Kids can get away with so much more than adults and whilst “It’s not fair” is a cry often uttered by outraged children, sometimes I think they have no idea how good they have it. I’m embarrassed to admit that I recently bribed M’s son S to work his magical kid charms by asking an adult, in a cute little kid’s voice if they would do their magic trick (which I desperately wanted to see).
My logic was that the request just wouldn’t have been the same from a grown adult. In fact, I had already asked and my wish was not granted. And later when my husband reminded me that I was in fact being a bad influence on them I was of course suitably chastised but I reminded him that S’s eight year old little brother In piped up mid negotiation saying “Tell them you are dying! Then they’ll have to do it!”.
His reward for asking nicely for something to be done? The cheesecake of his choice. This is the boy of the never ending dessert tank. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept it’s a separate compartment in the stomach, usually exclusively found in children, reserved for desserts. S’s dessert tank is so great he boasts of eating a whole cheesecake over 2 days. At first he asked for a Vanilla Cheesecake but when I saw the recipe for an Apple Butterscotch cheesecake in Feast, I suggested it to him and he was nodding without a split second’s hesitation. Who says kids are hard to please? This cheesecake was more inspired by Feast as Nigella’s recipe did not call for any apple, rather apple schnapps which isn’t quite on the diet of your average 11 year old.
Open the hatch for the dessert tank…
When they arrived to pick up their bounty they buzzed our intercom and all I heard was an excited “We’re here to pick up the cheesecake!!”. And after grudgingly sharing a piece with his friend, S was in full dessert-tank filling mode. I gave him a giant serving fork to assist him in his endeavour and he settled in for a demolition job stopping only when mum M removed the giant fork from his hand to much protestations, after envisioning an 11 year old boy on a major sugar high all afternoon.
Nom nom…can fit more…
No mum, I can keep going! Just give me a second…
Caramel Apple Cheesecake
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
For the crust:
- 250g/0.5 lb packet plain biscuits or a cheesecake crust
- 75g/2.6oz unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cheesecake
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut in cubes
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 600g/1.3lbs cream cheese at room temperature
- 125g/4.4ozs brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons cornflour
For butterscotch sauce
- 75g/2.64oz butter, cubed
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 150ml/5 fl oz thickened cream
1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan forced. Add butter into a medium saucepan and cook apples with brown sugar and cinnamon gently until starting to become tender but not soggy. Stir in vanilla and cool. You could also use tinned apple pie filling with some added vanilla if you wish.
2. Blitz the biscuits and cinnamon in a food processor until crumbled finely. Add butter until it comes together. Press into a greaseproof paper lined 20cm diameter springform pan and place in the fridge while you do the filling (if you also line the sides with greaseproof paper it’s much easier to remove).
3. Put a kettleful of water on the boil. In the cleaned food processor beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and cornflour until smooth. Add eggs one at a time.
4. Place cooked apples on the bottom of the cheesecake. Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Put 2 layers of foil around the tin to prevent any water from the water bath from getting in. It’s useful to have that wider foil for this task if you have it. I didn’t and it was still ok though.
5. Place tin in a deep baking dish and pour filling into the foil lined tin. Then pour the boiling water around the cheesecake so that it sits in a bath being careful not to splash any on the cheesecake itself.
6. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 1 1/4 hours although you may want to check at 1 hour. The outside should be set and the inside with a hint of wobble which will firm up in the fridge. Remove the foil and cool on a wire rack and when cold, place in the fridge overnight covered with clingfilm.
7. Make butterscotch sauce: Place butter, sugar and cream into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter has melted. Simmer gently for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 20 minutes or until thickened.
8. Unclip the springform tin and unmould from the edges. Place on a serving plate (I always leave the cheesecake on the springform base) and then drizzle over with the butterscotch sauce.
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43 Comments | Add your own
I m not surprised that kid wanted more. It looks so good. I like the idea of adding cubed apples to the cheesecake I think it goes really well with butterscotch
Wow, this looks amazing! The apples layered inside the cheesecake look delicious…yum!
What a lucky little boy! This looks sinfully delicious! I’m thinking I could make this with cinnamon chips in the apples and a cinnamon chips drizzle on top!
That’s one good looking cheesecake! You’ve left me craving for some now… mmmm.
Yum! The apple in the bottom is a lovely idea, it would make the cheesecake a bit less dense.
That is one gorgeous cheesecake and I did laugh over the dessert tank. Very funny
Awesome photos! I love the ones of him digging right in
And you are totally the Queen of Cheesecakes right now! I just wish I could have a slice, although I suspect I’d get a fork stuck in my hand if I tried to sneak a piece of this one.
I’ve never seen a cheesecake with apple in it before. Looks sweet, rich, yum. And I wish I could just look at a cheesecake without putting on weight, not to mention scoffing it like an 11-year old!
That looks so amazing! Great job! Um, I think he likes it!
say you’re dying?!! ahhhh you’ve got to love the genius of children.
lovely pics Lorraine.
LOL! Your photos are classics
The cake looks delicious, too.
you can bribe me to ask embarrassing questions if I get a dessert like that – although I fear I don’t have a dessert tank (my eyes think so but my stomach sometimes disagrees!). Anyway, I hope the magic trick was a good one!
that cake looks positively delicious! I love your blog name by the way, very cute
Sigh…I envy him…looks so creamy and delicious! Once again I’ve tortured myself by reading your blog in the morning when I still have a couple of hours to go till lunch…guess I’ll never learn…*tummy rumbles*
You’re literally killing me with all your cheesecakes Lorraine
Off to take a cold shower…
That child is living out my wildest childhood food related dreams!!! The cheesecake is bigger than his head lol. Lorraine where were you when I was 11?!
Yes, this is right up my alley!
