Pecan Pie Cheesecake with Canadian Whiskey

Pecan Pie Cheesecake - for when you can't decide between pie or cake. Have both! One of our favourite cheesecakes. A whiskey spiked brown sugar cheesecake with caramel pecan topping.

This Pecan Pie Cheesecake may be the best cheesecake ever. And I would know because I have made so many cheesecakes. And I really have a thing for caramel cheesecakes-- check out this apple caramel cheesecake and this banana and caramel cheesecake. Caramel and cheesecakes just go together.

Once upon a time, I cooked my way through the Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese calendar. For real. I made every.one. of those cakes. For every occasion, I'd whip together a cheesecake. It was the 90s and it was just a good idea.

My daughter does not like cheesecake. ("why?" for the love of cheese, why not? And she does really, really love cheese).. we just don't understand...

But my son. My boy. Came up with this request for his 9th birthday. "Pecan Pie, but I want a cheesecake"

It may have been his best idea ever.

And it is almost Valentines, so you can make this for the sweetest pecan pie loving person in your life.

About this cheesecake

The cake started with this one from Smitten Kitchen, I used the crust just as is. From there I stuck to my basic cheesecake formula - which involves cheese, eggs, and sugar.

It's that simple.

A few tricks to turn a basic cheesecake into something pecan pie like:

• Add pecans to the graham cracker crust. Pecans have a distinct flavor and adding a handful to the crust just adds a bit more of "pecan pie" to this cheesecake
• Brown sugar -  because, because, pecan pie - brown sugar highlights the caramel goodness that is pecan pie. There is brown sugar in both the crust and the cake itself.
• Whiskey! - optional of course. Canadian Rye whiskey (my preference) or a rich bourbon is a natural addition to a good pecan pie. Adding some good whiskey to the cheesecake highlights the caramel and brown sugar already in the cake. Flavored whiskey can be fun to experiment with.
• Caramel sauce. Go storebought here. If you are feeling really ambitious, you can, of course, make your own caramel sauce. Or you could grab a can of Hershey's Top Scotch. It is exactly the right flavor of caramel for pecan pie.

So there you have it... the prettiest of cheesecakes. With lots of caramel sauce. Lots.

How to prevent your cheesecake top from cracking

The trick it to bake your cake slowly.

There are a couple of methods that help prevent cracks. Basically, the most important point here it to control the temperature while the cake bakes. Cheesecakse -- because they are so full of eggs - like a low and slow heat. A few tips:

• Use the waterbath method to keep a moist and even heat in your oven. The recipe below describes how I usually do this.
• Avoid openning the door of the oven to check on the cake while it is baking.
• The cake is done when it is mostly set on top. The very center may seem still a bit jiggly. This is okay. It will firm up as the cake cools.
• When the cake appears done, as noted above, turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Allow the cake to sit in oven for about an hour. Then remove it to a cooling rack.
• Cheesecakes are best made the day before. Once the cake has completely cooled I wrap it in plastic and store overnight before topping and serving.

A few more notes - make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before you start making the cake. Lumps in the batter will almost guarrentee cracks. And don't over beat the eggs when you add them to the cake. This creates air, and air will get trapped inside the batter and create cracks.