What could be better than a slice of New York style baked cheesecake? How about a slice of New York style baked cheesecake topped off with a mound of crunchy salted caramel popcorn? Add to that a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, and you’re looking at one seriously decadent dessert! This caramel popcorn cheesecake is delicious, a real winner for both adults and children alike!
The smooth baked cheesecake works remarkably well with the crunchy popcorn, and the hint of the saltiness of the caramel popcorn perfectly complements the sweetness of the graham crumb base and the vanilla cheesecake filling.
I had originally planned to make a no bake caramel cheesecake topped off with caramel popcorn, but this baked cheesecake is my all time favorite and so I made it with that instead. Best decision!
Just a small word of warning. The amounts that I have given for the popcorn, in the recipe below, makes much more popcorn than you will want to mound on top of the cheesecake. You may want to half the amount. But, like me you may just want to stick to the amounts below and snack on salted caramel popcorn whilst you are going about your day!
Enjoy!
Caramel Popcorn Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 1h
- Cook Time: 1h 30m
- Total Time: 2h 30m
- Serves: 8
- Category: Desserts, Pies & Tarts
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake
- 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs (or digestive biscuits)
- 1/3 cup of melted butter
- 1 package of full fat cream cheese (12 ounces)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sugar (6 ounces)
For the Salted Caramel Popcorn
- 1 cup popcorn kernels
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup (or golden syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Cheesecake
- Preheat the oven 350°F, 180°C, Gas mark 4
- Melt the butter over a medium heat. Remove from heat and mix into the graham cracker crumbs. Press firmly into the bottom of a loose bottomed 8 inch flan tin. Place in the fridge to cool.
- Beat the cream cheese, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla extract and sugar together until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture onto the biscuit crumb crust and bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set. Once cooled, place in the fridge to chill.
For the popcorn
- Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat or liner).
- Pop the popcorn as packet instructions. Place into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar and syrup. Bring to the boil and boil for five minutes, stirring to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and add vanilla essence and salt.
- Pour the caramel over popcorn mixture and mix to combine. Pour onto the baking sheet and place in oven. Leave in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring at 15 minute intervals.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Putting it all together
- Just before the cheesecake is ready to serve, remove from the fridge, remove from the tin and heap the Salted Caramel Popcorn on top.
- To make your cheesecake extra decadent, drizzle salted caramel sauce or chocolate over the top prior to serving!
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