This recipe for dulce de leche cheesecake is absolutely delicious. It is a baked cheesecake and uses the traditional burnt basque cheesecake method. It is quick, delicious, and an easy cheesecake! Who doesn’t love a homemade cheesecake?
This is a great recipe for those who do not want to have to make prepared crust but love cheesecake. Perks of baking the cheesecake this way? You do not need a pie crust or a crust of any kind (which means you won’t end up with a soggy crust). I know some people love a graham cracker crust (I do too), but, it simply does not work with burnt basque cheesecakes. You also do not need to worry about a hot water bath! Which is so great because dealing with a hot water bath can be such a pain for those who are not experienced with it. There is always the question of, do you place the springform pan directly into the hot water bath or do you place springform pan above a hot water bath. Let’s dive in!
Is dulce de leche the same as caramel?
The main difference is that dulce de leche is made from sweetened condensed milk (or milk and sugar) whereas caramel is made from caramel and water. Condensed milk is made from cows milk but has had the water removed from it, and has sugar added.
If you cannot find dulce de leche at your grocery store, you could substitute a sweetened condensed milk or caramel if you wanted. However, it is generally readily available.
So what is Dulce de Leche?
Dulce de leche is a cooked down sweetened condensed milk that is really popular in South America. One of my friends, Belen, is from Argentina and incorporates dulce de leche into many of her recipes. You can see them here.
Recipe notes:
If you do not have some of the ingredients, you may be wondering if you could substitute any. If you do not have dulce de leche, then you may use sweetened condensed milk. Sadly, there are not many replacements for the heavy cream, or the cream cheese. The heavy cream helps build up the dulce de leche cheesecake batter, and the cream cheese is of course integral to the dessert.
I like to bake with King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten free flour. However, any 1:1 gluten free flour will do for this dulce de leche cheesecake.
Cheesecake Tips:
The type of baking pan that you will use for this recipe is a springform pan. It is not a large baking pan, but rather, an 8-9 inch cake pan or tin. This is the only type of baking pan that you will use for a burnt basque cheesecake! That is because when it is done baking, you will unlock the springform pan and life the circular mold up, and just slice your cake! Which is super easy. If you do not have a springform pan, they are available in most cookery stores and are definitely available online!
What if I want to make this recipe into mini cheesecakes? You absolutely can! Please read my recipe here for instructions on how to do just that.
Can I use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper?
No, you should 100% not sure aluminum foil. Aluminum foil, while nonstick, is not the best solution when you are using a decent amount of heat. As this dulce de leche cheesecake is a baked cheesecake, you do not want to surround it with aluminum foil. Stick with the parchment paper.
Now if you are thinking “can I use plastic wrap” to store this recipe, then yes. you can. If you wish to wrap the entirety of the cake or individual slices in plastic wrap that is doable. See below for my suggestions for how soon after the cake should be eaten. If you do not use plastic wrap but an eco-friendly alternative, I would suggest that you use an airtight container instead.
This recipe only really requires one large bowl. It is the bowl of a stand mixer. You will make the cheesecake filling all in this one bowl!
What to serve with this dulce de leche cheesecake?
If you are wondering what to serve this dulce de leche cheesecake with, then Dulce de leche topping is super delicious! You could also go with a whipped cream! If you do not have dulce de leche, I would not substitute sweetened condensed milk as a topping.
Because this is a burnt basque cheesecake recipe (or a San Sebastian cheesecake recipe), as stated above there is no crust. Which for the following reasons is great!
- You do not need to wait for the cooled crust to add the cheesecake mixture.
- There is no butter in this recipe. Usually, melted butter (salted butter or unsalted butter) is used in combination with graham crackers ( or you take the butter and combine cookie crumbs) forms the crust. It eliminates these steps so you can get to working on the cheesecake mixture.
- Burnt Basque Cheesecakes are known for being a creamy cheesecake. It is due to the way in which it is baked in addition to the heavy cream, but, who doesn’t love a creamy cheesecake.
What do you need for this dulche de leche cheesecake batter?
You will need the following:
- 3 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened cream cheese; you can use full fat cream cheese or a low fat cream cheese
- 1 cup cream, I use heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup dulce de leche
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, I like to use an authentic vanilla extract however if all you can find is the clear synthetic vanilla extract, then that is fine
- ¼ cup gluten free flour, I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour
*prepared pan – use a springform pan
*stand mixer (or a mixer with a beater); please do not use a food processor
How do you make it?
