Description

A rich chocolate cookie crust filled with white chocolate vanilla bean caramel cheesecake and topped with the cutest little Ghostbuster Meringues. The only scary thing about this Halloween dessert is how good it is! For a "bloody" surprise, drizzle it with this 10-minute homemade berry sauce.

Ingredients

Units

For the Oreo crust
3 sleeves (42 Oreo cookies), cream removed (350g)
7 tablespoons butter (98g)

For the Cheesecake Base

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (or 12 ounces cream cheese + 4 ounces mascarpone cheese) (454g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
6 large eggs, room temperature (300g)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon extract + 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder) (10g)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the White Chocolate Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar (201g)
1/2 cup water (113g)
1/2 cup heavy cream (113g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped (113g)

For the Cheesecake Topper Decorations

one recipe Ghostbuster Meringues
Optional once recipe 10-Minute Homemade "Bloody" Berry (Licious) Sauce

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark even when your hands have flour all over them

Instructions

Preheat oven 350°F/176°C. + prepare the springform cake pan. Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.
Make + bake Oreo Cookie crust. Remove the cream from the cookies and add them to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to crush the cookies until they resemble coarse sand. Add the melted butter and combine using a fork or your hands. Add the cookie mixture to the prepared cake pan (or pie plate). Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven to cool. Once the crust has cooled, line the outside securely with heavy-duty aluminum foil in preparation for the water bath. *If you don't want to remove the cream from the cookies, see notes for an alternative method.
Prepare the cheesecake base. Using a handheld mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream the sugar and cream cheese (and mascarpone if using) until light and fluffy about 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt and mix just until combined and no traces of egg are left. Set the mixture aside while you make the caramel white chocolate sauce.
Make the caramel white chocolate sauce. In a large heavy-bottomed 4 to 6-quart pot, add the sugar and water and turn the heat up to high. Do not disturb the pot while the sugar is dissolving. The mixture will begin to cook and form bubbles. After about 8-10 minutes, the mixture will start to form larger bubbles and turn golden brown in spots near the edge of the pot. At this point, swirl the pan once or twice directly over the heat and watch it closely so it doesn't burn. After 10 to 11 minutes of total cooking time, the caramel should be a deep amber color. Turn off the heat and immediately stir in the heavy cream whisking vigorously to incorporate the mixture. Add white chocolate and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir to incorporate. *From start to finish, the caramel sauce takes no more than 12 minutes to make.
Combine caramel sauce and cheesecake base. Working quickly, add the caramel sauce to the cheesecake base and stir or whisk to combine everything. Add the tablespoon of flour and gently incorporate it into the mixture. [*see below for helpful tips about incorporating the caramel]
Bake the cheesecake. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared Oreo crust and bake for approximately 1hr to 1hr and 10 minutes, or until the top is set and the middle is cooked through. The edges will slightly puff up and the middle will only slightly bounce or jiggle when the cheesecake is ready. Remove it from the oven to a wire rack and allow the cheesecake to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours and even better overnight.
Decorate the top with Ghostbuster Meringues. Place the meringue ghosts on top of the cheesecake to serve and Enjoy!
*If your caramel sauce gets hard when you add it to the cheesecake base, see below notes for easy troubleshooting tips.

Notes

If you don't want to remove the cream from the Oreo Cookies when making the cookie crust just use 1-2 tablespoons (14-28g) less butter. Leaving the cream makes a much sweeter cookie crust that for our tastes is too sweet for this cheesecake. But if you really have a sweet tooth, it may just be perfect for you.
How to prepare the cheesecake pan for surviving the water bath it cooks in. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil with a large enough surface area that it will completely cover the bottom of the pan and also come up the sides around the pan. Apply approximately 3 layers of aluminum foil to ensure no water will seep into the cheesecake while cooking. I always recycle and reuse foil when it doesn't have contact with food which is the case here.
If you are really short on time but still love the idea of this dessert, replace the homemade Ghostbuster Meringues with Marshmallow Ghost Peeps instead. Or make an easy regular cheesecake and top it off with ghost meringues.
If you've never worked with caramel, take a look at the step-by-step recipe photos for a little help. This way you'll know what to expect during the 10-12 minutes of caramel cooking time.
If your caramel sauce gets hard when you add it to the cheesecake base, here's how you troubleshoot it. It's ok if the caramel starts to harden a bit when it hits the cheesecake base. It should still easily incorporate into the base after some vigorous whisking. However the longer you wait to add the caramel to the base, the harder it is to easily blend the two mixtures. Difficulty blending the caramel with the cheesecake base should only happen if you've waited too long to incorporate the caramel. But, if this happens, don't worry. Just keep whisking the caramel mixture into the base until the color starts to change from white to an amber hue. After you've poured the base into the cookie crust if you have any smaller stubborn chunks of caramel still remaining in the bowl simply pull the caramel apart using your fingers (it's messy) and dot the cheesecake base with it. It will magically melt into the cheesecake as it bakes and it will be delicious.
Make mini ghost cheesecakes by using mini cheesecake pans or foil muffin liners and a muffin pan. Adjust the baking time accordingly.
Oreos information: 42 Oreo cookies with the cream removed weigh a total of 350g
Substitute the 8-inch springform pan for a 9 or 10-inch pan if you want. Make the following adjustments if to the crust and baking times if you do.
- 9-inch pan: Only bring the cookie crust 1/3 of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 50 minutes.
- 10-inch pan: Spread out the cookie crumbs just to cover the bottom of the pan and bake for 40-50 min.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Category: Cakes + Tortes
Method: Oven Bake
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice