Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Pie is an integral part of holiday dessert in America and so is cheesecake with seasonal festive flavors. I love to combine cheesecake with pie ingredients; they always turn out darn tasty. If I ever have to choose between pie and cheesecake, I will definitely go for cheesecake. I have shared Pumpkin Cheese Tart, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Custard Pie and Pumpkine Pie. They all are amazingly delicious. 

Last week I made a cheesecake with new flavor, pecan pie and it got a big thumbs up from those who tasted. Pecan pie is a southern specialty dessert for holiday brunch or dinner. Combining caramel sauce pecan pie flavor with cheesecake was pretty cool. It's not a new concept though. Recently I came across a food magazine where pecan pie cheesecake was featured for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dessert. It's a traditional recipe with pecan that is used in the crust along with graham cracker and on the top of the cheesecake with pecan caramel sauce. I made some tweaks to the original recipe. It's the first time I made gluten free and grain free. Crust is made out of coarsely ground pecan, tapioca flour, sugar, butter, milk and it led to success. As usual I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese, light sour cream as well as less sugar. It surely makes a guilt free dessert. 

I baked this cheesecake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour in a water bath. Low temperature and steam from the water bath prevented cracks. Then I let it sit in the oven another one hour after turning off the heat and cooled on the counter at the room temperature. As a result cheesecake got a perfectly smooth surface with no cracks. This cheesecake sounds fancy, looks fancy, taste fancy but super easy to make. Patience is the secret of this fancy dessert; you can't just rush. Make it at night and allow it to cool on the counter overnight. This cheesecake can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-6 days and up to 1 month in the freezer; just thaw overnight in the refrigerator. It's a great make ahead dessert for upcoming holidays. Lets get baking! 

Ingredients~
3- 8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup low fat sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp tapioca flour
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs

For the crust:
2  cups coarsely ground pecans
2 tsp tapioca starch
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the toppings:
1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream  
1/8 tsp salt

Method~
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat entire a 8 or 9- inch spring form pan with melted butter. Grind pecan until coarsely ground. Make sure not to make a paste. Mix ground pecan with tapioca flour, sugar, milk butter and vanilla extract. Press pecan mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to at room temperature; wrap bottom and outside of the pan with heavy duty aluminium foil.

Boil 3 cups water and set aside. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract,tapioca flour and sugar with a hand mixer until well incorporated, scraping sides of the bowl as needed. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour filling over the baked pecan crust. Smooth the top with spatula. Tap 3-4 times on the counter to eliminate air bubbles. Place the cheesecake filled spring form pan to a large high sided roasting pan; pour boiled water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the foil wrapped spring form pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes until top sets but still jiggly in the center. Turn off the heat and leave cheesecake in the oven for one hour with the door closed. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the room temperature; then refrigerate at least 4-6 hours.

Combine brown sugar, salt and heavy cream in heavy a bottomed medium sauce pan on medium low heat. Bring it to a boil. Reduce  heat and simmer until thick but pour able consistency about 6-8 minutes. Stir chopped pecans into the caramel sauce. Remove from the pan and allow it to cool completely. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the cheesecake to release from the pan once cooled and place it on a serving plate. Spoon pecan caramel sauce over the cheesecake. Slice and enjoy delicious holiday dessert with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!! 

Happy Baking!!