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I can’t tell you just how delicious this Salted Caramel Cheesecake is. Silky smooth, rich and perfectly balanced between sweet and salty. Imagine a buttery Lotus cookie base, topped with the creamy caramel cheesecake filling and salted caramel sauce, homemade of course, finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
It’s indulgent, yes, but never too heavy. The cheesecake is baked low and slow, giving it that dreamy, custard-like texture that melts in your mouth. And because it’s best made ahead, it’s perfect for dinner parties or special occasions when you want maximum impact with minimum last-minute fuss. For more bakes, you might want to try my chocolate marshmallow s’mores cake, chocolate orange mini cheesecakes or upside-down pear fudge cake.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- Full of rich, buttery caramel flavour – the sauce is inside the filling and poured on top.
- A Biscoff biscuit crust gives caramel-and-spice undertones, making it so rich and delicious.
- Gentle, low-temperature baking makes a silky cheesecake with (hopefully) no cracks.
- Make-ahead friendly: the caramel keeps for days, and the cheesecake improves after a night in the fridge.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Cream cheese: Always opt for a full-fat version and drain off any excess liquid before using. Low-fat varieties won’t set properly. I like to use Philadelphia.
Caster sugar: caster sugar gives the best texture but you can also use granulated sugar if that is what you have in your larder.
Sour cream: use full-fat sour cream for this salted caramel cheesecake.
Biscoff cookies: also known as Lotus cookies/biscuits.
Plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
Substitutions and Variations:
Different crusts: Use digestive biscuits or graham crumbs instead of Biscoff for a more classic biscuit flavour.
Make it gluten free: swap for gluten-free biscuits and double check the labels of the rest of your ingredients to make a gluten-free salted caramel cheesecake.
Caramel: you could use a jar of shop-bought salted caramel if you would rather. You just will need about 350g and make sure it’s good quality and with only a handful of ingredients (e.g. sugar, butter, cream, salt).
Here’s how to make salted caramel cheesecake:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Preheat oven to 160 °C fan, 180 °C conventional or 355°F. Prepare the tin by lining a 9-inch springform/loose-bottomed cake pan with a circle of greaseproof paper on the base and a strip around the sides. Blend the biscuits in a food processor. Tip into a bowl and add the melted butter.
TWO: Pour the biscuit base into the prepared tin and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan.
THREE: Add the sugar to a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and place over a medium heat. Don’t stir, swirl to melt the sugar. Keep going until it turns a gorgeous amber colour. Remove from the heat and quickly add the butter. Whisk for about 30 seconds until completely smooth
FOUR: Pour in the double cream and whisk again until smooth and glossy. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract and salt.
FIVE: Turn the oven down to 100 °C fan/120 °C conventional/250°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl with an electric whisk), add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar and flour. Mix to combine.
SIX: One at a time, add the eggs, mixing well in between each addition. Then add the sour cream, vanilla and the cooled caramel sauce (about ⅓ cup/90g). Mix until smooth and creamy.
SEVEN: Once incorporated, pour on top of the biscuit base. Place the cheesecake in the middle of the oven, above the boiling water tin, and bake for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, don’t open the door, just turn the oven off and leave to cool completely for 3-4 hours.
EIGHT: Once cool, pour the rest of the salted caramel sauce on top and smooth it out. Once ready to serve, remove it from the fridge for about 20 minutes to lose the fridge chill. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt and serve!
Cooking Tips:
Preventing cracks
- Cool gradually – don’t drop the temperature fast by opening the oven early. The cheesecake should be fully cool before opening the door.
- Use a low temperature and a water bath to keep the oven moist, which helps prevent cracks.
- Don’t over-mix the batter; mixing in too much air leads to cracks so you aren’t trying to get loads of air in.
- Tapping the tin to remove bubbles helps avoid trapped air rising, which then turn into cracks,
Troubleshooting
Under-baked (wobbly middle): Chill for longer. The cheesecake will still set in the fridge.
