Slow Cooker Chocolate Caramel Ginger Cheesecake & A Giveaway

I have only recently discovered the joys of a slow cooker - the ability to just throw everything into a pot, abandon it and come back hours later to a delicious meal.

Slow cookers aren't just good for meat and stews though, you can cook a lot of things in there that you maybe wouldn't think to; things like brownies, macaroni cheese, porridge, steamed puddings and cheesecake....

A slow cooker provides the perfect environment for making a baked cheesecake - low and slow cooking in a water bath; this prevents the top from cracking and ensures a silky smooth luxurious texture.

I made the base of the cheesecake with gingersnap biscuits which gives a fantastic flavour and I divided the cheesecake mixture in half, adding chocolate to one half and caramel to the other then swirled the two mixtures together for a marbled effect.

Once it is cooked the cheesecake is finished off with a generous coating of salted caramel which takes it to another level of pure indulgence.

It is the perfect dessert for any occasion, though the warming ginger and rich caramel make it particularly suited to winter and Christmas (I can't believe it is nearly Christmas...I am so not ready!).

This was one of the most delicious cheesecakes I have ever eaten and even my cheesecake hating fiance proclaimed it to be tasty; it is also really easy to make, for the base you just blitz some biscuits and melted butter and press it into a springform tin and for the filling all you need to do is whisk the ingredients together.

The only slightly tricky bit is making the caramel, but you could even use shop bought caramel if you prefer.

It takes two hours to cook in the slow cooker, make sure that the tin is very well wrapped in foil so that no water can seep through then just leave it alone.

It does need to be made the day before you want to serve it, as it is best to let it chill in the fridge overnight, though a couple of hours would be ok so you could make it in the morning to serve in the evening.

You can find the recipe here, on the Domu slow cooker hub. Domu are also very kindly giving away a 6.5 litre Vonshef digital slow cooker to one lucky reader, all you need to do is complete the Gleam competition form below.

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Slow Cooker Chocolate Caramel Ginger Cheesecake & A Giveaway

Serves 4-8 You will need a deep15cm/6in round springform cake tin.

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Caramel

• 160 g caster sugar
• 30 ml water
• 150 ml double cream
• 15 g butter
• pinch salt

Crust

• 110 g gingersnap biscuits
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 40 g melted butter

Cheesecake

• 350 g full fat cream cheese
• 100 g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 110 ml full fat sour cream
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 60 g dark chocolate melted
• 60 g caramel

Instructions

• To make the caramel, heat the cream until almost boiling. Place the sugar and water in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan, bring to the boil and cook, swirling the pan, NOT stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the colour changes to amber. Remove from the heat and immediately pour in the hot cream - be careful as the caramel will bubble ferociously and rise up in the pan. When the bubbling subsides, add the butter and whisk until smooth then whisk in a generous pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.
• To make the gingersnap base, place the gingersnaps and ground ginger in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs, add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Grease a 15cm/6in round deep springform cake tin. Tip the biscuit crumbs into the tin, spread them evenly across the base and press down firmly. Place in the fridge to set while you make the cheesecake.
• Whisk the cream cheese until smooth then whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; finally mix in the sour cream and ground ginger. Divide the mixture in half; whisk the melted chocolate into one half and 60g of the cooled caramel into the other. Place the remaining caramel in the fridge.
• Wrap the outside of the cake tin in a double layer of tin foil making sure that it comes just above the top of the tin and there are no cracks or tears in it that water could seep through. Put the kettle on and position a rack in your slow cooker – either a metal one or a bamboo steamer tray will work and failing that you can make one by scrunching a long strip of tin foil into a rope and shaping it into a flat coil, make sure that the cake tin sits level on top of it.
• Alternate poring the two cheesecake mixtures into the tin so that you end up with a marbled effect. Place the tin on top of the rack in the slow cooker and pour in enough boiling water so that it comes halfway up the sides of the tin. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours without opening the lid; when the cheesecake is cooked it should be set but still have a bit of a wobble in the centre. Switch the slow cooker off, replace the lid and leave the cheesecake in there for another hour.
• Move the cheesecake to a wire rack, removing the tin foil. Carefully run a knife around the edge then leave to cool in it's tin until it reaches room temperature, Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• When you are ready to serve, carefully un-mould the cheesecake and slide it onto a serving platter. Gently warm the leftover caramel until it is pourable then drizzle it over the top of the cake before slicing.

 For some more ideas as to what you can make in a slow cooker, check out Slow Cooker Lamb Shank Rogan Josh by Supergolden Bakes, Slow Cooker Cuban Pork by Vikalinka, Slow Cooker Brownies by Creme De La Crumb, Slow Cooker Ratatouille by Amuse Your Bouche and Slow Cooker Peach Cobbler by A Spicy Perspective.

I am sharing this with Fiesta Friday, Foodie FriDIY, Foodie Friends Friday, Friday Favourites and Friday Features, Saucy Saturdays hosted by The Flavour Bender, Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef and Mid-Life Croissant, Fabulous Foodie Fridays,