Rum Raisin Cheesecake with a Shortbread Phyllo Crust and Caramel Sauce

Today is the bridal shower.  And what do you make when you have a large group of women together?  Something really decadent and this sure fits the bill! I mean....cheesecake with a shortbread crust?  And served swimming in a rich caramel sauce?  I think there will be a lot of happy ladies at the shower today!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

For the Raisin-Phyllo Layer

1/2 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
Phyllo pastry sheets
1/4 cup butter; melted (1/2 stick)

For the Cheesecake

4 blocks of cream cheese, 8 oz each; room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs; room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Soak the raisins in rum overnight.
2. Tightly wrap a 10-inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath.

For the Crust

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Gradually mix in flour. Cover and chill dough for 2 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll chilled dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Cut out 10 inch circle to fit into bottom of prepared pan.
3. Brush 4 to 5 phyllo sheets with melted butter and arrange sheets, buttered side up, over the dough in the pan covering the bottom and sides (allowing phyllo to overhang sides).
4. Drain raisins and sprinkle over phyllo.

For the Filling

1. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and cream cheese and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla.
3. Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
4. Fold overhanging phyllo over filling, separating ends of phyllo and pulling to form a rough, jagged “crown”.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes. The edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let the cheesecake rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
6. After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

Make the caramel sauce I showed you yesterday.

Here are the step by step photos:

I would like to show you a pic of a slice of this covered in caramel sauce but it's a bit tacky to cut the cake before taking it to the shower!  I haven't made this cake in many years but whenever I've served it, it's a huge hit.