Golden Syrup Pecan and Caramel Mini Cheese Cakes

Golden syrup would have to be one of my favorite flavors, it’s the whole reason I eat Anzac biscuits!

I wanted to make a cake with this flavor as the key feature, but to also have a range of textures and additional flavor tones that compliment the luscious golden syrup. Ultimately I wanted to create a golden syrup flavor bomb profile paring.

After playing around with a few spices, nuts and essences I had the ingredient pairing I was looking for.

The after taste and texture of pecans and the salty and sweet combo of salted caramel worked wonderfully with the golden syrup.

After deciding the syrup cake (experiment 1) was delicious but way too super super sweet I opted for a cheesecake instead to tone down the sweetness and add some creaminess to the pecan crunch.

Adding in an Anzac inspired base connected all the flavors and textures together.

Ingredients:

Base:

30g ground pecans
80g Anzac biscuits
40g butter
15g golden syrup

Filling:

150g sugar
40ml water
250g cream cheese
¼ tsn salt
2 tsn salted caramel essence
1 egg

Pecans:

20g butter
40g brown sugar
20g golden syrup
110g pecans

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees and line an 8-cupcake tin with large cupcake patties.
Spray the patties with oil spray.
Place all the base ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Spoon the base mix into the patty cases evenly and using the back of a spoon press down to flatten.
Place the tin in the fridge.
Next make the caramel by placing the water and sugar into a saucepan on a high heated stove top.
Stir the mix until the sugar has dissolved then leave to boil until the mix becomes a golden brown colour.
Remove off the heat and using a hand whisk beat 100g of the cheese until the mix is smooth.
Transfer the mix into a bowl and add the remaining cheese, salt and the essence, whisk with electric beaters until the mix is smooth.
Add the egg and beat until well combined.
Spoon the mix evenly into the patties on top of the base, flatten the mix with the back of a spoon.
Place the tin into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the top of the cakes are firmish to touch.
Meanwhile make the pecan topping by placing the butter, sugar and syrup in a bowl and on high in the microwave until the mix is boiling, stir.
Diced the pecans and add into the sugar mix, stir.
Once the cakes are done take them out of the oven and spoon the pecan mix over the top of the cakes evenly.
Place the cakes back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
Once time is up remove the cakes from the oven and leave aside to cool.
Place the cakes in the fridge for 4 hours to completely set.
Dust the cakes with icing sugar and serve the cakes with a dollop of thickened cream if desired.

Note:

I have placed the cakes in the freezer for 2 hours to completely firm then removed the patty cases.
If you don’t have caramel essence you can substitute with vanilla essence.