Salted Caramel Cheesecake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you fix too salty salted caramel? ›

Assuming you're talking about a batch of caramel that you've already made, and you want to cut the saltiness of it, the only real solution is to dilute it with something unsalted. If you're planning to serve it as simply caramel, you will have to make a new batch and mix them together.

When making your filling, overmixing can lead to incorporating too much air into the batter. Once baked, the air bubbles will burst, and the cheesecake will fall and crack. THE FIX: The number one reason why you'd overbeat your batter is because you're having dificulty incorporating cold ingredients.

However, the defining characteristic of salted caramel is the addition of salt – often sea salt or fleur de sel. The salt does not overpower the sweetness but instead provides a delightful contrast. It enhances the caramel's flavour, cutting through the richness and bringing a unique depth to the overall taste.

Cheesecake is clearly a different animal from bundts or cupcakes, but sour cream has a place here too! Combined with even more densely rich cream cheese, sour cream actually tempers the star ingredient a touch, softening its texture. It also adds another layer of tangy flavor and moisture to a cheesecake.

Add an acid.

You can add lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar to salty food to help neutralize the saltiness. A tomato product, such as tomato sauce or tomato paste, will also work since tomatoes are acidic.

Squeeze some lemon juice or orange juice over your dish. The sour flavor provides a new layer of complexity to the meal and should mellow out the salt. Drizzle in a mild vinegar like all-purpose vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar to help mask the salt with acidity by distracting the taste buds.

Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.

Eggs: Three whole eggs hold the cheesecake together. I also add an extra yolk, which enhances the cake's velvety texture. (Whites tend to lighten the cake, which is actually fine — if you don't feel like separating that fourth egg and don't mind some extra airiness in the texture, just add in the whole egg.)

Cold ingredients are a big no-no when it comes to cheesecake. If your ingredients are cold you will have to mix them longer which will whip too much air into your batter. If the cake has too much air, it will rise too much in the oven and then the middle will sink when cooling. Nobody wants a sad, sunken cheesecake.

The salt acts as a flavour enhancer, intensifying the sweetness and adding depth and complexity to the caramel.

What is the difference between caramel and salted caramel? ›

Salted caramel is often used as a topping for desserts or as a filling for candies and chocolates. In summary, the main difference between caramel and salted caramel is the presence of salt in the latter. Caramel is sweet and has a rich, buttery flavor, while salted caramel has a slightly savory edge to its sweetness.

If too many bits of sugar get stuck to the side of the pan, they will harden and can cause the caramel to seize or become gritty or grainy when you add in the butter and/or the cream. Prevent this by gently swirling the sugar around as it melts, while holding the pan's handle, instead of using a utensil to stir it.

The addition of cream gives a velvety, smooth texture, but too much of it and you begin to mask the cream cheese flavor. Sour cream supports the underlying tang of the cream cheese, but, if overdone, it takes over as the dominant flavor. You need a little of each -- cream for texture and sour cream for flavor.

Sour cream adds tanginess and moisture, so if you use too much, it can make the cheesecake too tangy and the additional moisture can make it runny.

Regular cheesecake relies on heavy cream and sour cream to thin the batter and create a silkier, creamier texture. New York cheesecake is heavy on the cream cheese which is why it's so dense and rich. Extra cream cheese isn't the only thing that makes New York cheesecake so special.

The Science Behind The Flavour

The addition of salt to caramel not only enhances the sweetness, but also adds a savory element to the flavor profile. The salt helps to balance the richness of the caramel, creating a more complex and satisfying flavor experience.

One option would be to try masking the bitterness of burnt caramel by incorporating instant coffee into the mix. There is something comforting about this flavor combination, plus with an extra jolt of caffeine, the only tears shed over this concoction will be tears of joy.

Acid: Adding vinegar or lemon juice does a great job of balancing saltiness. Sweetness: You can also add a dash of honey or sugar. Opposites attract here and create balance. Fat: Another fix is adding some fat, a few pads or butter or a healthy glug of olive oil can absorb some of that saltiness.