A new year, a new cake book! Introducing the Cake Slice Baker's 2024 choice - The Cake Book: Beautiful Sweet Treats for Every Craving by Rebecca Firth. For the first cake, I've chosen Dark Chocolate Cajeta Cheesecake.
This is a decadent chocolate cheesecake drizzled with a very unique cajeta. Cajeta is a golden caramel sauce that's made with goat's milk. The flavor is incredibly rich and you can definitely taste the tang of the goat's milk.
But back to the cheesecake! I used 60% dark chocolate, but if you want to you can go darker to 100% or lighter with semi-sweet.
The result is a smooth and creamy cheesecake. Drizzle the rich cajeta over it and you have an interesting combination.
The cajeta is a little saltier than I'd like, so next time I'll cut down the salt in the sauce by half. I might also try regular caramel sauce to see if I like that better. Like I said previously, you can definitely taste the tanginess of the goat's milk in the cajeta and it can be a little overwhelming.
This Dark Chocolate Cajeta Cheesecake is just as good without the sauce in my opinion. Also, I recommend using a darker (like 75 to 100%) chocolate because the chocolate flavor was lighter than I expected.
You need to set aside a full day for this recipe, so if you're making it for a special occasion, make it at least the day before.
The cheesecake needs to chill in the refrigerator overnight, so I made the cake one day and the cajeta the second day.
The cajeta will be a little thickened, but still somewhat thin when you cook it on the stovetop for 40 minutes. Don't cook it longer as it will thicken up quite a bit when cooled.
Wait, What's the Difference Between Cajeta and Cotija?
There's a lot of difference between these two, even though the names might sound similar.
Cajeta is a golden, caramel sauce made with goat's milk. You definitely know there's goat's milk in it.
Cotija is fairly new to American palates and you may have heard a lot about it lately. It's a crumbly cheese made with cow's milk. Think of it as a milder, little bit different version of a feta cheese. Parmesan is also used interchangeably. Unique flavor and used in Mexican dishes.
We enjoyed this cake, but it was tangier than expected. It seemed to need more sweetness and perhaps mascarpone versus full-fat cream cheese would make it a little less tangy. Some people prefer it tangy, though, and if that's you - this is the cheesecake for you.
You might also enjoy delicious Apple Cheesecake Crumble Pie .
Be sure and check out the other Cake Slice Bakers' choices (below the recipe)!
Dark Chocolate Cajeta Cheesecake
Tangy, creamy, smooth chocolate cheesecake with a cajeta drizzle.
Ingredients
- 16 whole graham crackers (249g)
- 4 tablespoons (55g) light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons (18g) unsweetened cocoa, sifted
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 8 tablespoons (113g) butter, melted
- 1 ½ Cups (255g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons (4g) instant espresso
- 16 ounces (452g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (220g) light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 16 ounces (454g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (13g) vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ¾ cups (420g) whole goat's milk
- ⅔ cup (128g) granulated sugar
- ½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- For the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350° (177°C). Spray or grease a 9" nonstick springform pan and line with parchment paper.
- Put the graham crackers and brown sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until the mixture becomes a very fine crumb. Add in the cocoa powder and sea salt and pulse until combined. Drizzle in the butter and pulse until just mixed and it resembles wet sand.
- Firmly press the mixture evenly into the springform pan (use a round-bottomed glass to get the mixture pressed down). Place the pan into the oven for 11 minutes. Set aside to cool completely while making the cheesecake batter.
- For the Cheesecake: Turn up the oven temperature to 400° (200°C) and place a heat-safe skillet on the lowest rack. Bring 4 cups (1 l) of water to a boil and set aside while you prepare the cheesecake.
- Heat about 1 inch of water in a double-boiler pan, then add the chocolate and ground expresso to the top pan. Stir until completely melted, then remove top pan. Stir occasionally until cooled, then set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, mix the cream cheese and brown sugar on low for about 2 minutes until smooth and lump-free. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Whisk the eggs and egg yolk together in a small bowl, then slowly stream into the mixer bowl on low. Continue on low for 2 minutes until combined. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix on low for another 2 minutes or until well-blended.
- With the mixer still on low, slowly stream in the melted chocolate. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure it's thoroughly combined. Press through a sieve into the cooled crust, then smooth the top of the batter.
- Place the cheesecake in the center of the oven on a higher rack, then pour the hot water (carefully) into the skillet and quickly shut the oven door. Bake the cheesecake for 15 minutes on 400°, then reduce the temperature to 250° (121°C) and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes more.
- When done, the center will jiggle when gently shaken and the edges will be fairly set. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake wit in the oven for 30 minutes, with the oven door ajar. After 30 minutes, remove the cheesecake and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour (needs to be cooled down). Still in the springform pan, wrap the pan and place in the fridge overnight to set up.
- For the Cajeta: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pod and salt to bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, whisk in the baking soda (watch the mixture, it will swell up. If it does too much, turn heat down a little) and set a timer for 40 minutes.
- Stir the mixture occasionally and adjust the temperature to keep it from boiling (you just want some bubbling around the edges). Usually around the 30-minute mark the color will start to deepen and the mixture begins to thicken. When this happens, stay with the pan (you don't want it to boil), adjusting the temperature as necessary and stirring frequently. The cajeta won't be real thick at this point, but will thicken later.
- Strain the cajeta into a lidded heat-safe container and stash in the fridge until ready to use. It will thicken as it cools.
- Remove the cooled cheesecake from the pan and set on a serving plate. Pour the cajeta over the cheesecake (or on individual slices) and serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
I used Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate bars. I think it would be better and more chocolaty with 75 to 100%.
Make sure ingredients are really room temperature. This will prevent curdling and lumps in the batter. I set my ingredients out before breakfast, then made the cake in the early afternoon.
The center of the cheesecake will be quite jiggly when it's done - don't worry about that, it will set up upon chilling.
On the cajeta - make sure and use a large heavy-bottom sauce pan because when you add the baking soda, the mixture will bubble up and swell. Turn the heat down and stir and it will blend in and simmer down.
If the cajeta is too thick after refrigeration, just microwave for two 10-second bursts on high in the microwave to thin it out.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 738Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 196mgSodium: 832mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 1gSugar: 65gProtein: 18g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The Cake Book: Beautiful Sweet Treats for Every Craving by Rebecca Firth. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Dark Chocolate Cajeta Cheesecake
Lemon-Olive Oil Chiffon Cake
- No members of the group selected this cake to bake
That looks delicious! It's on my list for the next snowy day.
Thanks Kim!
After reading your review, I am glad I went with the caramel sauce I had on hand. The cheesecake itself had a lot of tang to it but I enjoyed that as it seemed to cut some of the richness of the chocolate.
We had some caramel sauce leftover from a while back and after we decided the cajeta wasn't for us, used it. It was much better, I think!
You are a master at cheesecake. Yours looks so smooth and so perfect! Something for me to aspire to. I've never heard of cajeta but it sounds interesting!
Thank you, Karen. Her instructions were good in making it smooth and creamy like that. Cajeta is good (if you really like goat's milk flavored stuff), but we had it with caramel later on and it was outstanding.!