The Prize-Winning Cheesecake

Here it is, folks! The Biscoff Bake-Off winning recipe. Would you believe it was the first recipe I ever made up entirely by myself?

Delta had it posted on their site for a while, and I wasn't sure if I could put it here without conflict (I did sign my rights away when I entered the contest, after all). But now it's gone from their page and people are asking for it.  And what the people want, the people get. : )

So grab yourself some Biscoff Cookies (click here to find a retailer in your area; both Publix and Kroger sell them in my neck of the woods) and get to baking!

Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Winner of the 2011 Delta Biscoff Bake-Off

Ingredients

• Crust
• 24 Biscoff Cookies, finely crumbled
• 1/3 cup salted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• Filling
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 21-ounce can apple pie filling (Comstock "More Fruit" brand recommended)
• Topping
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 Biscoff Cookies, coarsely crumbled
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Prepare crust.
• Mix together Biscoff cookie crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.
• Press mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9" springform pan.
• Bake 10 minutes. Cool and maintain oven temperature.
• Prepare filling.
• Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add sour cream, whipping cream, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and vanilla until well blended.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition.
• Assemble cheesecake.
• Pour half of cream cheese mixture into crust.
• Starting from the center outward, spoon apple pie filling onto cream cheese mixture. Leave at least 1" plain border around edge of cake.
• Gently portion remaining cream cheese mixture over top of apples, ensuring that no apples show through.
• Tap on counter to remove any bubbles.
• Bake.
• Fill a 9"x13" pan with hot tap water and place on bottom rack.
• Bake cheesecake on center rack until set, about 45 minutes to one hour. Center inch of cake should remain loose in order to firm during cooling.
• Turn off oven and let cheesecake stand inside with door closed for at least one hour.
• Cool.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• When cheesecake has reached room temperature, refrigerate overnight.
• Make caramel topping.
• Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan.
• Add brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until dissolved.
• Increase heat and bring to a boil.
• Gradually add heavy cream and whisk until smooth.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Complete assembly.
• Pour warm caramel topping over center of cheesecake, allowing to spread outward to within 1" of cake edge.
• Sprinkle with coarse Biscoff cookie crumbles and sea salt.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• This recipe is based on the size of Biscoff Cookies available in the grocery store.  If you travel like a madman and are stockpiling the Delta ones, they're actually a good bit larger. You won't need as many.
• If you use reduced fat anything (sour cream, cream cheese, etc.) the cake will almost definitely crack.
• About half of mine still crack even when I use the full fat goodies. Don't fret; that's what the topping is for! : )
• To slice without stress, run a large, sharp knife under hot water for about 60 seconds. Wipe blade with a damp towel between cuts to prevent transfer of cheesecake from one slice to the next. Run under hot water again after every other slice.
• This cheesecake is very rich. A little bit goes a long way! Recipe will easily yield 10 generous or 12 smaller slices.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I may have to go make another one of these!

Delta Biscoff Bake-Off Video

Remember Delta's Biscoff Bake-Off? I realized this week that (gasp) I never posted the winning recipe!  Next post. I promise.

Oh how I love thee, Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake. I'm drooling just remembering it.

And how's this for serendipitous...  a girlfriend from college stumbled upon the video below today! I knew they were filming, but I never saw the final result. So until the recipe goes up, here's a fun look at my first foray into competitive baking!

(Please someone tell me I don't always sound like a six year old. Or talk that fast. Whoa!)

Biscoff Bake-Off Recap

I've still got so much to share about our trip to Napa for the Biscoff Bake-Off, but I know I can't really blog about the fun excursions of the weekend without first giving you the scoop on the main event.

We were set up at the Williams Center for Flavor Discovery at the Culinary Institute of America.

I had my own { not so } little station....

... and an entire case of Biscoff cookies.  YUM.

Delta recorded the whole thing like Top Chef or Chopped.  Two flight attendants were there to host, and they were fabulous. Having a camera in my face didn't bother me the least bit { after all, one of the competitors greeted me with "Hey, you're the girl from that dress show!" },  but the time constraint was pretty stressful. Competitive baking is not for the faint of heart.

There were two other competitors... Atif, who brought Biscoff Baked Salmon, and Laurie, who brought Crispy Shrimp with Coco-Mango Sauce.  Both were delicious.

As you might expect, there had to be some drama.  Poor Atif was supposed to go on at 2:00, but at two 'till, when he went to take his dish out of the oven, the fish was still raw.  It appeared as if the pilot light in the oven had just gone out.

So we played musical time slots and I went first. { Life is uncertain, anyway. } I ended up kind of liking that I got to go first. It let me set the bar and not feel like I was already being compared to someone.

All three judges were very, very kind.  From left to right above:

• Herb Karlitz - Founder and President of Karlitz & Company, Producer of Flavor! Napa Valley
• Andrea Robison - Delta's Master Sommelier and host of Pairings with Andrea on Food Network { she's one of only 14 female Master Sommeliers in the world! }
• Chef Stephen Isaac - of the Culinary Institute of America, American Culinary Federation and Retail Bakers Association

Herb said, "I'm from New York and I know cheesecake. This is good cheesecake." { What a compliment! } Andrea praised that the cookie flavor remained intact throughout the dish.  And Chef Stephen noted that the cheesecake wasn't overly sweet, which was a good balance with the decadent salted caramel topping. He literally picked his slice apart, tasting the crust alone, then just the cheesecake, then the filling, the topping and finally every layer together. His palate was the one I thought would be most apt to find an error.

But the reaction was good. More than good, even. Because they unanimously chose my Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake as the winning dish!

My face hurt from smiling so much. And I won trips to Food & Wine Festival in NYC and LA in 2012. { Hello, culinary dream vacation. }

Delta will use the footage on their Facebook page, and maybe even for in-flight entertainment.  Either way, I'll definitely link to the video when it's up.

All in all, not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself. Now, to finish another one of these cheesecakes for Thanksgiving tomorrow. After 27 years, I've finally been asked to bring something. Guess a little external validation never hurts. : )

At least they sent me home with half a case of cookies!