If you are a fan of the sweet/tangy combination this Fig Cheesecake with Balsamic Caramel Sauce and Candied Walnuts is for you!
I was intrigued by the idea of cooking a cheesecake in the Slow Cooker. And now that I have tried it I may never go back to the oven baked method. No water bath to fuss with, no cracks, no dried cream cheese. This Basic Cheesecake comes out perfectly creamy and uncracked every time!
It takes 2 hours to cook on high and another hour resting in the slow cooker so you have to be around your kitchen. Hands on time if quite limited though so it definitely worth considering if you are around the house anyway.
Added bonus- you don't have to heat up your house in the summer time!
This cheesecake recipe is the perfect blank canvas for whatever flavour or topping you may have in mind.
I had come across a case of Black Mission Figs so I had all-things-fig on my mind!
So.. I started thinking what would go well with the figs. I started thinking about a charcuterie board with figs and nuts and cheeses that would go with Port... and that idea morphed in to a cheesecake with figs. Firesh figs are rather mild so it was going to need something else. Salads often pair Balsamic vinegar with figs... and then I stumbled on sweet and tangy Balsamic Caramel Sauce.
This was beginning to sound like a plan! Continuing with charcuterie board theme, candied walnuts seemed like they would be the perfect 'icing on the cake' so to speak!
What a treat this turned out to be! Unusual and restaurant-worthy quality... and it is pretty easy!
I made the cheesecake a couple of days before I decorated and served it. Then I froze the leftovers and guess what- they survived that process quite nicely. The candied nuts were perhaps just a tad less crunchy but not enough to deter me from ever freezing it again!
Basic Cheesecake 
Fig, Balsamic Caramel and Canded Walnuts added. Going... 
Going... Gone!
Fig Cheesecake with Balsamic Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Slow Cooker Cheesecake or plain cheesecake recipe of your choice
- 2-3 medium Black Mission figs
Balsamic Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup whipping cream
Candied Walnuts
- 1 cup unsalted walnut halves or pieces
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt see notes for seasoning variations
Instructions
Balsamic Carmel Sauce
- Melt brown sugar and balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. Cook 3-4 minutes after it comes to a boil without stirring.
- Add the cream all at once. Mixture will spit and flare up. Whisk until cream is evenly incorporated and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in butter and salt.
- Transfer to a glass container and allow to cool to room temperature.
Candied Walnuts
- Prepare a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt butter and sugar in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Add the walnuts and the salt and stir to coat the walnuts. Cook another 3 minutes or so, stirring until walnuts are evenly coated and sugar is fully melted.
- Remove skillet from a pour on to the parchment paper.
- Spread the nuts in to one layer with the wooden spoon and separate as much as you can. As nuts cool and the coating gets stiffer take the wooden spoon to break apart any clumps or clusters.
- Nuts can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 weeks or frozen up to 2 months.
Assembly
- Center the chilled heesecake on your serving platter. Cut the figs in to 6 uniform, thin slices. Set aside the smaller slices and ends for another use.
- Pour the Balsamic Caramel over the cheesecake allowing it to drizzle down the sides. (You will have some caramel sauce left over.)
- Postion fig slices evenly around the outside edge of the cheesecake, Mound some candied walnuts in the middle of the cheesecake and distribute remainder evenly aoround the outer perimeter of the cheesecake.
- Keep chilled until ready to serve.
- Cheesecake will keep well a few days in the fridge. It also freezes well, tightly sealed. Allow frozen cheesecake to defrost in the fridge.
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