Description
Pecan Pie Cheesecake is the ultimate hybrid dessert featuring three distinct delicious layers including a buttery crunchy graham cracker and ground pecan crust, a rich and creamy tangy cheesecake filling made with cream cheese and sour cream, and a classic pecan pie topping that bakes to golden caramelized perfection right on top of everything.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups (272 g) graham cracker crumbs (about 18 whole crackers)
- 1 cup (100 g) pecans, finely ground
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 16 oz (452 g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (114 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
For the Pecan Pie Topping:
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ⅔ cup (227 g) dark corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon dark rum (or bourbon, or replace with vanilla extract)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups (260 g) coarsely chopped pecans
Instructions
Oven to 350°F. Rack in the middle, not top or bottom.
Line your springform with parchment or foil. I do foil. Spray it. Wrap foil around the outside bottom of the pan so if anything drips it doesn’t burn onto your oven. Found burnt pecan syrup on my oven floor once and spent thirty minutes scraping it off with a butter knife. Learn from my mistakes.
Mix graham crumbs, ground pecans, brown sugar, melted butter in a bowl til it looks like wet sand. Should stick together when you squeeze it.
Dump it in the pan and press it in the bottom hard. Really press it. Then press it way up the sides almost to the top. High walls matter a ton later. First time I made this I barely brought the crust up the sides and pecan liquid leaked everywhere and I wanted to cry.
Bake 10 minutes. Take it out. Let it cool.
Oven down to 300°F. Lower temp stops cracks.
Beat cream cheese about a minute til smooth and no chunks. Scrape the bowl sides.
Add sugar, sour cream, vanilla, salt. Mix til combined and smooth.
Fold in the beaten eggs gentle. Just til you don’t see raw egg streaks. Stop mixing. My cousin Rachel beats hers for like five minutes and posts every year on Facebook asking why her cheesecake cracked. I’ve told her four times to stop overbeating. She never listens. Some people don’t want help.
Pour filling in the crust. Smooth the top flat.
Bake 40 minutes. Center jiggles when you shake it. That’s correct. Don’t put it back in thinking it’s not done. It sets up more as it cools.
Brown sugar, corn syrup, rum (or bourbon or vanilla), butter in a pot while cheesecake bakes.
Medium heat. Stir constantly. Bring it to a full rolling boil. Keep stirring. Boil exactly 2 minutes. Set a timer because if you guess you’ll be wrong. Off the heat. Wait 5 minutes for it to cool. This matters because if you add eggs to boiling liquid you get scrambled eggs and nobody wants sweet scrambled eggs in their dessert.
While that cools, whisk eggs, salt, heavy cream in a bowl.
After 5 minutes, pour egg stuff into the syrup slowly while whisking. Take your time. Stir in all the chopped pecans.
Take cheesecake out after 40 minutes.
Spoon the pecans on top first. Spread them around. Now pour syrup but STOP when you get close to the crust edge. You’ll have syrup left in the pot. That’s normal. That’s supposed to happen. Do not try to fit it all in. Do not think “oh I can squeeze in a little more.” If you overfill it the syrup overflows and leaks under the cheesecake and your springform glues shut and you’ll be standing in your kitchen swearing. I know because I’ve done this. Twice. I’m not smart.
Back in the oven 40-50 minutes. Top should be golden brown and crispy-ish. If the crust edges get too dark, cover with foil.
Take it out. Put it on a wire rack on your counter. Walk away. Don’t touch it. Let it cool to room temp. Takes a few hours. Go do something else. Watch Netflix. Take a nap. Whatever.
Once it’s room temp, cover it with plastic wrap or foil and stick it in the fridge minimum 4 hours. I make this the night before always. Has to chill anyway. Tastes better next day. And I’m not stressed day-of trying to finish dessert while cooking everything else.
Want perfect slices? Freeze the whole thing 1-2 hours before cutting. Not frozen solid. Just really cold and firm.
Big sharp knife. Run it under hot water a minute. Dry it completely. Cut once straight down. Pull it out. Wipe all the cheesecake off. Hot water again. Dry again. Cut again. Do this for every single slice. It’s annoying. Do it anyway. That’s how you get those clean bakery edges.
Let slices sit on the counter 30 minutes before serving so they’re not ice cold.
Notes
Stop pouring syrup way before you think you should. Extra syrup in your fridge is fine. Put it on ice cream. Put it on pancakes. Lick it off a spoon at midnight when nobody’s watching. Overflowed cheesecake with syrup everywhere is not fine. It’s a mess and you’ll be mad.
Pack that crust high up the sides. Really pack it. Press hard. Those walls are holding back hot liquid for almost an hour. Weak walls mean leaks mean crying.
Open and close your springform a few times before you start. Make sure the clamp works smooth. If syrup leaks under and hardens, that thing won’t open. You’ll be standing there trying to pry it apart getting increasingly angry. Ask me how I know this.
Grind pecans in short pulses. Check the texture every few seconds. You want coarse sand. If you run the food processor too long you get pecan butter which is a completely different thing.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American