Today I present you the Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche! For those who do not know it, as I did not before receiving this jar of pure delight, it is milk cooked for a long time with sugar until it thickens. The result is this cream, called Dulce de Leche: with a dark color and the taste of Mou (classic milk caramels). This typical dessert from Latin America, you read right, the Dulce de Leche is already classified as a milk-based dessert, can be used as a topping for cakes or desserts, or enjoyed by the spoonful as we greedy people finish jars of hazelnut cream. I indeed tried a small spoonful but then decided it could be used for desserts that would further enhance its flavor, and here I am presenting my version of the Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche!
I love Cheesecakes and this version, with salted ricotta and Dulce de Leche, was a wonderful and delicious discovery! I made it six times before showing it to you because I wanted to be more than sure of the doses and especially the final success of the dessert itself. A delicious Cheesecake, yet delicate at the same time, the Dulce de Leche is wonderful on desserts, and I am falling in love with it.
I must thank my Brother Alejandro from Marca Reale who gifted me the jar you see in the picture and introduced me to this sweet Argentinian flavor.
I tried to vary the taste of the classic baked cheesecake a bit, both in choosing the cookies and using less cream cheese, as I wanted a slightly saltier and more indulgent version. You will indeed find the use of salt in the cookie base and salted ricotta for the cream.
This recipe involves baking our dessert, so if you want to serve the cheesecake with dulce de leche, you need to prepare it in advance. The base needs to rest in the fridge, followed by a good 40 minutes of baking in the oven. Don’t worry because the result will pay off the waiting times. Let’s enjoy this spectacular cheesecake with ricotta and cream cheese together. My “test subjects” liked it so much that over a single weekend, I made it three times, and by Monday, there were no traces left.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 666.18 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 43.21 (g) of which sugars 26.70 (g)
- Proteins 12.85 (g)
- Fat 50.10 (g) of which saturated 20.20 (g)of which unsaturated 10.10 (g)
- Fibers 2.71 (g)
- Sodium 775.36 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche
Ingredients for the cocoa cheesecake base:
- 2 cups cocoa biscuits (in my case oro saiwa whole wheat cocoa)
- 3 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup butter
- 1/4 cup hazelnut crumbs
- 1 cup salted ricotta (alternatively classic ricotta)
- 2/3 cup fresh spreadable cheese
- 1 egg
- 3/8 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup dulce de leche
- as needed hazelnut crumbs
Tools for the Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Oven
- 1 Pan , with spring closure, 20-22cm diameter
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Spoon
Preparation of the Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche:
Let’s start the preparation of the base of our Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche bearing in mind that it needs to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
The first thing to do to prepare the base of our cheesecake is to melt the butter in a bain-marie. Meanwhile, take the chopper and reduce the cookies you’ve chosen, in my case the oro saiwa fribrattiva, into small pieces. The cookies should become almost a grainy flour.
Pour the cookies into a bowl and add the unsweetened cocoa, the hazelnut crumbs, the salt, and mix the ingredients with a spoon. Finally, pour the melted butter and mix the ingredients with the spoon again.
Take the springform pan of 22 cm and line its base with dampened and well-wrung baking paper. Pour the cookies and smooth the surface well with a spoon, there should be no bumps. You can create the edge or not, I almost never do.
Place the pan on the lower shelf of the refrigerator and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Turn on the oven in static mode at 356°F and while waiting for it to reach the temperature, prepare the cheese cream for our cheesecake.
Take a bowl with high edges and pour the salted ricotta, or classic if you prefer, and the spreadable cheese into it. Add two grams of salt, the powdered sugar, and the whole egg. Work at low speed with the electric whisks.
Take the springform pan from the fridge and pour the cheese cream into it. Level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 40 minutes. Be careful not to let the surface of the dessert darken too much and if you see bubbles forming, break them gently with a wooden skewer.
When our dessert with salted ricotta is cooked, let it cool at room temperature for at least 4 hours.
Before serving the Cheesecake, let’s decorate it with Dulce de Leche. In the six I prepared, I created lines which I then sprinkled with hazelnut crumbs.
Bon appétit!
Variations:
As explained in the ingredient list, the variations you can make to this recipe are many: from choosing the cookies for the base to whether the ricotta should be sweet or salted in the cream. Obviously, we maintain the Dulce de Leche otherwise, what kind of dessert would it be? The doses do not change even if you switch the product you will use.
Storage:
The Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche can be stored either in a dessert carrier, as it is a baked dessert, or in the refrigerator if you plan not to consume it within the 3 days following its preparation. Keep in mind that if you choose refrigeration, you will need to keep it at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving. Obviously, do not garnish the entire cake with the Dulce de Leche otherwise it will become solid and no longer dense and creamy as it should be.
Other recipes:
If you love Cheesecakes like me, you cannot miss saving this recipe: Mini Cheesecake with robiola and peaches or a Triple chocolate cheesecake or another delicious Baileys Cheesecake
Each of these cakes is more delicious than the last, and all are very easy to make. What are you waiting for to click on “print” or share the recipe on your social networks? I’ll be waiting for you on the Facebook fan page of my blog with tons of recipes and content, including the free newsletter service via messenger chat! You can also find the Telegram Channel of Le Ricette di Bea
