Caramel Brownie Bottom Cheesecake

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Adjust your oven rack to the middle position. Grease your 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray or butter. Set aside.

Brownie Base

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter, over low heat. Add chocolate and stir until combined and set aside to cool sightly. OR Using a small bowl or measuring cup melt butter and chocolate together in your microwave, on low, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until melted and totally blended together. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a medium to large mixing bowl, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients together.
3. Add chocolate mixture and continue to whisk until smooth.
4. Add flour and whisk until totally incorporated.
5. Next, dump your batter into your prepared springform pan. Do your best to spread the batter as evenly as possible across the bottom of the pan, trying not to get any brownie batter on the sides of the pan.
6. Bake until top of brownie begins to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. A few crumbs are ok! It will take around 24 minutes. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. I always rotate the brownies at about the 12 minute mark.
7. Once brownies are cooked, remove them from your oven and place on a wire rack to totally cool inside the pan.

No Bake Cheesecake Layer

1. In a mixing bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
2. In another mixing bowl beat cream cheese to whip it for a few minutes on medium high speed until airy and light.
3. Add powdered sugar and continue to beat until no lumps remain. Add sour cream and vanilla. Continue to beat until incorporated.
4. Using a spatula, gently fold in whipped cream.
5. Once brownie is cool, carefully open your springform pan, slide parchment around the entire edge of brownie and close your springform pan once again. Your parchment paper must be above the edge of your springform pan. It will help hold your no bake cheesecake layer on top of your brownie base.
6. Pour and spread your no bake cheesecake layer all over your brownie base inside your springform pan.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours but ideally overnight or cheesecake is firm and set.

Salted Caramel Sauce

1. Mix all ingredients except the lemon juice, vanilla and caramel extract in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
2. Increase heat to medium high and heat to boiling, stirring.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and gently boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla and caramel extract. and the lemon juice.
5. Pour into a heat proof cup such as a measuring cup. Put in fridge and allow to cool 30 minutes.  Sauce should be thickened up but still pourable or spoon able.  
6. Pour or spoon roughly 1 cup of the sauce over the cheesecake while parchment is still in place and refrigerate for at least an hour to harden caramel sauce somewhat.
7. Refrigerate cheesecake until needed for serving. Remove from springform pan.
8. Serve and enjoy every bite.
9. Serve extra sauce at table or store in an airtight container for up to 10 days in the fridge and use as an ice cream topping. Sauce will become firm when refrigerated and will need to be gently reheated before using.  Do not overheat or sauce will become quite thin. For a thinner sauce increase the heavy cream to ½ cup.