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.
**MAKE SURE TO LET YOUR CAKE CHILL OVER NIGHT BEFORE RELEASING THE SPRING PAN!!!! Mine would have been perfect had i waited, now im stuck with cracks! Grrrrrr!
Oh no! Hate that you got cracks. Did you run a knife around the edge before you released it? That usually does the trick for me. Hope you enjoyed how it tasted.
Re the crack in your cheesecake. try letting it cool gradually without opening the oven after the cooking time is up. Too fast cooling will cause cracks. And of course, you may cover the crack with something yummy!
this is a GREAT recipe !! i totally loved it ! and all of my family enjoyed it ! but the pecan layer was so HARD .
i had a hard time slicing the cheesecake , and eating it , i think i over simmer the batter :/ i’ll try it agin soon , thank you for sharing such a great yummy recipe !
I wraped my pan in foil put a pan of water on lower rack did not pre bake crumb crust and left cookies course…came out perfect!! Made for daughter’s birthday…thank you
Thanks for the tips. I guess that not prebaking the crust sure would help to prevent it from being so hard.
I made this for Thanksgiving and my family requested it again at Christmas! Delicious.
So happy everyone enjoyed it! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
This is an amazing cheesecake. I have made it twice, the second time I cooked the pecan layer less like another reader suggested, turned out great. I also removed the pan as soon as the cheesecake was set. Delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it Peggy! It seems like cooking the pecan layer less is really the way to go. Thanks for your feedback! Happy New Year!
My Pecan filing leaked out the pan and the crust was rock hard. Cheesecake portion was awesome. Will make the cheesecake part but leave out the rock hard pecan filing.
im so confused. I followed all directions to a T and had sooo much cheesecake batter left. I used a 9 inch pie pan and the pecan filling took up most of the pan and then I poured the cheesecake batter in until it was almost overflowing and I still had tons leftover so I made 9 mini cheesecakes! I hope it turns out okay and I’m surprised that no one else had this problem. I’ve never seen whipping cream in a cheesecake before and I feel like it made the batter a little more runny than I’m used to. We shall see in an hour!
I think the problem was that you used a 9 inch pie pan when you should have used a 9 inch springform pan, the ones used for cheesecakes. They are much deeper and shouldn’t have the cheesecake fall over the pan
Anytime receive says 9″ pan I always use 10″ mine also was too much for the pan suggested.
I have made this several times. I put water in a pan on the bottom rack of my oven and then put the cheesecake on the rack above it. Works great. NO cracks! I’ve made it in a 9 x 13 too.
(I read another post that said to put a spoon in the door to cool it down so it doesn’t crack). The door needs to stay closed for 1 hour so it can finish baking.
This was a great tip!!! my pie came out perfect. Thank you
I made this for Thanksgiving. Tastes great but I had difficulty cutting through the pecan layer. I wonder if I overcooked the pecan part. Could that be the reason?
I had a little trouble cutting through the pecan layer too and I wish I knew a way to make it a little softer.
I think it is cooked too long… I would just heat till sugar melts… And I NEVER bake my crust first. I am getting ready to make this for Christmas! Yum!