Dulce de leche cheesecake squares

I posted a poll last week to let you choose what my next blog project would be. There were 4 different options and these Dulce de leche cheesecake squares won by a landslide! (I was secretly hoping that this one would win!)

Last Sunday was a great day: I fell in love with my new favourite thing, dulce de leche, meaning "milk caramel" in Spanish. I also discovered that after years of wishing they made or sold graham crackers here in Australia, THEY DO! They are just sold under a different, horrible name, (digestive biscuits) and are round rather than square! I have been making cheesecake all these years with alternative crusts because I couldn't get graham crackers. I also got to spend some quality time with my good friend, Lisa, even though she is 3425km away in Darwin! Skype is a wonderful thing! I sent her the ingredients list the day before and we made a "baking date" for Sunday morning. I talked her through the recipe and we made it together in different cities. So much fun, I'm sure we will be doing it again soon!

For those of you are unaware of the wonderfulness that is dulce de leche, I am sorry! Do not be scared away by the funny foreign name. It is simply a really thick caramel made of cooked sugar and milk. Mmmm... is your mouth watering yet? It takes a little while to make, but is well worth it! There are different techniques for making it, but I found this method to least intimidating, as the alternative was to boil milk in an unopened can. SCARY, I know! The result is a versatile product that you can use in all sorts of deserts, and I suspect if I were not so lactose intolerant, I would eat it on anything and everything!!! Oh, mental note **try over ice cream!**

So if any of my friends or family (most of which are overseas) would like to have a Skype baking day, let me know!

Enjoy!

Dulce de leche cheesecake squares

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham crackers (or digestive biscuits in Australia,) crushed


• 3 Tablespoons sugar


• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted


• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin


• 1/4 cup whole milk


• 8 oz (225g)cream cheese, softened


• 2 large eggs


• pinch of teaspoon salt


• 1 cup dulce de leche (recipe follows)


• 1 cup dark bittersweet or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped


• 1/4 cup whole milk or cream

To make dulce de leche: Pour one can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk into top of double-boiler (a pot with a larger, heat proof bowl over it.) Boil water in pot. Once at boiling, reduce to medium heat. Cover bowl, stirring occasionally. This should take for 40 to 50 minutes, although I did a double batch and it took more like an hour and a half. You will know it's done when it becomes thick and light caramel colour.

Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C.) Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top. Bake in oven until center is just set, about 40-45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill for at least 4 hours.

Ganache: Heat milk in a small saucepan to just to the boil and remove immediately. Add chocolate and let sit for 2 min. Stir with a wisk until all lumps are gone, then pour over cheesecake tilting the cheesecake to cover evenly. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch squares.