Caramel Cheesecake

Caramel Cheesecake is a no-bake dessert with a buttery shortbread crust layered with a glorious layer of homemade caramel and a smooth, creamy cheesecake filling. Then, it’s topped with more crumbled shortbread cookies, dollops of whipped cream, and caramel for a sweet, rich, and tangy treat! If this sounds like your kind of dessert, you will also love my No-Bake Caramel Shortbread Pie.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Crust: When coating the shortbread crumbs in butter, make sure they are completely coated. This is the ‘glue’ that holds the cookie crumbs together. You may also want to add extra shortbread cookie crumbs for the topping. You could use a store-bought crust or a graham cracker crust if preferred.

Butter: I used unsalted butter in both the crust and the caramel layer. It gives you more control over the salt in sweet treats like this one. If using salted butter, you may want to lessen or omit the salt.

Sweetened Condensed Milk: You will only use half of a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (7 ounces). But, don’t let the other half go to waste; it’s the perfect amount to make my Strawberry Shortcake Trifle!

Corn Syrup: Light corn syrup is an important ingredient in this homemade caramel. It is processed from cornstarch and gives the caramel layer a smooth, glossy texture. It also keeps it from being grainy.

Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds flavor, texture, and color to the caramel layer. In a pinch, you could use dark brown sugar, which will intensify the flavor and color. It may also change the texture of the caramel a bit.

Cheesecake: The filling for this no-bake cheesecake recipe is made with a special ingredient, heavy whipping cream. Using heavy cream makes this no-bake cheesecake stand up to classic baked cheesecake.

Individual Caramel Cheesecakes

It’s easy to make no-bake cheesecakes into individual-sized portions. It’s a lovely way to serve the dessert. First, prepare the crust. Next, press an equal amount of crust into each serving vessel, like ramekins. Then, make the caramel sauce as instructed. Top the crusts with an equal amount of caramel and chill the cheesecakes in the refrigerator. When ready,

 make the cheesecake filling and add an equal amount to each ramekin, over the caramel layer. Place the cheesecakes back into the