Good god that is the most delicious looking thing I have ever seen. Must.Make.It.Soon
That looks so creamy and yummy! I don’t remember reading that recipe in Feast. I’ll have to re-read it
There are so many cheesecakes I want to make now! I still haven’t made your maple syrup one! And I want to make one with pears, and one with dates and bananas and pecans. I’m so hungry for cheesecake, damnit!
I hope you got to eat some of that cheesecake before he devoured it all…
My dearest L
We are still eating… I can’t wait to spoil you with a Viennese Malakoff Torte when I see you next! Much love.
The apple cheesecake looks and sounds really delicious.Nice pics, you can see that he really loved that cake….
hilarious–those pictures are like looking into a mirror…
i’m not a huge cheesecake fan, but i simply can’t resist anything combining apples and caramel, so why bother trying?
Hi snookydoodle-Yes I barely got to try it! I must make it again for myself
Hi sara-thankyou so much! I have to say that I was really in love with the apple and cheese combo
Hi Barbara-Thankyou!
Oh yes some cinnamon chips would be divine in it! 
Love that idea!
Hi Su-yin-Thankyou so much!
I wish it hadn’t disappeared from my possession so quickly, although that was probably a good thing in the long run 
Hi Arwen-You’re right, it does lighten it up and cut through the richness of the cheese
Hi holler-Hehe thanks! The brilliance of kids and their attempts to rationalise sugar lust!
Hi Angela-I could’ve kept shooting, it got funnier as he kept spooning it in but I was busy laughing!
Thankyou! Yes unfortuanetly diets and cheesecakes don’t really go well together 
Hi belle-Yes 11 year old boys certainly have it lucky don’t they? Although I was the same at 11 too. I should’ve enjoyed it more
Hi Biz-hehe thanks, we got confirmation. He’s one of those kids that tells you what you’ve done wrong with a dish and he only had positives to say about this!
Hi the projectivist-Haha yes they’ll say anything won’t they
Thanks!
Hi maris-Thankyou!
It was good-I’ll definitely make one for myself too 
Hi Johanna-Me too, my eyes always say yes but my stomach doesn’t always accept that much! It was worth it!
Hi Amira-Thankyou very much for that!
Hi Alexandra-Thanks! I do the same with blogs. I often end up having lunch at 11am because of it!
Hi Karen-I love making them because they’re so simple!
And never screw up which is a good thing 
LOL at cold shower!
Hi Miss Honey-Hehe that’s so sweet of you to say. Yes you know it probably is about as big as his head!
Hi Christie-Aha good to see that you like the occasional unhealthy food
Hi Esz-Thankyou so much! I’d love to know what you think of it!
Hi Javs-It’s sort of hidden in Feast as there’s no picture and this one is quite different from hers. It was more inspired as hers had apple schnapps and I knew that wouldn’t be good for an 11 year old
The date, banana and pecan one sounds great!
I got one sliver before it was taken away. And it was freakishly good it was probably good that it was taken away
Hi Big M-Excellent! Good to know that you’ve portioned it out so that there isn’t such a huge sugar hit! Can’t wait for the Viennese torte!
Hi yaelin-Thankyou! I think the funniest bit was when his mum took the fork away. Such an anguished cry!
Hi grace-Yes me too! Yes you’re a big apple and cinnamon fan so I think this might be the cheesecake for you!
Oh my, that looks sooooo good – and you can see that the recipient is clearly enjoying it!
So the kid only finished roughly 2 slices of cheesecake? Did he ask for main meal afterward?
I could eat that entire thing. That’s like heaven on a plate.
Looks lovely but caramel isn’t my favourite flavour, my daughter will vociferously disagree. She loves caramel.
Dessert tank! Now I know where my daughter puts away the sweet stuff without it showing an inch on her.
hahaha! love the pics
this looks amazing…
I’m not usually much of a cheesecake person, but this I could do!
Wow that’s one good looking apple cheesecake! looks really delicious!
this recipe looks divine! I actually think the real apple would be better than the original version. Love it and the pictures of your son are adorable! So fun…
This look unbelievably good. Cheesecake is always amazing, but with butterscotch sauce on top? Wow.
It was a bad idea to read this post while watching my weight.
I am now starving, and potentially salivating and seeing my coworker as a large slice of cake.
sebi was very funny eating that cake
Hi Cakelaw-Thanks! He was rather entertaining when he was eating it
Hi Lilia-I’m not sure, his mum took his fork away from him which was probably a good thing! It was in the afternoon so I guess he probably did ask for a main meal after that!
Hi Blond Duck-Without sounding big headed (I hope) it was really delicious!
Hi Aparna-Sounds like your daughter was meant for this! Both in dessert tank and flavour preference!
Hi Madison-Thankyou so much!
Hi Marc-Perhaps it’s the non cheesecake fan’s cheesecake?
Hi pigpigscorner-Thankyou very much!
Hi Alejandra-Thanks, I thought the same. I love cooked apples so any chance to add them in really
That’s not my son, it’s my dear friend M’s boy though 
Hi lisaiscooking-Thanks so much. I think everything could be improved with butterscotch topping don’t you think?
Hi Amaya-Yes this is not for dieters I’m afraid! Haha don’t bite them!
Hi jacobo-He was indeed! I was amazed that he shared a sliver of it too!
Oh this is a definite winner! Must tryyyy Yummmmm ^^! and the 2nd dessert stomach is very true indeed!
Dang that kid is really taking it down.
Hi Ffichiban-Haha don’t tell me you have one?
Hi Jude-He really is, and it’s probably a good thing his mum stopped him!
Thanks for sharing this.
It made for truly divine eating:)
Hi saaleha-Thanks so much for letting me know that you liked it!
3 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
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