Caramel & Praline Layers Cheesecake
"I baked this for my mom's 50th birthday blowout, and it was gone in minutes. Mrs. C. E. Simmons of Booker, TX submitted the recipe I started with to The 50 Best Cheesecakes in the World by Larry and Honey Zisman. (p. 50) When I baked it the first time, it cracked dramatically, but my sister (family cheesecake expert) let me know a trick to correct a cracked cake: mix sour cream and sugar, spread on cooled cheesecake, and bake for 15 min. at 350 F., so I've incorporated that, plus a few changes that turned out well."
- Ready In:
- 9hrs 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 19
- Serves:
-
16-24
ingredients
-
CRUST
- 1 1⁄2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1⁄3 cup butter, melted
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 cup pecans, finely ground
-
FILLING
- 1 1⁄2 lbs cream cheese, softened
- 3⁄4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1⁄2 cup caramel topping
- 1⁄2 cup pecans, chopped
-
TOPPING
- 1 1⁄2 cups sour cream
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 1⁄2 cup caramel topping
-
PRALINE GLAZE
- 1⁄3 cup brown sugar
- 2⁄3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1⁄3 cup evaporated milk
- 20 pecan halves, about
directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Crust: mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and pecans; press into bottom & sides of 9" springform pan.
- Bake 8 minutes; set aside.
- Set oven to 450°F.
- Filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, & flour until well blended on medium speed.
- Add yolks one at a time, mix well after each yolk.
- Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter.
- Remove about 1/3 of the batter and set aside.
- Mix caramel into remaining batter.
- Pour batter into crust.
- Sprinkle chopped pecans over top.
- Carefully spread reserved batter over pecans.
- Bake at 450°F for 7 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 50 minutes.
- Turn off oven, open oven door slightly, and let cheesecake sit in oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let cool for 1-2 hours on a wire rack.
- Chill for 4-6 hours.
- TOPPING: Mix sour cream, sugar, and caramel topping; spread on cheesecake.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
- Chill while you prepare the Praline Glaze.
- PRALINE GLAZE: Mix sugar, butter, and milk. Cook until mixture just passes soft ball stage (240 degrees) and forms a ball in a cup of cold water.
- Remove from heat. Add pecans.
- Stir until all pecans are well coated.
- Remove pecans from sauce, letting syrup drippings fall back into pot; place on wax paper to cool.
- Immediately pour syrup over top of chilled cheesecake. Arrange pecan halves on top.
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Reviews
-
If you bake your cheesecake at a lower temperature you wont get the cracks. I bake mine at 350 for the first fifteen minutes, then reduce the temp to 275 for another 40 minutes. Then I shut the oven off and leave it in for an hour. I never have cracks and make cheesecakes often for my catering business. (I just got done making 12 and not one had cracks in it.) Baking them in a water bath might also help.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
StephsTreats
United States
I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom. My 4 (so far) kids love to help me cook, so it doesn't always turn out "perfect" but we do make some original recipes that way! (like my praline cheesecake). My dad trained as a chef under one of Louisiana's Chefs of the Year, and my dad taught me many professional basics, but my real "education" in cooking came from reading tons of how-to and cook books, and then experimenting on my poor husband. He's survived 25 years of my cooking so far, and he's learning not to be so picky!
