So this fabulash looking cheesecake that has been placed before you is actually part of a Christmas present. See, about three weeks ago my grandmother came dashing into my house and pushed this cheesecake in front of me. “YOU MUST MAKE THIS!” Ok grandma….ok.
Apparently this cheesecake came from The Glass Lounge on Front Street in Harrisburg. The owner calls it Pecan Cheesecake. I tasted it…and well…I tasted it again, and again….hid it in the back of the fridge, and about two hours later..tasted it again. I’m actually being dead serious here when I say it was the best cheesecake I have ever tasted in my life….my entire life. My friends, it might have been the best dessert I have ever tasted…other than cake. I mean, you just don’t do that…you can’t trump cake. However, it comes pretty darn close.
So, I got to work. After my online searches, researching, and lotts of tasting…I found the perfect recipe. I would say it tastes approximately 93.7% of the original…which is quite an impressive percentage. I had decided that I would surprise Grandma during Christmas dinner, then there would be several other people to help eating the cheesecake because, as we all know, a large amount of cheesecake in my fridge would result in horrid things for my feminine shape.
The crust is super unique in this recipe, and I think it’s one of the reasons that this cheesecake is so good. When you start with a crust like this…you could put BBQ inside and it still would taste good. It might be reaaally good. Hmmm…well now thats a different post.
Nilla wafer crumbs, brown sugar, and butter….amazing. Bake it up for a few minutes, and we are ready to go with the good stuff.
Next, you must make the pecan pie filling. This should probably only be a dessert that you eat one one of three occasions: your birthday, a holiday, or the day before you die and calories aren’t an issue. You could literally eat a piece of the pecan pie bottom and the crust and the fat would run you enough for the day. But, where’s the fun in that?
The top of the cheesecake is also a bit different. It’s a brown sugar based cheesecake, which gives it an absolutely fabulous flavor. I actually need to stop talking about it now. My mouth has begun to salivate and I’m too stinking lazy to get off the couch and raid through the fridge in hopes that there are a few crumbs of this left.
Ready for the recipe? Yeah, I thought so. Well, I used the recipe from Bake or Break Blog. (Just slightly adapted it to my liking)
Pecan Pie-Bottomed Cheesecake
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 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 eggs
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
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For the crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a greased and parchment paper lined 9″ cake pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
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For the Pecan pie filling: Combine all pecan filling 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.
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Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving. When ready to serve, dip the sides of the pan in hot water to losen the cake from the pan. Next, flip the cheesecake out of the pan onto a cling-wrap lined plate. Next, slip right side up onto a cute and festive plate.
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Serve, and be served up some fresh compliments.
Oh yeah, my grandma loved it. She kind of flipped out a little…so did that guy who actually bought the cheesecake. He said that he gets 30% of the stock from my company because he bought the original cheesecake. I’ll just let him think what he wants to think, hehe.
