Cheesecake and Pecan Pie together in one dessert. How could anything be better?
This outrageously good Pecan Pie Cheesecake has a crust made from vanilla wafer crumbs, a nutty and sweet pecan pie layer topped off with a cool and creamy cheesecake layer. I’ve become obsessed with the Crock Pot Dulce de leche I made recently so I drizzled that on top.
This was the first cheesecake I’ve made in eons. I’m surprised I even still had my springform pan.
Note: The recipe (from Taste of the South) did not call for a water bath and I didn’t use one. I thought about it, but I didn’t have any aluminum foil to wrap around the bottom of my springform pan.
When I took the cheesecake out of the oven, it looked absolutely perfect. Completely smooth on top. But when I walked past it about 10 minutes later, it had a giant crack down the middle. Easily fixed with some Dulce de Leche.
Water Bath
But if you don’t want a crack, try using a water bath. Although I’m not sure how much they really help. I’ve heard of plenty of people who have used a water bath and had their cheesecake crack and others who never use a water bath and never have cracks. I should probably check my oven temperature to see if it is running hot.
Anyone have any cheesecake baking tips?
But crack or no crack this is a truly decadent dessert. I love a pecan pie but it is an insanely sweet dessert. This Pecan Pie Cheesecake is perfect for when you want something sweet, but not something sickeningly sweet. You still get to enjoy the flavor of a pecan pie, but the cheesecake layer cuts down on the sweetness.
I’m going to try to start making 1 cheesecake a month, but this one is going to be hard to top!
Storage
Leftover cheesecake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. Serve chilled.
How to Serve
Top with whipped cream and a pecan half and drizzle with either Dulce de Leche or Caramel Ice Cream Topping.
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Try These Other Pecan Pie Recipes
- Pecan Pie Cobbler
- Salted Caramel Pecan Pie
- Pecan Pie Cupcakes
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
- Mocha Pecan Pie
- Crescent Pecan Pie Bars
- Pecan Pie Bubble Up
Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 3/4 cups vanilla-wafer crumbs
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup butter,, melted
Pecan filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
- 1/3 cup butter,, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake filling
- 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese,, softened
- 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine vanilla-wafer crumbs and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Stir melted butter in with a spatula. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch Springform pan.
- Bake for 6 minutes and let cool.
- Combine all Pecan-Filling ingredients in a medium saucepan.
- Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring continuously, until mixture thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour into prepared crust.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Use a rubber spatula to scrape doen the sides of the bowl to make sure everything mixes evenly.
- Add cream and vanilla and beat just to combine. Pour mixture over pecan filling.
- Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off but leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 1 more hour.
- Remove cheesecake from oven and run a knife around the sides to make sure they are not sticking. Let cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with Dulce de Leche,
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sharing with the Country Cook’s Weekend Potluck.
Originally published Octover 15, 2014.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Its in the oven! Phew that was a lot of work, lol. I only have one springform pan and its a 10″, I hope that will be ok, I don’t know how on earth you fit all of that into a 9″! Instead of using 1 &3/4 cup wafer crumbs I used 2 cups and increased the butter slightly to cover my bigger pan (honestly I should have used another 1/3 cup since my pan was bigger) everything else i followed to a t. there was maybe 1/2″ of room left in the pan to the top, this is my first cheesecake ever, so I have no idea if I need to worry about overflow or not? Anyway it looked delicious and the pecan layer smelled wonderful! I didnt have time to make the dulce de leche sauce, so i picked up a bottle of caramel sauce instead. Thank you for the wonderdul recipe! I’ve really been wanting pecan pie but without the toothache 🙂
Well my oven quick working at some point intime during baking, so I guess I won’t get to taste it and see how it came out, instead I get to scoop it into the trash. What a waste 🙁
It shouldn’t overflow. It is a lot of work to make this cheesecake. Hope you love it and think it was time well spent 🙂
oh my gosh. I forgot the butter in the pecan layer. Is it a deal breaker?
Hmmm, I honestly don’t know how that will affect it. Hope it still turns out well.
I love this idea!! Pecan Pie during the holidays is the best, and making it into a cheesecake is genius! Do you think I’d be able to use this recipe and make them into minis using a muffin tin? I have two Thanksgivings, and making two separate cheesecakes is doable, but inconvenient.
I think that would work as long as you have a good idea of how much to decrease the cooking time. Any recipe for mini cheesecakes should give you a good idea.
This was a delicious dessert, however The crust was a little tough and hard to cut through any suggestions on what I might have done wrong
This does tend to be a harder crust since it is baked before the filling is put in. If you want a more tender crust, you can try skipping the prebaking and just chill the crust until it firms up. Then proceed with the recipe.
I do not have spring pan, can I make this in a pie dish or a 9×13?
You can use either, but will have to cut quite a bit of time off the cooking time. You could also use a cake pan and cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom and then a strip to fit around the sides.
I would say to invest in a springform pan. They not expensive and I use them for a lot of things
I’ve always avoided my cheesecakes from cracking by the cooling process . I turn the oven off and place a wooden spoon in the oven door to have a slight opening and let it cool about an hour before removing .
That sounds like a really good tip Sharon. Thank you for sharing it! I’m going to try using a wooden spoon to crack the door next time.
This is a great suggestion! I’m definitely going to try this! Thanks Sharon E.!!!!
I posted, but not sure if worked. Maybe delete this if difficult. The outside layer of cheesecake retains all the heat inside. They need to come out earlier. cracking is a sign of overbaking, I have never used a waterbath on cheesecake, and only reduce the cooktime. Should prevent the cracking. (My uncle had a bakery, and thats his tip from 10 years ago)
My uncle used to own a bakery, and he said the secret to cheesecake is to take it out early. It will continue to cook in the pan, hence the cracks. I am going to try your recipe and decrease the baking time by 10 minutes
Thanks so much for the tip Rebecca! Let us know how shortening the baking time works.
Wow this looks luscious! I adore pecan pie, but I agree that it’s really sweet. Pinned to make for Christmas!! Thanks so much for a great recipe. 🙂
Thank you Debbie! It will be perfect for Christmas! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
I LOVE THIS PIE!! In fact I think it’s so awesome that I featured it as the ‘Pin of the Week’ on my FB page 🙂 Here’s a link if you want to see the post: https://www.facebook.com/bluecrabmartini
Have a great day!
~Christin (spelled just like your name)