Salted Caramel Pecan Cheesecake
Salted caramel pecan cheesecake blends creamy cheesecake with buttery caramel and toasted pecans for a perfect mix of sweet, salty and nutty. It’s rich, balanced and guaranteed to impress at any gathering.
Ingredients
Cheesecake crust
- 1 sleeve graham crackers (about 9 full crackers) crushed
- ½ cup pecans finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
Cheesecake filling
- 4 blocks cream cheese (8 ounces each) room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce homemade or store bought
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
Cheesecake decorations
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce
- ½ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
Making the crust
- Preheat oven to 325°. Spray an 8 or 9 inch springform pan, including the sides, with cooking spray and set aside.
- Put the graham crackers in a food processor and grind the crackers into small crumbs. [It's ok to have some bigger pieces of cookies as the grind doesn't need to be super fine.]
- Chop the pecans with a knife or use a food processor to chop the pecans. (I chop the pecans for the crust, filling and topping all at once.)
- Mix the graham crackers, chopped pecans, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of white sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Add the crust mixture to the springform pan. Pat it down flat with your hands or a flat-bottom measuring cup with medium pressure. It should be packed firmly but not too hard.
- Bake the crust for 6 minutes and set aside to cool. [This step is optional but highly recommended for a crisp crust.]
Making the filling
- Place the room temperature cream cheese into a mixing bowl and mix on low speed until creamy and all the lumps are gone. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add the white sugar to the cream cheese mixture in the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Next, add the caramel sauce to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
- Next, add the eggs one at a time. Mix on low speed just until each egg is combined before adding the next egg. Between eggs, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Fold in ¼ cup of the chopped pecans by hand until they are evenly distributed.
Baking and cooling the cheesecake
- Pour the filling on top of the crust in the springform pan. Place the springform pan in a larger cake pan (or cover the sides of the springform pan with aluminum foil). Fill the roasting pan with one inch of water to create the water bath. Carefully add the cake pan (or the wrapped springform pan) into the water. [See FAQ or post description on why the moat method is preferred.]
- Bake at 325° for about 60 minutes until the center is mostly set. Then, turn off the oven and open the oven door to start cooling. Leave it alone for two hours. After two hours, remove the cake pan from the oven and the water bath and let cool on a cooling rack until room temperature.
- Before placing in the refrigerator, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cheesecake from the sides. Cover lightly and refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight.
- After cooling, remove the rim of the spring form pan. Also, remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the springform pan if so desired (see FAQ for help) and decorate the cheesecake.
Decorating the cheesecake
- Press chopped pecans into the sides of the cheesecake. This is optional but a nice touch.
- Warm the salted caramel sauce in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until the caramel sauce is pourable but not hot. Use a spoon, piping bag or a decorator bottle to drizzle the caramel sauce across the cheesecake in any pattern. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the salted caramel drizzle. The caramel sauce drizzle helps hold the chopped pecans in place.
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