Preheat your oven temperature to 400°F.
- Add the cream cheese to the large bowl of a stand mixer (it may be tempting to use a food processor but I would not suggest it). You are going to beat cream cheese until it is smooth. You want the filling to be a smooth cheesecake batter without lumps! Add the sugar and continue to beat cream cheese filling on a medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure that everything is smooth and fully incorporated. The cheesecake filling should be coming together at this point.
- Add eggs one at time now until they are all smooth in the batter. Next, add the vanilla extract and the heavy cream and beat for another minute. You are going to want to lower the speed from a medium speed to low (you do not want the heavy cream to go flying). Now add dulce de leche. Remove from the stand mixer (again, I really suggest a stand mixer and not a food processor or a hand mixer as you want the beater option), and fold in the gluten free flour.
- Spray the springform pan with a nonstick spray and line it with parchment paper. If you do not have a nonstick spray, that is fine, you can grease the springform pan with butter and then line it with the parchment paper. Pour the smooth cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan, open the oven door, and then place the springform pan into the oven. Bake cheesecake for 50 minutes. The dulce de leche cheesecake will still be a bit jiggly when you remove the springform pan from the oven, and that is totally normal. The top will be a beautiful golden brown color. The golden brown is unique to a burnt basque cheesecake and adds a caramelized flavor to the dulce de leche cheesecake.
- Let the dulce de leche cheesecake sit on the counter in its springform pan (do not, I repeat, do not try to remove the circular mold of the springform pan) and cool completely for one hour before placing in the fridge and allowing it to cool for at least 2 hours. When you go to slice your cheesecake, lift the circular mold of the springform pan off, peel the parchment paper down from the sides before slicing! Feel free to use more dulce de leche topping to go right on top of your perfect cheesecake slices! I would suggest heating it up to make it a bit smoother to drizzle on the top. I like to let my cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight, that way, you make sure it is cool completely! If you wish to store it in an airtight container that is fine but make sure that said airtight container is in the fridge. The dulce de leche cheesecake is best eaten within 3-4 days!
Looking for other cheesecake recipes?
Lemon Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Blueberry Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Heath Bar Cheesecake
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 3 8 oz packages of cream cheese it needs to be softened cream cheese; you can use full fat cream cheese or a low fat cream cheese
- 1 cup cream I use heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup dulce de leche
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract I like to use an authentic vanilla extract however if all you can find is the clear synthetic vanilla extract, then that is fine
- ¼ cup gluten free flour I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese to the large bowl of a stand mixer (it may be tempting to use a food processor but I would not suggest it). You are going to beat cream cheese until it is smooth. You want the filling to be a smooth cheesecake batter without lumps! Add the sugar and continue to beat cream cheese filling on a medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure that everything is smooth and fully incorporated. The cheesecake filling should be coming together at this point.
- Add eggs one at time now until they are all smooth in the batter. Next, add the vanilla extract and the heavy cream and beat for another minute. You are going to want to lower the speed from a medium speed to low (you do not want the heavy cream to go flying). Now add dulce de leche. Remove from the stand mixer (again, I really suggest a stand mixer and not a food processor or a hand mixer as you want the beater option), and fold in the gluten free flour.
- Spray the springform pan with a nonstick spray and line it with parchment paper. If you do not have a nonstick spray, that is fine, you can grease the springform pan with butter and then line it with the parchment paper. Pour the smooth cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan, open the oven door, and then place the springform pan into the oven. Bake cheesecake for 50 minutes. The dulce de leche cheesecake will still be a bit jiggly when you remove the springform pan from the oven, and that is totally normal. The top will be a beautiful golden brown color. The golden brown is unique to a burnt basque cheesecake and adds a caramelized flavor to the dulce de leche cheesecake.
- Let the dulce de leche cheesecake sit on the counter in its springform pan (do not, I repeat, do not try to remove the circular mold of the springform pan) and cool completely for one hour before placing in the fridge and allowing it to cool for at least 2 hours. When you go to slice your cheesecake, lift the circular mold of the springform pan off, peel the parchment paper down from the sides before slicing! Feel free to use more dulce de leche topping to go right on top of your perfect cheesecake slices! I would suggest heating it up to make it a bit smoother to drizzle on the top. I like to let my cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight, that way, you make sure it is cool completely! If you wish to store it in an airtight container that is fine but make sure that said airtight container is in the fridge. The dulce de leche cheesecake should be eaten within 3-4 days!
Notes
Nutrition
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