Snickers is one of my favourite chocolate bars. Recently I made a Snickers cake, I LOVED THAT CAKE SO MUCH. So I wanted to make a Snickers cheesecake too.
Caramel and cheesecake is already an amazing combination, but add peanuts into it…10/10.
The texture of this cheesecake was so good, the cheesecake was soft and creamy, the caramel was a little chewy and the peanuts added a nice crunch!
Video Tutorial
Breakdown of the process
This cheesecake has quite a few different parts to it, we got the biscuit base, the cheesecake layer, a caramel peanut layer and then a ganache on top.
Also side note, we are going to need to make this over 2 days, because the cheesecake needs time to set overnight in the fridge.
Since there are a few different parts, I thought it would be helpful to give a quick overview of what we are going to be doing:
Day 1
- Make the biscuit base
- Make the cheesecake batter.
- Bake your cheesecake.
- Leave your cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour.
- Now leave your cheesecake to cool in the fridge overnight.
Day 2
- Make the caramel peanut layer.
- Leave this in the fridge to cool and thicken.
- Make the ganache.
- Now take the cheesecake out of the tin and put everything together!
The cheesecake
The first thing we are making is the cheesecake, because this is what needs to set overnight.
For the biscuit base, it’s just crushed biscuits and melted butter. You can use whatever biscuits you want but I like to use digestives.
For the cheesecake batter, I make an eggless cheesecake batter. I do still bake it, it makes a huge difference to the texture, just trust me.
Here are the ingredients you will need for this batter:
- Cream cheese – make sure to use full fat cream cheese.
- Granulated sugar – caster sugar works too.
- Corn flour – also known as corn starch. As the cheesecake bakes, this is going to thicken it, giving you a nice creamy cheesecake.
- Vanilla extract – for flavour.
- Double cream – also known as heavy cream. You want this to be warm, so heat it in your microwave for about 30 – 60 seconds. It doesn’t need to be hot, just warm to the touch.
- Melted white chocolate – this is not going to make the cheesecake taste white chocolate flavoured, you’re not going to be able to taste this. This chocolate is just going to help give the cheesecake a nicer texture, so don’t leave it out.
What kind of tin should I use for the cheesecake?
Most cheesecakes are baked in a springform/loose bottomed tin.
I prefer to use a regular cake tin just because I find it easier.
Cheesecakes are typically baked in a water bath. So if you are using a springform/ loose bottomed tin, you will need to wrap the outside of this tin a few times with tin foil.
In my personal experience, no matter how much I wrap the outside, some water still manages to get inside of the tin.
So I like to just use a regular tin so that I can avoid this.
It’s totally up to you which kind of tin to use though, they both work.
Yes if you use a regular tin, you can skip wrapping it in tinfoil. But then it is a little harder to get the cheesecake out of the tin once it has baked and set. So just use whichever you find easier.
If you are using a regular tin, the easiest way to get the cheesecake out, is to heat the sides and the bottom of the tin.
You can either do this by using a blowtorch, or by dipping the tin in some hot water. But of course, make sure not to fully submerge the tin, we don’t want to soak our cheesecake in water.
Then just flip the tin over and aggressively shake until the cheesecake comes out!
Baking the cheesecake in a water bath
One of the most important things when making the cheesecake is to bake it in a water bath.
Basically, cheesecakes don’t like drastic changes in temperature.
So if you just add your cheesecake straight into your oven, the texture won’t be as good as a cheesecake that has been baked in a water bath, and it is also more likely to crack on top.
When you use a water bath, the water regulates the temperature of the cheesecake. It essentially stops the cheesecake from getting too hot.
This gives the cheesecake a much smoother and creamier texture, this is what we want.
So a water bath is always good to use.
How to make a water bath
To bake a cheesecake in a water bath, all you need to do is get a large roasting or baking tin that has high sides.
Add the tin with the cheesecake into this roasting tin, then fill it with some boiling water. Just until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the tin with the cheesecake in it.
That is it, just carefully place this in your pre-heated oven.
Leaving the cheesecake to cool in your oven
In the recipe below, I’ve wrote that after the cheesecake has baked, you should turn your oven off, open the door slightly and then leave your cheesecake in there to cool for an hour.
Like I mentioned, cheesecakes don’t like drastic changes in temperature.
If you take it out straight away, the cheesecake has a high chance of cracking. Letting it cool down slowly prevents this.
If you don’t mind a cracked cheesecake, I guess you can skip this. But I do recommend it, I feel like it helps the texture too.
After this, let it cool down completely, then leave it in your fridge overnight.
I know this might seem like a lot, but it will be so worth it in the end!
The caramel peanut layer
For this layer, we are going to start by making a caramel sauce.
If you wanted to save time, you could just buy the caramel sauce, no one has to know.
If you are buying it though, try to buy one that is not extremely soft. Some caramel sauces don’t set up, they stay runny. Normally this is nice, but in this case we want our caramel to thicken up.
Otherwise when you cut the cheesecake, the caramel will just flow everywhere.
Anyway, here are the ingredients I used to make the caramel:
- Granulated sugar – caster sugar works too.
- Unsalted butter
- Double cream – also known as heavy cream.
Then you will also need some peanuts to mix into the caramel. I used roasted salted peanuts because salt and caramel is a great combination, but you can use unsalted ones if you want.
A few tips when making the caramel
Constantly stir the sugar
The first step in making the caramel is to melt the sugar.
To do this, we just need to add the sugar into a pot and heat this until it has all melted and turned an amber colour.
