Stroopwafel Cheesecake: Baked on a Stroopwafel Base with a Caramel Swirl

A cheesecake needs three things: a crisp base, a filling that is tangy enough to stand up to the sugar, and something on top. Stroopwafels can do two of them. Crushed, they make a base that tastes of cinnamon and caramel without any extra sugar. Melted into cream, they make a caramel for the swirl and the top. All the filling needs is brown sugar and a little cinnamon to tie it together.

This is the baked version, in a 20 cm springform tin, with a water bath so it comes out smooth. If you would rather not use the oven, the no-bake stroopwafeltaart with mascarpone is in our stroopwafel cake post. This one serves 10 to 12, takes about an hour and a half of work, and is at its best the next day.

Ingredients

For the base:

• 200 g stroopwafels (six to eight, depending on size)
• 40 g butter, melted

For the stroopwafel caramel:

• 4 stroopwafels, chopped
• 120 ml double cream
• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 600 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 120 g light brown sugar
• 150 g sour cream or crème fraîche
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Half a teaspoon of salt

To finish:

• 4 to 6 stroopwafels

The base needs less butter than a biscuit base would, because the caramel inside the waffles binds the crumbs on its own. For the base and the caramel, any pack will do. For the top, use the best stroopwafels you can get: they are the part people taste first, and fresh ones have more caramel and a softer bite. Our post on supermarket stroopwafels versus fresh explains the difference. Use full-fat cream cheese from a block or tub, not the light, spreadable kind, which never sets properly.

Make the base

1. Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and line the base of the tin with baking paper.
2. Break the stroopwafels into pieces and blitz them in a food processor until they look like coarse, sticky crumbs. Mix in the melted butter.
3. Press the crumbs firmly over the base of the tin with the bottom of a glass. Keep them on the base only: stroopwafel crumbs up the sides tend to slide down during baking.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The caramel in the crumbs browns faster than a biscuit base, so take it out as soon as the edges darken. Let it cool.
5. Wrap the outside of the tin in two layers of foil, pressed tight, so no water gets in during the bake.

Make the stroopwafel caramel

Put the chopped stroopwafels and the cream in a small pan over a low heat and stir until the pieces melt into a thick, glossy sauce, about 4 minutes. Add the salt and let it cool. It is the same sauce as in our stroopwafel ice cream, made with less cream so it stays thick enough to swirl. Half goes into the filling and half on top.

Make the filling

1. Turn the oven down to 160 °C (140 °C fan).
2. Beat the cream cheese and brown sugar on low speed until completely smooth, scraping the bowl down once or twice. Keep the mixer on low for the whole filling: air beaten in now turns into cracks later.
3. Add the sour cream, cornflour, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and mix until there are no streaks left.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each in just until it disappears.
5. Pour the filling over the base. Drop half the caramel over it in spoonfuls and drag a skewer through them in loops, without touching the base. Tap the tin on the counter to bring up any air bubbles.

Bake it

1. Stand the tin in a roasting tray and pour in boiling water to halfway up the sides.
2. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the edges are set and a circle in the middle about the size of your palm still wobbles when you nudge the tin.
3. Turn the oven off, open the door a crack and leave the cheesecake inside for an hour, so it cools slowly.
4. Take it out of the water, remove the foil and let it come to room temperature. Cover it and chill for at least six hours, ideally overnight.

The top, and when to add it

Run a thin knife around the edge and release the tin. Warm the rest of the caramel for a few seconds so it spreads, and pour it over the top, stopping a centimetre short of the edge. Then the stroopwafels: cut them into halves or quarters and stand them in a ring, or lay whole ones overlapping in the middle. Add them in the last hour before serving. On a cold, damp cheesecake they soften within a few hours, and the crunch is half the point. Slice with a long knife dipped in hot water.

When it goes wrong

• The base is soft. Stroopwafel crumbs take on moisture more easily than biscuits. Bake the base first, let it cool before the filling goes on, and check the foil is tight.
• The base tastes burnt. It was in for too long, or the oven runs hot. Eight minutes is often enough.
• The top cracked. The filling was beaten on high, the cake was overbaked, or it cooled too fast. The caramel covers it.
• The swirl sank. The caramel was too thin or still warm. Let it cool until it is thick, like soft peanut butter.
• The waffles on top went soft. They went on too early. They still taste good; next time, add them just before serving.

Storing it

Covered in the fridge, it keeps for four days. Store it without the waffles on top and add fresh ones when you serve each round. It also freezes well without the topping: wrap the chilled cheesecake, freeze for up to a month and thaw overnight in the fridge.

Three ways to change it

• Bars. Bake it in a 20 by 20 cm square tin for 45 to 50 minutes and cut into 16 squares, with a quarter of a stroopwafel on each.
• Mini cheesecakes. Half the recipe makes 12. Press a spoonful of the crumb into each case of a muffin tin, bake for 5 minutes, fill and bake for 20 to 22 minutes without the water bath.
• With coffee. Dissolve a tablespoon of instant espresso in the vanilla. Coffee and stroopwafels are an old pairing: there is a reason the Dutch rest one on top of a hot cup, as our guide to the best ways to enjoy a stroopwafel explains.

Make the stroopwafels yourself

A cheesecake topped with waffles you pressed that morning is hard to beat, and in Amsterdam you can do it: in our stroopwafel workshop you bake them on the iron, fill them with warm caramel and take them home. If you are not in the city, our stroopwafel pack ships across the Netherlands, Europe, the UK and the US, and one pack covers the caramel and the top. For more desserts built on stroopwafels, try the tiramisu and the trifle.