Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

That happens to have a lemony cheesecake in a nutmeg crust on the side

Every Thanksgiving I like to come up with a new dessert to rotate in with the regulars. This year, along with an apple-cranberry pie (my favorite day-after breakfast) and bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie, we will welcome a lush cheesecake tart and its companion, an apple cider caramel sauce.

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After such a gargatuan meal, I want desserts that aren’t too sweet. I put bourbon in the pecan pie to balance the syrupy intensity. My apple pie has very little sugar and loads of lemon zest to let the apple flavor sing. With that in mind, I set out to make a cheesecake that wouldn’t send me straight to the couch for a post-sugar snooze.

Note the crumbly texture of the shortbread dough before I press it into the tart pan.

The cheesecake tart’s crust is a nutmeg-lemon shortbread, which hints at flavors in apple pie, plus, I boosted the cheesecake’s tang with lemon juice. Then, bless us one and all, there is the apple cider caramel sauce. The buttery caramel is infused with the tartness of apples thanks to apple cider syrup, and swirled into the cheesecake before baking. The cheesecake is then served with a generous rain of caramel. (I figure a ‘rain’ of caramel is somewhere between a drizzle and a pour.)

To make the caramel, apple cider is boiled until it reduces to syrup. This takes a little time, but you could maybe stir and watch my new favorite show, a quirky mystery from Tasmania called “Deadloch.”

You will taste the syrup and ask yourself why you didn’t make more. Apple cider syrup is ambrosia (the mythic kind, not the marshmallow and green Jell-o kind). Use it in place of kir in a glass of champagne. Stir it into bourbon. Glaze a pumpkin bread with it. Drizzle it over grilled pork chops.

And, of course, make a caramel sauce with it.

Some of the caramel is swirled in cheesecake batter before baking. The caramel will lighten as it bakes.

Notes:

I’ll keep this brief, so you can get to boiling down some cider. The recipe looks a little long, but all told, is simple to make. And you can choose to prepare it all at once (I’d make it the day before you plan to serve it), or, make it in stages.

Alternatively, simplify your life and just make sundaes: Pour the apple cider caramel over vanilla ice cream and serve nutmeg-lemon shortbread on the side.*

Planning guide:

1. Boil the apple cider to make the syrup.

2. Make the apple cider caramel.

3. Make the crust and chill it.

4. While the crust is chilling make the cheesecake filling.

5. Swirl in some caramel sauce and bake.

6. Let cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Serve with a generous amount of cider caramel.

NB: To our substack friends from foreign lands, the apple cider of which I speak is fresh pressed apple cider, not the bubbly, fermented sort.

Cheesecake With Apple Cider Caramel Sauce And A Nutmeg

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Cheesecake with Apple Cider Caramel Sauce and a Nutmeg-Lemon Shortbread Crust

You will need a 9” tart pan with removable bottom

Apple Cider Syrup

What You’ll Need:

2 cups fresh apple cider

What You’ll Do:

In a medium saucepan, gently simmer the cider over medium-low heat until it’s reduced by three-quarters, stirring occasionally. The syrup will thicken as it cools. This can burn, so keep an eye on it. It should have the consistency of liquid honey.

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

What You’ll Need:

1/3 cup apple cider syrup

3/4 cup (149 grams) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (53 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

What You’ll Do:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, gently stir together the apple cider syrup, the granulated sugar and brown sugar until they turn to liquid.

2. Add the heavy cream and butter and bring to a brisk simmer, whisking non-stop, until the mixture has thickened somewhat, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Let cool.

4. Store in the fridge for food safety reasons, but also to keep it out of direct sight, or you may find yourself eating spoonfuls of it at every opportunity. Give it a blast in the microwave for 20 seconds to liquify it before serving.

Nutmeg Lemon Shortbread Pie Crust

What You’ll Need:

1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (39 grams) confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated preferred)

1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, cut into about 16 pieces

1 large egg yolk

zest of one lemon

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Wrap the bottom and sides of the tart with foil to prevent any leaks.

2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt and nutmeg until blended.

3. Sprinkle the pieces of butter over the flour mixture. Pulse 10 to 15 times or until the butter is nearly invisible and the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the egg yolk and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture starts to clump together.

4. Empty the mixture into the tart pan and press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the flat bottom of a glass to even out the dough. Prick the bottom of the tart all over with a fork to prevent the pastry from puffing as it bakes. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

5. Once the tart has chilled, place it on a light-colored cookie sheet (not your grungy, darkened roasting pan), and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until very light golden brown. Set aside while you make the filling.

For the Cheesecake Filling

What You’ll Need:

16 ounces (450 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs, room temperature

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat the oven to 375° F.

2. With a hand or stand mixer, blend the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until uniform and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Raise the speed of the mixer to medium-high and continue to beat until light and creamy about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps-a-lurking.

3. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and blend.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, until completely blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters and beat for 30 seconds longer until creamy.

5. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked tart shell (which should still be sitting on that cookie sheet, which will make transporting the wibbly-wobbly very sploshy uncooked cheesecake to the oven much easier). Swirl a few tablespoons of the caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake, making it all pretty.

6. Bake until just set. The cheesecake will still jiggle, but it should jiggle as one unit…the middle of the cake should not jiggle separately.

7. Let cool for one hour, then wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

8. Serve each slice of the tart with a generous pour of caramel, but not so generous that there isn’t any left for you to sit quietly and eat it off the spoon all by yourself.

*To bake the shortbread as cookies instead of as a crust: Press the dough into an 8” round or square pan. Sprinkle with demerara sugar if desired. Bake at 350°F until golden and just firm to the touch. While the shortbread is still warm, score it into 8 triangles.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. And general good vibes to all of us and a wish for peace and sanity in the world.

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