Salted caramel swirl cheesecake pots

Today I'm sharing something sweet with you for a change. I'd love to state that salted caramel is the new big thing but I'd be lying. It's been around for quite a while and ever since I tried it the very first time I've been in love. Laduree salted caramel macaroons, Artisan du Chocolat salted caramels, salted caramel latte ice-cream from Cold Stone Creamery, Charbonnel et Walker Sea Salted Caramel truffles ... This list could go on and on. The combination of sweet and salty is something that everyone I know has fallen deeply in love with. And trust me, once you try it there's no going back.

I've made the salted caramel macaroons three times now (I'll share the recipe with you soon), but today I want to share a recipe of a cheesecake incorporating salted caramel. I tried looking for recipes only for salted caramel cheesecake, but all the ones I found weren't what I was after and so after the countless hours I spent on the internet I decided to improvise. After making the Chocolate swirl cheesecake it hit me - just substitute the chocolate for generous amount of salted caramel and voila! And that's exactly what I did (in addition to serving the cheesecakes as individual portions).

This smooth and creamy cheesecake makes a perfect end for dinner or just to have as a treat on its own - perfect for any occasion and you can't go wrong with this combination.

Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings)
- 175 caster sugar
- 450g soft cream cheese (Philadelphia)
- 1 vanilla pod
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 175g creme fraiche
- 475g double cream
- 8 digestive biscuit
- 25g butter, melted

- 340g caster sugar
- 280ml double cream, room temperature
- 80g lightly salted butter
- 220g unsalted butter

Instructions
Start off by making the biscuit base. For that, crush the digestive biscuits into small crumbs and mix together with the melted butter. Mix well and then divide between the 8 small glasses or bowls you intend to serve the dessert out of.

Then make the salted caramel. To make the caramel, place the 340g caster sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and allow to melt without stirring. Once you have nice golden caramel (the darker it gets the more bitter it becomes) add the salted butter, double cream and unsalted butter. Mix well and then set aside to cool.

For the filling, mix the caster sugar, cream cheese and seeds from the vanilla pod together. In another bowl whisk the lemon juice with the cream and creme fraiche to soft peaks. Then fold everything together.

To assemble, place a layer of cream cheese filling on the biscuit base, then drizzle with a layer of salted caramel and repeat it until you have three layers of both. Then place a knife through each pot and mix the layers through nicely (but do not smudge the colour). Chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours before serving.

Cheesecake filling taken from Chocolate swirl cheesecake recipe from BBC Goodfood