Monday, December 19, 2011

Another Cheesecake!

It's been a long time since I blogged about baking.  I haven't done as much baking since my husband was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.  But, my daughter needed a dessert for a Christmas party they were invited to. She had "pinned" a picture of a Pecan Pie Cheesecake to her Pinterest board that looked to-die-for.  So when I volunteered to bake a dessert for her, it was a no brainer as to what I was going to bake.  


This is the photo my daughter pinned to her board.  I did not take this photo.
But doesn't it look yummy!!

I altered the recipe for the cheesecake filling from the original recipe.  I've baked a lot of cheesecakes, and it just seemed like it had too much liquid in it.  


          Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Crust:
1 ¾  cups vanilla wafer crumbs
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted


Pecan Filling:
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup dark corn syrup
⅓ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling: 
3 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs


Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pecan Filling: 
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Cheesecake Filling: 
Turn oven temp up to 425°.  Beat cream cheese on medium speed until creamy.  Add brown sugar and vanilla - mix until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, on low speed and mix just until incorporated.  Pour batter over pecan filling.  Bake for 10 minutes at 425°.  Reduce temp to 225° and continue baking until center is almost set.  It took mine 50 minutes.    

 I saved some of the gooey goodness from the filling to drizzle over some pecan halves for the garnish. 

Yeah, it was as good as it looks!

Yes, part of the deal when I told her I would bake her this wonderful looking cheesecake, was that she had to save me a small slice.  How would I know if I wanted to bake it again if I didn't know how it tasted.
  
I'll be baking this again for our family Christmas!! 


I probably won't make it back here to blog about any more desserts before Christmas, so I want to wish you all very blessed one!!