'Snickers' Cheesecake Bars

People have asked me a lot recently how I come up with new recipe ideas... And my answer is this: when I'm trying something new for the first time, I am a firm believer of using a tried and tested base recipe for bakes, and then slightly adapting it to fit what ever flavours I fancy.
This cheesecake came about using this method. I have a basic baked vanilla cheesecake recipe that I know tastes amazing and have used for years, and I just add bits and take out bits to make it into something new. I've adapted this base recipe into everything from raspberry, lemon and chocolate flavours, to honeycomb, ginger and now this 'Snickers' cheesecake. Using this method, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
P.s. No Snickers we're harmed in the making of this bake! And for anyone with nut allergies, just leave out the peanuts and you'll still have an amazing caramel cheesecake!

Ingredients:
For the base:
80g unsalted butter
150g digestive biscuits, crushed
50g caster sugar
100g dry roast peanuts, crushed

For the filling:
600g cream cheese
75g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp vanilla essence
3tbsp warm water
1 can of caramel

100g milk chocolate to top

First you'll need to make the base. Melt the butter in a small pan, and leave to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, combine the crushed biscuits, peanuts and sugar and stir in the melted butter.
When thoroughly combined, tip into your prepared dish. You can use a round, loose bottomed cake tin to make a dessert for the dinner table, or a square dish if you're going to cut into bars. Press the mixture down with the back of a spoon, making sure to go up the sides a bit, especially if you're making a round one. Chill in the fridge until needed.

Pre-heat your oven to 150c.

Next, in the bowl of a food processor (or another large mixing bowl) add the cream cheese, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla and water, and mix well. Add half the can of caramel to the mix and beat well.
Pour the mix over the chilled base, and then use a spoon to add the rest of the caramel to the mixture a little at a time, marbling it in.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden on top and just firm to the touch. Turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the door ajar, for an hour.

After the hour has passed, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the cheesecake and spread up to the edges.
Leave in the fridge overnight to set.

Once it has set, you can remove it from the tin, and cut it into bars. Yum!!