This recipe is absolutely divine, well, in my opinion anyway! And it s fabulous way to indulge in a favourite dessert whilst using up some of the abundance of Easter eggs which will no doubt be around the house at this time of the year! Oh, and did I mention it's a sharing dessert recipe too? Perfect for an Easter Sunday family lunch.
As we are using chocolate under the cheesecake and to decorate, I have opted for a slightly lighter caramel cheesecake recipe so that it doesn't get too sickly. We are using greek yogurt instead of double cream, low-fat cream cheese instead of full-fat cream cheese and honey instead of icing sugar. The caramel though is a cheat, if I am honest, as I am using a tin of nestlé carnation caramel rather than making it from scratch. This way it is an easy, 15 minute dessert to make (plus of course chilling time, 4 hours or overnight is best).
This recipe makes enough for 6 people, using 1.5, 240g Easter eggs.
So, to make your Easter Egg Caramel Cheesecake, you will need:
Ingredients:
1.5 chocolate Easter eggs (you need three halves)
2/3 cup digestive biscuit crumbs
2 tbsp. melted coconut oil or butter
400g low-fat cream cheese
1 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt (**must be strained if it’s watery, see note below)
1/4 cup runny honey
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. nestlé carnation caramel, plus more for drizzling
Mini eggs or whatever you fancy to decorate
How to make your Easter Egg Caramel Cheesecake:
1. In a freezer bag, add your biscuits and bash with a rolling pin until you have crumbs.
2. Heat the coconut oil or butter in the microwave on low for about 40 seconds until melted and the pour in the biscuit crumbs. Combine and leave to cool.
3. Separate your Easter eggs so you have three halves and then make sure they are on a plate or on something so they are stable and don't tip over. You'll need to be very careful when separating the halves because too much pressure and they will crack/fall apart. I recommend using a sharp knife to score around the join, once you have weakened it, they come apart much more easily.
3. When cool, add 2 loosely-packed tablespoons of crust to the bottom of each egg, and use your fingers or a spoon to pack it down firmly.
4. In a large bowl, add the low-fat cream cheese, low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract and nestlé carnation caramel.
5. Using an electric whisk (or hand whisk if you feel like a workout before eating the dessert!) whisk the ingredients together until well combined and the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks.
6. Divide the mixture between the three chocolate eggs and smooth the top level. If you mixture is already well set, you can decorate now, if not, pop it into the fridge for a minimum of four hours and decorate before serving.
7. To decorate, warm another 2 tbsp of the caramel in the microwave until it is warm and runny. Drizzle across the eggs or completely cover the top, whatever you would like. Then add mini eggs on top in whatever way you choose. Refrigerate until about 30 minutes before needed and then bring out to come to room temperature.
8. Enjoy!
**It is essential that the greek yoghurt is thick and not watery, if it's watery the cheesecake will not set. Simply strain it through a cheesecloth to remove the excess water. Then measure out 1 cup with the greek yogurt that has been strained.
(However, I should note that even if the cheesecake does not set up perfectly, it will still be delicious!)
So now it is your turn to have a go. Send us your pictures as we'd love to see how you decorate your Easter Egg Caramel Cheesecakes!