Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake—Prototype 2:
 
In light of the first prototype's outcome, the sweetened condensed milk would be doubled in order to increase the caramel's presence—and the cinnamon flavor would be reduced. I also considered increasing the cooking time as well, in order to compensate for the increase in liquid.
 
2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese:
Prepare ahead of time 2 pounds of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 32 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 16 ounces (1 pint) of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese.

Caramel Sauce:
Empty two 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk (nonfat recommended) into a container to be used for heating (warning: do not use the cans themselves for heating, due to the possibility of the high heat causing the cans' inner material to react with—or somehow adversely affect—the milk). There is more than one way to heat this sweetened milk until it turns brown. One of them is to microwave the milk at medium power for a few minutes, then cut the power to medium-low and microwave for a few more minutes. Stir the contents frequently while heating. Another option (which takes more time) is to place the container on top of another one which itself contains boiling water. Simmer all this on a stove for about an hour or so, stirring often. Alternatively, put it into an oven at about 400 to 425 degrees—but tightly cover the milk's container (just that one, not the container with the hot water) with foil—and bake about one to two hours, or until the mixture is brown enough.

Crust:
2 oz. melted, white chocolate
1 cup (8 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. All-Bran, ground up

Pour this crust mixture into pan (9 to 9 1/2 inches) and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall.

Batter:
4 tablespoons melted or softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
5 cups (40 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons arrowroot
Caramel sauce from two 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk (see above)—note that this gets blended into the batter (tip: the warmer the caramel sauce is, the softer it is, thus the easier it is to get it blended in)
4 eggs

Pour on top of crust. Bake in tub at 300 degrees for 115 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool down while still in oven (with this oven shut off) and in tub with door slightly ajar for an hour. Afterwards, remove from oven and tub and continue to cool down at room temperature for another 115 minutes, then remove from pan and refrigerate.

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake—Prototype 2

I seemed to pick up some caramel flavor, if I concentrated hard enough. Maybe my taste buds were too old to distinctively detect this caramel more easily. But I felt content with it at this point. Furthermore, upon making this cheesecake, when I tasted a tiny sample of the caramel sauce (after preparing it from the sweetened condensed milk), I found that the caramel flavor, while it had a reasonably notable presence, did not seem to be all that strong. So maybe the cause of this somewhat "low profile" was the low sensitivity of my taste buds.

I also felt that the top of the cheesecake may have been a little too brown. Perhaps I should not have allowed for those extra 10 minutes of baking time (or maybe I should have opted for a 5-minute compromise).

But this cheesecake got devoured in probably about 25 minutes at Living Hope Church. There was a somewhat large crowd present. But there were plenty of other sweet treats too. Although they looked deliciously attractive, they hardly seemed to move nearly as fast as the cheesecake.
 

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