Autumn Cheesecake

Surprise, surprise, this recipe is from Allrecipes.com. I have only ever made one other cheesecake recipe (about 100 times). It was so incredible I have never tried another one, but I figured I would try this out since it went better with the theme of the dinner than my usual white chocolate raspberry swirl (to be shared at a later date).

This turned out truly amazing. It starts out with a graham cracker and pecan crust sweetened with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon. The crust had an incredible flavor. I would definitely experiment and use the crust again for another recipe. Next, it has a traditional cheesecake filling (soo easy). Next, the cake is layered with thinly sliced apples (I used Cortland) tossed in cinnamon in sugar. The apples are then topped off with pecans.

Though the recipe called for a 9 inch pan, I would HIGHLY recommend using a 7 inch pan. Even with the smaller pan, this was still a thin cheesecake. I did not adjust the cooking time for the smaller pan. The first time I ever made cheesecake, I was warned to use a water bath (I don’t even really know the reasoning, so it won’t crack?). Either I would pour the boiling water into the “bath,” and then gingerly try to put the entire two ton thing in the oven without burning myself or slopping it into the cheesecake. Or, in the alternative, I would sit there with the oven door open, letting all the heat escape, trying to pour boiling water into the two inch space between the springform and the “bath,” inevitably splashing it into the cheesecake or on the oven floor. My most vivid water bath nightmare was when my springform pan was not quite sealed entirely. When I eagerly unlatched the springform, expecting to find a crisp crust beneath the silky cheesecake, I was instead met with a wet (not just soggy) crust and soupy cheesecake. Not this time. I decided to throw caution to the wind and skip the water bath altogether and I did not miss it one bit. I did put a small baking dish with boiling water on the lower rack to keep the cheesecake from drying out. Good riddance to the water bath.

Ingredients

• 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
• ½ c. finely chopped pecans
• 3 Tb. white sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ c. unsalted butter, melted

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• ½ c. white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 c. apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/3 c. white sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ c, chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and melted butter; press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix at medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla; pour filling into the baked crust.
3. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Toss the cinnamon-sugar with the apples to coat. Spoon apple mixture over cream cheese layer and sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped pecans.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill cake before serving.

Right out the oven (sorry a little dark)

Mmm!

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