However, make sure to constantly stir during the process.
The sugar can burn easily, which will leave you with a bitter tasting caramel. We don’t want this, so make sure to keep stirring.
Keep the heat on medium
Again the sugar can brun easily, so keep the heat on medium-low. Don’t try increasing the heat to speed up the process.
Use room temperature butter and warm cream
Once the sugar has melted, the next step is to mix in the butter. And then mix in the cream.
If we use cold butter and cold double cream, when you add these into the melted sugar, the sugar will set up. So then you will end up with a lumpy caramel that has pieces of hard sugar in it.
This is not fun.
So use room temperature butter. You don’t need to wait for it to come to room temperature, you can heat it in your microwave until it has softened, NOT MELTED, just softened.
Then also use warm cream. Just heat it in your microwave for 30-60 seconds.
The dark chocolate ganache
The final layer of this Snickers cheesecake is a dark chocolate ganache.
I decided to use a ganache instead of just adding melted chocolate on top, just because this cheesecake is being kept in the fridge. So a ganache will stay softer than chocolate. I felt like this would taste better.
But you could just pour some melted chocolate on top if you wanted to.
To make the ganache you just need dark chocolate and double cream/heavy cream. Whipping cream also works.
Just heat these together until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Then it is ready to use.
Do I have to use dark chocolate?
I used dark chocolate just because this cheesecake and the caramel layer is already sweet enough. So I didn’t want to add any extra sweetness.
Dark chocolate does a great job at adding a chocolate flavour without adding more sweetness.
But if you don’t like dark chocolate, you can use milk, or even white chocolate.
If you are using milk or white chocolate though, half the amount of cream in the recipe below. If you use the full amount, the ganache will be too thin.
Cutting the cheesecake
To finish off the cheesecake, I just added some whipped cream swirls on top and then some chopped Snickers bars.
You can decorate it however you want, or you don’t need to decorate it at all.
But after that, you can cut into it.
Just a warning, this isn’t the easiest cheesecake to cut, because of the peanut layer. This layer makes it a little difficult to get perfect slices, but the taste is still amazing so I think it doesn’t really matter.
But using a sharp hot knife will make cutting the cheesecake a little easier!
I make a lot of cheesecakes. Here are some other cheesecake recipes I think you should take a look at:
Snickers Cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the biscuit base:
320g biscuits (any work, I used digestives)
100g unsalted butter, melted
- For the cheesecake:
800g full fat cream cheese
200g granulated sugar
60g corn flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
300ml double cream, warm (just heat it in your microwave for 30-60 seconds)
160g white chocolate, melted
- For the caramel layer:
300g granulated sugar
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
180ml double cream, warm
200g peanuts, slightly chopped (I like to use salted peanuts)
- For the ganache:
100g dark chocolate
100ml double cream (if you are using milk chocolate, use 50g of cream instead)
Directions
- DAY 1
- Start by pre-heating your oven to 170c/325f, also grease and line an 8 inch cake tin. Leave this aside.
- For the biscuit base:
- Crush your biscuits, you can either do this in a food processor, or just add them into a food bag and hit with a rolling pin.
- Mix these crushed biscuit with the melted butter.
- Add this into your tin and press it down until you get a smooth, compact layer. Leave this aside.
- Making the cheesecake batter:
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, corn flour and vanilla. Mix these together until smooth.
- Add half of your cream into this, whisk this in, then whisk in the remaining cream.
- Now mix in your melted white chocolate.
- Add this into your tin and smooth it out.
- Baking the cheesecake:
- Add the tin into a large baking/roasting tin that has high sides. Pour some boiling water into this until it reaches about halfway up the tin with the cheesecake in it.
- Carefully place this into your oven and bake at 170c/325f, for around 45-50 minutes. It is done when the sides look set but the centre is still slightly jiggly.
- Once it has baked, turn your oven off, open the door slightly, and then leave the cheesecake in there for an hour.
- After an hour, take the cheesecake out of the oven. Let this cool down completely, then place it into your fridge. Leave it in there to set overnight.
- DAY 2
- Making the caramel layer:
- In a pot, add about 1/3 of the sugar. Place this pot onto medium heat.
- Heat this sugar, whiles constantly stirring, until the sugar starts to melts. Once it starts to melt, pour another 1/3 of the sugar into the pot. Again keep stirring until this starts to melt, then add the rest of the sugar. Make sure not to increase the heat during this process, you want to melt the sugar slowly, otherwise it can burn.
- Keep heating and stirring the sugar until it all has melted and turned an amber colour.
- Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter. Then slowly pour in the cream, whiles mixing.
- Measure 250g of this caramel and mix this with the peanuts. You will have some caramel leftover, you can keep this in your fridge for up to 3 weeks and use it for something else.
- Leave this caramel peanut mixture in the fridge so that it can cool down and thicken.
- Making the ganache:
- In a bowl, add the chocolate and cream.
- Heat this in your microwave for 30 seconds. Take it out and give it a stir, then place it back into your microwave for 15 seconds this time. Take it out and stir again.
- Keep repeating this until the chocolate has melted and you get a smooth ganache.
- Leave this aside until you're ready to use it.
- Putting everything together:
- Once your caramel peanut mixture has cooled and thickened, you can put everything together.
- Take your cheesecake out of the tin and spread the caramel peanut mixture over it. Then add the ganache on top.
- After this, I piped some whipped cream on top and added pieces of Snickers, but this is optional.
- Leave this in the fridge for about 20 minutes so that the ganache can set up, but then cut into it and enjoy!
