Cake 20, Goopy Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

This is something I've been meaning to make for quite a while now.... and I'm so glad I did. I love salted caramel. I would happily make bowls of it just fer eatin'. Only problem, the cheesecake didn't turn out that great. It tasted very... sour creamy, and it didn't set either. Hence the goopy. It was more like caramel-topped sour custard. Nice though. I recommend making the caramel sauce, it's really super.


Salted Caramel Cheesecakes
cool(heat(caramel(heat(custard))))

225g cream cheese (spreadable is best)
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
6 Tb corn syrup (see recipe at the end if you want imitation corn syrup)
1/2 cup and 2 Tb sugar
3 Tb butter
1/2 cup cream
salt to taste (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)

Preheat the oven to 165 C.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and lastly the sour cream. Beat until smooth. Divvy the mix into 6 ramekins/tea cups (1/2 cup of mix each), and place these in a large oven-proof dish. Pour hot water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 10mins, then turn  the heat off and leave the cheesecakes in the oven for 1 hour (I left mine a bit longer, they didn't seem very set). Transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool.
Meanwhile...
In a pan, heat the corn syrup on a low heat for a few minutes or until fully liquid. Increase the heat to medium and add the sugar (I also added a few Tb of water). Leave for about 5 minutes until it's a dark amber colour. Turn the element off, and stir in the butter. Add the cream in a thin stream, mixing constantly. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the salt. Allow to cool, then spoon about 2 Tb onto each cheesecake. Transfer to the fridge and allow to set for at least 3 hours. I have lots of the caramel left over, but it'll make a great icecream sauce :)

Corn Syrup (I made half this recipe and ended up with at least 4 times too much)
Combine 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 tsp cream of tarter and a pinch of salt in a heavy pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover for about 3 minutes (less if you halve it). Uncover, and cook until it reaches the soft ball stage. Apparently this goop will last for 2 months, stored in an airtight container at room temp. Mine solidified almost straight away, and now I have a jar half-full of solid sugar...