Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Recipe

I love caramel. I love pecans. I love cheesecake...so it's no big surprise that I love a good Caramel Pecan Cheesecake recipe right?

As much as I love to bake, my area of expertise is mostly in cookies - probably because that is what I love to eat most! I can make a basic cake, and do pretty well with box mixes, of course. But a cheesecake? Not a chance. A tarte? Nope.

My little sister Dawn, on the other hand, is a fabulous baker of cakes.

We always know that Dawn will bring along a luxurious and decadent dessert to any family function, and our annual family Progressive Christmas Dinner was no exception!

She baked up an incredible Caramel Pecan Cheesecake recipe that she adapted from an old Mary Crownover recipe.

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients for Crust

3 cups of nilla wafer then crush
8 TB of melted butter
Mix well and bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Ingredients for Cheesecake Filling

3 packages of softened cream cheese
⅓ sour cream
⅔ cups of dark brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup dark corn syrup
3 TB cornstarch
1 TB flour
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, corn syrup, and cornstarch and flour. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating just enough to combine after each addition. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir in pecans. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around it. Return the cake to the oven and bake for additional 30 minutes if needed. Turn oven off and leave the cheese cake in the oven for 1 hour. Chill overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Ingredients for Caramel Pecan Topping

4 TB butter
¼ cup cream
3 TB dark corn syrup
⅓ dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup of pecans, half crushed

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Spread over cheese cake and chill for at least 1 hour.

This Caramel Pecan Cheesecake recipe was to die for.

I really need to learn how to bake cheesecakes...