Crust:
2 cups graham cracker or Oreo crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
Filling:
4 pkg (32oz. total) cream cheese at room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
6 tablespoons flour
6 eggs at room temperature
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1 jar caramel (make sure it's a stiffer-set caramel, not the super soft/syrupy kind- or you can melt caramels with a little bit of milk)
1/2 jar hot fudge (NOT chocolate syrup)
Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine cracker/cookie crumbs with butter, press into bottom and up sides of 10 inch springform pan.
Preheat oven to 325* and place a casserole dish full of hot water on the bottom rack.
Beat cream cheese & sugar until very smooth and fluffy. On LOW speed, add sour cream, flour, eggs, vanilla, and heavy cream- mix just until well combined but DO NOT beat it or over mix (cheesecake will crack)
Pour 2/3 of batter into crust. Mix caramel with remaining batter and pour on top of plain batter- save a little bit of caramel to drizzle on top of finished cake. Warm hot fudge until soft but not hot, drop spoonfuls on top of batter and swirl gently (don't mix it in). Save a little bit of hot fudge to drizzle on top also. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours- center should still be wiggly) and turn off oven, leave cake inside and open oven door slightly. Let cool in oven for 2 hours, remove from oven and cool COMPLETELY. Wrap with plastic wrap (keep cake in the pan) and chill in refrigerator for 24 hours (it MUST chill for a day to set up properly- otherwise the cake will be slimy and weird, and nobody likes that.)
Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread over cake just before serving and drizzle with caramel & hot fudge sauce if desired.
Slice cake with a very sharp HOT & WET knife, cleaning knife between slices. Cut into 16-20 slices (a little goes a LONG way!)
