Hi Karen:

My DH finally started LCing Anyway, his birthday is coming up and this is his favorite dessert. I'm not sure if it is convertible to LC. What are your thoughts?

For the crust, I could just use a ground pecan base. I think I read something about LC carmels before - would they melt OK? And how would I substitute the evaporated milk? And of course, the sugar conversion. DH doesn't mind artificial sweetener, so suggestions at combining sweeteners would be great. Sorry to inconvenience you, but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This recipe used to always get rave reviews when I made it. It would be really nice to convert it to LC. I have a feeling this might be wishful thinking.


Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/3 pkg (387g) caramels
1 can (160 mL) evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tub (475 g) Tre Stelle Mascarpone
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 eggs
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces, melted

Method
crust:
Combine vanilla wafer crumbs and margarine. Press into bottom of 9 springform pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 10 minutes.

filling:
Combine caramels and milk in heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle pecans evenly over caramel layer. Beat Tre Stelle Mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate. Spread evenly over pecans. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 50 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Chill several hours or overnight.

Makes 12 servings.

Indeedy do! It does look really good!

I don't see why LC caramels would not work, but just to make sure, try melting some before you make the dessert. I have to confess that I've never tried them.

Use whipping cream instead of evaporated milk. Bring it to a boil, then add the caramels. The heat should be enough to melt them.

Use 2 Tbsp. of each Sugar Twin and Splenda for the sugar.

For the chcolate chips, use 1 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. whipping cream. I'm not sure of the sweetener amount, so add it to taste.

Here is something I use as a fake caramel:

3 oz Whey Protein Concentrate
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp. Splenda
1 Tbsp. Sugar Twin
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 oz unsalted butter
2 1/2 oz almond butter

Combine the Whey Protein Concentrate, whipping cream, Splenda
Sugar Twin, salt and vanilla in a food processor and blend until combined. The mixture will be thick.

Over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it becomes a nutty brown. Add the butter and almond butter to the mixture in the food processor and blend. The ounce measures are by weight. For the amount of caramel in the recipe, you may need to double this.

Whatever you do, fiddle around with it and make sure it works beforehand, not on the big day! Let me know how it goes!

Karen

Karen, you are such a gem! What would we do without you?????

I will certainly let you know how it goes. Maybe I'll split the recipe in half (using the smaller cheesecake pan) and try one with the mock caramel and the other with the LC caramels.

My only concern with using the LC caramels is the sugar alcohols if DH chooses to have more than his fair share. Errr.... wouldn't want his birthday to be spent in the loo.

Thanks again,
Wanda