardless of any imperfections, lights dimmed down, lit candles, and a little song create the perfect finishing touch.



Caramel Apple Cheesecake (adapted from Kraft Canada)
makes 8-10 servings

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix everything together, and press into a pie pan and 1 inch up the edge.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, until slightly brown on the edges.

For the caramel:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipping cream

Pour the sugar into a thick-bottomed pot, and pour the water around the sugar, away from the centre.  Over medium heat and without stirring, let the sugar melted, and simmer until the syrup becomes a light golden brown colour.  Immediately pour in the vanilla and cream, and stir quickly.  Continue to stir and heat until the caramel thickens.  Remove from the heat.

For the filling:

2 packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature, and lightly beaten
2 tbsp flour
2 apples
2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the sugar and mix again until smooth.  Stir in the beaten eggs and 1 tbsp flour and mix well.

Dice 1 1/2 apples into small pieces, toss with 1 tbsp flour and the cinnamon, and stir into the cream cheese mixture. Slice the remaining half of the apple and save for later use.

Pour the 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce into the baked graham cracker crust, then pour in the cream cheese batter.  Decorate the top with the apple slices.

Bake at 325 degree F, with a water bath or a pan full of water on the bottom rack.  The centre of the cheesecake should still be jiggly.  Turn off the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, drizzle with more caramel sauce.  Grab a spoon and dig on in.