Cracked top: If it’s a small crack, press a little extra caramel into the gap and serve. For large cracks, you could top with whipped cream to disguise, but honestly I don’t think it’s the end of the world and it will still be delicious.
Caramel grainy/clumpy: The sugar likely crystallised so next time, ensure no moisture mixes with the sugar during melting and make sure you don’t stir the sugar when it’s melting, only swirl the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the fridge, store for up to 4-5 days covered. In the freezer, wrap slices tightly in foil and cling-film and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in fridge, then bring to room temp (about 20 minutes) before serving for best texture.
For this recipe, we bake at 100 °C fan. The equivalent conventional (no‐fan) temperature is about 120 °C (roughly 250 °F).
The flavours actually improve in this salted caramel cheesecake after a night in the fridge. You can make the cheesecake one day ahead and store it chilled. Sprinkle the sea salt just before serving for the best flavour.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you liked this salted caramel cheesecake, you will also like my apple crumble cheesecake with caramel drizzle, mini chocolate caramel tarts, zesty lemon meringue tart or my mini jam tartlets. Or try my crackly creme brulee cake.
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If you tried this Salted Caramel Cheesecake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Best Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the salted caramel sauce:
- 200 g caster sugar
- 70 g salted butter, room temp, cubed
- 120 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp flakey sea salt
For the crust:
- 200 g Biscoff cookies
- 85 g salted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 900 g full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, room temp
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 120 g full fat sour cream, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 90 g of the cooled salted caramel sauce, 1/3 cup roughly
- Flakey sea salt for sprinkling on the top
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat oven to 160c fan, 180c conventional or 355F.
- Prepare the tin by lining a 9 inch springform/loose bottomed cake pan with a circle of greaseproof paper on the base and a strip around the sides. This helps the salted caramel sauce not stick later on. I find it easiest to grease the tin first so that the paper sticks to the pan.
- Blend the biscuits in a food processor or pop them in a ziploc bag and bash well with a rolling pin. Tip into a bowl and add the melted butter.
- Pour the biscuit base into the prepared tin and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. If you prefer a thicker base, don’t push it up the sides and just pack it into the base of the tin. Bake for 8 minutes then remove from the oven to cool.
For the salted caramel
- Add the sugar to a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and place over a medium heat. Don’t stir, just swirl the pan to ensure it melts evenly (otherwise it will start clumping). It may look a little weird at first, but swirl and be patient, and it will melt after 5 or so minutes.
- Once the sugar has melted, continue to bubble over a medium heat until it turns a gorgeous amber colour – watch closely (this will only take 1 minute or so) as you don’t want it to burn and become bitter.
- Remove from the heat and quickly add the butter. Whisk for about 30 seconds until completely smooth – it will sputter a bit but don’t worry, this is normal. Pour in the double cream and whisk again until smooth and glossy. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract and salt. Pour into a jug.
- If making ahead of time, leave to cool completely before covering and chilling in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or on the hob.
For the cheesecake
- Turn the oven down to 100c fan/120c conventional/250f.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl with an electric whisk), add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar and flour. Mix to combine.
- One at a time, add the eggs, mixing well in between each addition. Then add the sour cream, vanilla and the cooled caramel sauce (about ⅓ cup/90g). Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Once incorporated, pour on top of the biscuit base. Gently but firmly, tap the whole cheesecake on the work surface to burst any air bubbles in the cheesecake mix, as this can lead to cracks.
- In a different roasting tin or cake tin, add some boiling water and add that to the bottom shelf of the oven to help the cheesecake steam.
- Place the cheesecake in the middle of the oven, above the boiling water tin, and bake for 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, don’t open the door, just turn the oven off and leave to cool completely for 3-4 hours.
- Once cool, pour the rest of the salted caramel sauce on top and smooth it out. You don't want the caramel hot here but having it just warmed slightly will help it spread out evenly.
- Leave it overnight or at least 4 hours in the fridge.
- Once ready to serve, remove it from the fridge for about 20 minutes to lose the fridge chill. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This salted caramel cheesecake is actually easy given how incredible the results are. It’s balanced, rich and so good.