Creamy vanilla cheesecake baked on top of a shortbread crust and topped with homemade salted caramel sauce and chocolate ganache.

slice of millionaire cheesecake on a plate

Why I love this Millionaire Cheesecake

Ingredients and process are simple and does not require an *actual* water bath.
It’s smooth and creamy but dense and rich.
The salted caramel sauce and chocolate topping make this cheesecake soooo *luxurious*.
The recipe can be adjusted to make different sizes, from a small batch 6 inch cheesecake to a large 10 inch cheesecake.

I used my vanilla cheesecake recipe as the base for this and all my other cheesecakes. My favorite is the cherry cheesecake with a biscoff crust and my pistachio cheesecake with a brown butter crust but everyone loves my Biscoff cheesecake. You can’t ever go wrong with chocolate cheesecake either.

slice of millionaire cheesecake on a plate with a bite taken out

Ingredients & substitutions

Cream Cheese: make sure to use the full-fat brick cream cheese. I prefer the Philadelphia brand.
Sugar: I used granulated sugar for the cheesecake, caramel and crust. I don’t recommend swapping it or reducing it.
Sour Cream: I’ve tested this recipe with equal amounts of sour cream and greek yogurt several times and have never noticed a difference.
- Plain yogurt should also work fine, just make sure it’s unsweetened.
Eggs: Use large, room temperature eggs.
- If you’re in a pinch, place them in hot water for 5-10 minutes.
Vanilla: I recommend vanilla bean paste or actual vanilla beans. If you’re in a pinch, pure vanilla extract works well too.
Butter: I used salted butter to make the shortbread cookie crust and the caramel sauce. Make sure it’s melted for the crust and room temperature for the caramel.
Shortbread: I used Walkers shortbread cookies to make the shortbread cookie crust.
Chocolate: Caramel can be really sweet so I recommend using dark chocolate. Chocolate chips or a chopped up chocolate bar work fine.
Heavy Cream: This is used to make the ganache and the caramel. Look for heavy cream or whipping cream.

millionaire cheesecake with a couple slices removed

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare your pan by removing the edge of the springform pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper onto the bottom of the pan so that it hangs off the edge. Then attach the side of the springform pan back to the bottom, so the parchment paper should be secure between the two pieces. Lightly spray the sides of the pan with baking spray.

Step 2: Make the crust by grinding up shortbread cookies. Mix them with melted butter and sugar and spread the crust on the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a ½ cup measuring cup to make the bottom smooth.

crushed shortbread cookies mixed with butter

crust pressed into prepared pan — crushed shortbread cookies mixed with butter

Step 3: Make the filling by creaming the room temperature cream cheese with the sugar, until it’s smooth, creamy and glossy. Make sure there are no chunks of cream cheese left.

Step 4: Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until it’s completely smooth. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed, just until each one is combined.

Step 5: Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 300F (148C) for 45 minutes. Then turn the oven off and use a knife to release the cheesecake from the edge of the pan. Let the cheesecake rest for 15 minutes in the oven with the door halfway open.

Step 6: Cheesecake should still have jiggle in the center, let it cool on the counter for a few hours before transferring to the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

cheesecake batter poured over crust — cheesecake batter

Step 7: Make the Caramel Sauce by cooking the sugar and the water until it turns a dark amber color. Once it’s nice and dark, turn the heat off and stir the butter in until it’s completely mixed in. Then pour in the heavy cream while whisking the caramel sauce. Pour into a heat safe jar, mix in the salt and cool completely. Refrigerate before pouring onto the chilled cheesecake. Then freeze the cheesecake for about 1 hour before making the ganache.

sugar water heating — heat sugar over medium-low heat

sugar turning into an amber color — heat sugar over medium-low heat

Step 8: For the ganache, place the chocolate and cream in a heat proof bowl and microwave for about 1 minute (can also heat the cream on the stove until simmering and then pour over chocolate. Use a fork to mix the ganache until it’s smooth and creamy. Spread on top of the cold caramel sauce.

chopped chocolate in a bowl — the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

hot cream on top of chopped chocolate — the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Expert tips to get the perfect bake and prevent cracking

Weighing your ingredients with a digital scale is always recommended.
Bake the cheesecake at a lower temperature than normal for a longer period of time. Bake until the edges are set and the center is still jiggly.
Allow it to rest in the oven for another 15 minutes so that it can cool slowly to prevent cracking.
Allow the cheesecake to chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight) so that it sets fully before pouring the caramel on top. Then refrigerate the caramel on top so it doesn’t slide around when you add the chocolate.

How to bake this cheesecake in different size pans

I tested my base cheesecake recipe in 4 different sizes. It’s pretty straightforward to adjust to whatever pan size you need. This millionaire cheesecake uses 4 bricks of cream cheese and is baked in a 10 inch pan.

You can adjust the quantity needed by what size pan you have and how tall you want your cheesecake.

I’ll list out the amount of cream cheese needed and you can just adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly.

The amount of cheesecake batter you’ll need for each size pan:

10 inch pan: 4 bricks of cream cheese – bake for 65 minutes, rest in the oven for 25 minutes.
9 inch pan: 3 bricks of cream cheese for shorter cheesecake or 4 bricks for a taller cheesecake – bake for 55-70 minutes, rest in the oven for 20 minutes.
8 inch pan: 2 bricks of cheesecake for a shorter cheesecake or 3 bricks for a taller cheesecake – bake for 45-60 minutes, rest in the oven for 15 minutes.
6 inch pan: 1 brick of cream cheese – bake for 30 minutes, rest in the oven for 15 minutes.

I do recommend using a springform pan instead of a regular cake pan lined with parchment paper. I used a regular cake pan lined with parchment paper and it made the parchment paper kind of weak so it was very difficult to get out of the pan.

If you do use a traditional cake pan lined with parchment paper, remove the cheesecake before topping with the caramel and chocolate.

How to store this Millionaire Cheesecake

To refrigerate, cover the cheesecake with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to a week. Serve cold or bring to room temperature 1-2 hours before serving.

To freeze the whole cheesecake, wrap it in plastic wrap and then wrap it twice in aluminum foil (or place it in an airtight container big enough).

To freeze slices, place them tightly in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. Bring them back to room temperature by thawing at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. Make sure to leave it in the comment section because I can’t answer in the rating section.

If you make my cheesecake recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating or a review for me. 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B