So, I’ve been wanting to put this cheesecake recipe on the blog for a while now. It is THE BEST cheesecake. I know that a lot of people claim that their version of something is the best, but you can trust me, because you know what? It’s not even my recipe. Frankly, I have no idea who originally created it. A department store called Lazarus made it available to the public in the 70s, my best friend’s mom got a hold of it, and she’s been making it for nearly every special occasion since she was 15. That’s how I first tried it when I was in high school.
I’m not alone in my opinion that it’s the best. Nearly every one who has tried it makes the same exclamation, “This is the best cheesecake I’ve ever had!” It has even converted a few who claimed they didn’t like cheesecake (how is that possible?). Even my husband, who doesn’t really have a sweet tooth, gets sad if I make one for an event and don’t save him a piece.
My favorite thing about it is how simple it is. No foil collar, no water bath, no fussing. It takes time, but the steps aren’t hard. The most time consuming part is mixing the filling. it has to be mixed on low for 30 minutes to give it that extra velvety consistency. This isn’t a big deal if you have a stand mixer, but I used to make it with a hand mixer, and that got old kind of quick.
The original recipe stops at the sour cream layer, and if you don’t add the caramel it will still be amazing.
But, in honor of St. Paddy’s day, I thought I’d throw some guinness infused caramel on top. The combination is heavenly. Dark brown sugar mixed with condensed dark beer makes the sweet and tangy flavor vanilla cheesecake just pop! This is a good one folks, very good.
Do try to make it for a celebration with lots of people! You’ll feel good, because you won’t have to worry about whether or not anybody likes your dessert, and it will prevent you from being in a situation where you stay home every night for a week, eating cheesecake, and kissing your skinny jeans goodbye. Sharing is caring.
I told myself years ago that I was ONLY going to make it on Easter…
I wasn’t super succesful with that resolution as you can see.
The slightly hardened caramel glaze slides around on the sour cream topping, to reveal the pretty vanilla bean flecks. Next to butter and flour, vanilla bean paste is probably my favorite ingredient to add to baked goods. I’m telling you it just feels like cheating!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
- CRUST:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs (for gluten free just sub gf graham crackers. May need extra butter)
- 10 tbl butter, melted
- FILLING:
- 1½ lbs cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbl vanilla bean extract or paste
- SOUR CREAM LAYER:
- ¾ pint sour cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbl vanilla bean extract or paste
- STOUT CARAMEL LAYER:
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 5 tbl butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup dark stout (I used Guinness)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla bean extract or paste
- ¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- FOR THE CRUST:
- Combine sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and melted butter.
- Press mixture into spring form pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool.
- FOR THE FILLING:
- Put cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for five minutes.
- Lower speed to lowest setting and add eggs, one at a time, waiting to add the next until the last is fully incorporated.
- Add one tablespoon vanilla and combine.
- Keeping mixer on lowest possible setting, mix for 30 minutes, stopping 2 or 3 times to scrape sides of bowl (unless you have a paddle attachment with a scraper).
- Pour mixture into pre-baked shell and bake at 300 degrees for 60-90 minutes. Start checking every 5 minutes at 60 minutes. You want the cheesecake to be raised on the sides, sunk in the middle, but almost set all the way through. When you shake the pan, it should not be very jiggly in the middle, but you don’t want to wait for the middle to puff up too.
- Let cool 20 minutes.
- FOR THE SOUR CREAM LAYER
- Combine sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.
- Pour sour cream mixture over cheesecake and bake at 300 degrees for 10 more minutes.
- Let cool for at least an hour before adding caramel topping.
- FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:
- Add stout to a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer until it is reduced by half. You should have ¼ cup of very strong tasting stout at the end.
- Add brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, reduced stout, salt, and vanilla to a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir occasionally until mixture boils for a few minutes and reaches about 175 degrees.
- Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar. You can add more or less depending on the consistency you want.
- Pour on top of sour cream layer.
- Chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
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At some point, we have to make this! I’m salivating!
Well, hopefully this fall we will have lots of opportunity!
This looks so killer! I love that you infused the caramel sauce with beer. YUM!
Thanks, Allie!