Description
This Samoa Cheesecake recipe is inspired by the famous Girl Scout cookies (a.k.a. “Caramel Delights”). It’s a simple vanilla cheesecake base, made with an Oreo crust, and topped with caramel, toasted coconut and drizzled with chocolate.
Ingredients
Cheesecake Ingredients:
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 4 Tablespoons melted butter
- pinch of salt
- 3 (8-ounce) bricks neufchatel (low-fat) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 3 eggs
Samoa Topping Ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 3/4 cups caramel dip or sauce (you can either buy the 16-ounce store-bought tubs of caramel dip, or use 1 3/4 cups homemade caramel sauce)
- 4 ounces dark chocolate
Instructions
To Make The Cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F, and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Carefully wrap the outside of the pan in 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, being sure that there are NO gaps where water could seep through.
- Add Oreo cookies to the bowl of a food processor, and process until completely crumbled. (Or you can do this step by hand by crushing Oreos with a meat mallet inside a ziplock freezer bag.) Add in the melted butter, and stir or process until evenly mixed with the Oreos. Press the Oreo mixture evenly into the bottom of the springform pan. Then place the pan in a large roasting dish (or any pan larger than the springform), and bring a tea kettle or pot of water to boil in preparation for the water bath. Set aside. (*If you don’t want to place the pan directly in a water bath, you can skip this last step and just place a pan of water on the shelf beneath the cheesecake pan.)
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth. Add sugar and beat for an additional minute until well blended. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla, and beat for an additional minute, stopping partway to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Do not overbeat! Pour into crust.
- Place the double pans in the oven on a shelf on the bottom third of the oven. Very carefully use a tea kettle (or large measuring cup) to pour the boiling water in the larger pan to form a water bath around the springform, so that it comes up about 1-inch around the springform.
- Close the oven door, and bake about 1 hour 30 min, or until center is almost set. (The cake should still jiggle ever so slightly.) Turn oven off, and open oven door slightly. Let cheesecake set in oven 1 hour. Then remove cheesecake from oven, carefully run a knife around the edges of the cake, and then let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove springform rim, and top cheesecake with Samoa topping. Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes for the topping to set. Then serve, or cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To Make The Topping:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread shredded coconut out in an even layer on a parchment-covered (or aluminum foil-covered) baking sheet. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until the top layer of coconut is toasted and lightly golden, then remove the tray and stir the coconut. Bake for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the new layer of coconut is lightly golden. (Keep a close eye on it so that the coconut does not burn.) Remove the pan, and pour coconut into a mixing bowl.
- Add 1 cup caramel sauce to the bowl with the coconut, and stir to combine. (If your caramel is not very pour-able, heat it in the microwave or in a small saucepan until it is just slightly warmed.)
- Using a spoon, spread a separate 1/2 cup of caramel sauce onto the chilled cheesecake. Then top with the caramel/coconut mixture, and press it down until the top of the cheesecake is covered.
- Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag or a Ziplock bag with the corner snipped off, then pipe it onto the top of the coconut/caramel mixture in even lines. Repeat in a separate bag with the remaining caramel sauce.
How would you make this recipe in ramekins?
When I cook it the amount of time that was stated it still had quite a bit of a wobble almost raw looking. I have had to cook it 15 to 20 minutes longer. Am I doing something wrong or will it firm up after the given recipe time? I absolutely love this recipe! I make it often but always have to cook longer.
Sounds like you may want to invest in an oven thermometer to see if your oven is coming to the actual temperature you’re setting it at? Especially if you have an older oven.
Are coconut flakes okay to use? I got those instead of shredded
The cheesecake was amazing! The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was I was not crazy on the caramel sauce recipe given. Next time I will make a different recipe of caramel. Bravo otherwise. Huge hit at my office.
I have made this several times and it always comes out perfectly. I do skip the 1/2 cup caramel on the cake below the topping mix. Too much caramel and I use the store bought salted caramel. I do not make my own. I only put the coconut on half since my one son does not like it. But it is always a big hit.
Where does the pinch of salt go? In the crust?
I would love to make this Samoa Cheesecake but with mini cheesecakes. How should I do this?
I would just make them smaller
Easy to prepare and it was simply delicious! I will be making it again. Huge hit at my dinner party. Thank you for sharing!
Best cheesecake ever. My family raves about this! Thank you for sharing!
So this looks great im in the middle of making it right now and noticed that it says salt but doesnt say anywhere in the instructions where to put the pinch of salt in….unless im blind and my eyes arent reading it right.
I made this for Christmas and it was excellent. I was initially concerned with the low-fat cream cheese and yogurt, but it turned out awesome. I baked it the exact time on the recipe and it turned out perfect. Thank You for Sharing.
I made this cake today, but the dark chocolate is too strong for me. The cake was good but I may use milk chocolate instead next time. My mom and son like it but not as much as the New York Cheesecake I made last week. I will make it again.
This recipe sounds wonderful! the only problem I have is its to big. do you by chance have a recipe for a smaller cheesecake?
I have made this several times. It just keeps getting better. I absolutely love this recipe!!!
This was my first cheese cake I have ever made. Not a fan. Suppose it was something I did wrong as the texture was not what I had expected, as was grainy instead of creamy. Time to bake was somehow incorrect too. Cheese cake was dry around the edges and the center was not as firm. Way too much topping.
If you didn’t love this cheesecake, you either did something wrong or you’re not a fan of Samoa cookies. I’ve made at least 20 of these over the years and they’re always amazing.
I’ve been making this cheesecake for years and it’s always a big hit! I use regular cream cheese and substitute chocolate graham crackers for the Oreos or I scrape the cream out first if using Oreos (it’s already rich enough without the extra sugary cream). I’ve never had a single complaint. Cheesecakes are my specialty, and I’ve made tons of different kinds, but this is the one my wife and family always request. I made one tonight for my coworkers to enjoy tomorrow. They’re in for a real treat! My wife is jealous so it looks like I’ll be making another this weekend!
Girl Scouts of America has 2 cookie bakers: ABC cookie company & Little Brownie Bakers. Those are the only 2 authorized cookie bakers that can use the Girl Scout name. That’s why there are 2 names for cookies. 😊
I made this for my son birthday, delicious! Definitely will make again. I didn’t realize there was supposed to have a pinch of salt until I was reading all the comments. Still turned out delicious!🫢
My daughter requested this cheesecake for her birthday this year. I have never made one before and it turned out perfectly! I did make my own caramel with a different recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Gives this novice baker a chance! :)
This cheesecake is always a huge hit with family and friends. The one thing I want to try is making it smaller or dividing it between two 6-7″ springform pans. Do you have any advice on how I should adjust the cooking time??