This delicious wood pellet grill recipe from our friends at Date Night Doins’ has all the major food groups covered: bacon, chocolate, caramel and cheesecake. It just doesn’t get any better than this unless you’re serving it in your well-manicured backyard! The smoky bacon mixed with the semi-sweet chocolate added to the beautiful topping and then all together on the cheesecake is a dessert symphony.
Who doesn’t love bacon? Adding in bacon to a sweet recipe is an incredible way to elevate your dish and add some depth of flavor. Mixing sweet and savory is a time-honored tradition that always manages to surprise. You’ll shock and excite your guests with this recipe and it’s sure to bring them coming back to your next gathering for more. Who cares if it’s just for the dessert?
The Cheesecake Process
This cheesecake uses chocolate striped shortbread cookies for the crust adding in 1 cup of chocolate chips and a 12 oz. package of bacon. But, you could certainly use the more traditional graham cracker crust if bacon isn’t your thing. We also added another package of bacon and chocolate chips into our cheesecake filling. We topped it off with more bacon in our caramel sauce.
All told, there was more than 2 pounds of bacon in this recipe. Pure heaven for any bacon lover!
Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake Recipe With Bacon Crust
Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Moderate6
servings2
hours30
minutesIt just doesn’t get any better than this. The smoky bacon mixed with the semi-sweet chocolate added to the caramel and cheesecake ingredients is a dessert symphony.
Ingredients
- Crust:
1 package of Chocolate Stripped Shortbread Cookies, made into crumbs
12 oz. extra-crispy Bacon bits (we made our own)
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Cheesecake Filling:
32 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz. sour cream
½ cup sugar
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup crisp bacon, crumbled
3 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rum extract
- Bacon Turtle Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. water
½ cup extra-crispy Bacon bits
3 tbsp. cold Bacon grease, chilled until solid
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup heavy cream
½ pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup extra-crispy bacon bits
- Chocolate Topping:
½ bag chocolate chips
Directions:
- Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
- Rough chop the crispy bacon bits in a food processor, then set aside. Put shortbread cookies in next and chop them. Now, add all the ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times until everything is well mixed.
- Press into a 9-inch springform pan, making sure the crust is about ½” thick. Firm up by pressing it down flat with the bottom of a glass.
- Place crust onto the grill at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Place the cream cheese and sour cream into the food processor and blend. Now, add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and mix well.
- Pour batter onto the crust and spread it evenly with a spoon. Tap the pan on the counter top to work out any air bubbles. Now, place the pan back onto the grill at 350 degrees for one and a half hours.
- When the cake is done it will still jiggle in the middle, so don’t worry about that. Take a small sharp knife and carefully run it around the sides of the pan to free the cake from it so it won’t crack when removed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Bacon Caramel Topping:
- Place 1 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp. of water into a saucepan over low heat. Gently stir the sugar as it melts. Once melted, bring to a low boil until it becomes amber in color.
- Have butter, bacon, and bacon drippings ready to go. Once the caramel is a rich amber color, stir in the butter, bacon and bacon drippings, mixing well. Remove from heat and stir in the cream.
- Set aside and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Then, pour over the top of the cheesecake, letting it pool on top. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, remove the side of the pan and prepare the chocolate sauce. Put half a bag of chocolate chips into a 2-cup measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds, stir, then microwave another 15 seconds. Using a tablespoon, border the chocolate around the top edge of the cheesecake, making a nice ring of chocolate.
Now you’ve got a delicious chocolate caramel cheesecake recipe to use to top off your delicious backyard meals. Everyone who comes by will know how much you love them based on this cheesecake you’ve created just for them. There’s nothing better than creating a dessert that keeps your guests coming back and staying to hang out with you in your backyard just a little later.
