Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

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Recently, I made a "thank you" cheesecake for my friend Heather... it was one of her favorite flavors - Cheesecake Factory's Dulce de leche Cheesecake. It was my first attempt at making a homemade dulce de leche sauce (like a heavy caramel sauce), so I hope Heather hasn't had to spit it out!
I had many requests for the recipe from my FB friends, so here it is!
(Fair warning: This is not a quick recipe. The sauce alone requires about an hour of your time to prepare!)

Dulce de Leche (Caramel Sauce)

Makes about 2 Cups

1 qt whole milk (1/4 gallon)

2 C granulated sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of cinammon

Combine ingredients in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook without stirring until mixture boils, about 20 minutes. Briefly remove from heat.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently with a spoon - about an hour. When mixture becomes a caramel color and is thickened, remove from heat.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Crust:

1 C graham crackers or vanilla wafers - crushed

3 TB melted butter

Filling:

3 (8 oz.) pkgs cream cheese

1 C sugar

2 TB flour

2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs

1/3 C whole milk

1/2 C Dulce de Leche sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. Mix crust ingredients together and press into bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake for 10 min. Remove from oven and cook to room temp.

3. Reset oven temp to 325 F

4. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour until well-mixed and smooth. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time and beat. Add milk and mix until well blended and smooth.

5. Measure 1/2 C up cheesecake batter and set aside in small bowl. Add Dulce de Leche sauce and stir until well combine (can hold back some of the Dulce de Leche sauce to drizzle later).

6. Pour plain batter over crust. Top with Dulce de Leche batter. Gently swirl the cheesecake layers with a knife.

7. Bake 45 - 55 min at 325 F until center is almost set. Remove from oven and run a knife or spatula around inside rim of pan to loosen cheesecake (helps prevent from cracking). Cool 25 min before covering and cooling in refridgerator. Refridgerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight before serving. Serve with a drizzle of Dulce de Leche if desired.