Ok so if you love pecan pie or anything pecan then you will definitely love these pecan cheesecake bars.
I mean, who doesn't love cheesecake, right?
And tell me, who doesn't love the combination of pecan pie AND cheesecake? And then you slice them into those cute little bars to serve. Your guests or whoever that you're serving these beauties to, they are going to be super impressed. And if they're not, then they don't deserve you. Haha! Seriously 😉
Pecan Oh Pecan Pie
I feel like only yesterday that the weather has been nicer and cooler. Without realising, Thanksgiving is coming up super fast. It's just a few weeks away!
And talking about, what more Thanksgiving-gy than a delicious pecan pie that in today's recipe, we will instead enjoy it in cheesecake bars. Yum!
I mean, let's pimp up our pecan pie a bit, right? 😉
These pecan cheesecake bars have everything that you want in a pecan pie, and more. A buttery base, creamy luscious cheesecake filling and then come the gooey caramel pecan topping. Oh la la! Trust me, you will WANT to make these.
What If I Don't Have Pecans?
Ok, this is a pecan cheesecake bars recipe but hey, everything is not carved in stone.
If you don't have pecans or you don't like them, no worries. Substitute them with walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or any of your favourite nuts.
A part of cooking and baking is that we adapt the recipe to what we have and what we like. Don't you agree?
Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Everything I mention in this post is what I personally use and recommend.
Tips On Having Perfect Cheesecake
So baking a cheesecake is always tricky. Yes, I know. And then there's that part where you always need to use the bain-marie method or else your cheesecake will crack and all those disastrous things.
Well you CAN get away without using bain-marie method and still have a perfect cheesecake 😉
Here I'm sharing with you some tips that I find very useful when making a baked cheesecake.
Less is more - whisk as little as you can when you're mixing the ingredients. Over whisking/mixing will incorporate too much air into the batter and that's what is going to create cracks when we bake the cheesecake later.
Use low speed - use the lowest speed on your electric hand whisk when you're mixing. I use speed 1 in mine. If you're whisking it with a hand whisk, then don't go crazy. Remember, we don't want to incorporate air into the batter.
Low oven temperature - ok this is subjective. Every oven is made differently. Mine is not the same as yours, obviously. To get a precise internal oven temperature, I always use an oven thermometer like this one. And for baked cheesecakes, we want the temperature to be low. Baking it at a high temperature will make it crack.
Ingredients temperature - when I give out recipes I always specify the temperature of ingredients unless it doesn't matter. So if I specify cream cheese at room temperature, make sure you use the same. You might not think that's important but it is. Having certain ingredients at room temperature will make it easier to be mix/whisk and whatnots. And when they're easier to mix, then it means less whisking, then it means less air incorporated in the batter. See what I mean?
I really hope you'll try this recipe! Like always, tag me in your instagram photos using @elmundoeats. If you've made any of my recipes, do rate them by selecting the stars in the comment below. Thanks people!
In Summary
These pecan cheesecake bars are:
- perfect for this festive season!!
- pimp up of the traditional pecan pie 😉
- everything that you want in a pecan pie, and more!
- look so complicated but we both know that they're easy. so wow your guests!
- yeah, what can I say? They are just FREAKINGLY DELICIOUS!!
Hungry For More Cheesecakes?
Check these out:
- Easy mini cheesecakes
- Chocolate cheesecake (no-bake)
- Tiramisu cheesecake (no-bake)
- Peanut butter chocolate cheesecake (no-bake)
- Lemon cheesecake (no-bake)
- Mango cheesecake (no-bake)
Video
Pecan Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Th Base
- 2 cup digestive biscuits crumbs (200 g)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter (80 g), melted
The Cheesecake Filling
- 16 oz full fat cream cheese (450 g), room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup sour cream (285 g), room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar (150 g)
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour (24 g)
- 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
The Pecan Topping
- ½ cup coconut sugar (70 g)
- ½ cup golden syrup (170 g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cup pecan (160 g), chopped
Instructions
The Base
- Place your digestive biscuits in a food processor and blend until you get a fine mixture. Skip this step if you're using a store-bought crumbs. Pour into a bowl together with melted butter.
- Mix everything well and pour the mixture into a 9 inch (23 cm) square pan that has been buttered and lined with a parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
The Cheesecake Filling
- Put cream cheese into another bowl and using a hand held mixer, whisk just until it gets creamy. Now add in sour cream, sugar, all purpose flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract and mix everything well. Set aside.
- Break the eggs into a different bowl and lightly whisk them. Pour the eggs into the cream cheese mixture and using a spatula, fold and mix everything together. Pour the mixture into our prepared pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven (no fan) at 285ºF (140ºC) for 50 minutes or until the top has slightly set. Remove from the oven and set aside while we make the topping.
- Note: please refer to my tips above on how to prevent the cheesecake from cracking.
The Pecan Topping
- Add all of the ingredients, except chopped pecans, into a bowl and mix everything well. Now add in the pecans and give it one last mix.
- Using a spoon, gently spoon the pecan topping on top of the cheesecake. You will have some balance of the sauce (syrup), so don't put it all.
- Now put back in the oven and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave it cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge for min 8 hours. Slice and enjoy!
Hi Bea! Can I substitute golden corn syrup for the golden syrup used in the topping?
Hi Zo! Yes, you can 😊. Have fun making it!
Success in the first time. Really delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to know that you liked it! Thanks for your message 🙂
Love all ur recipes!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I'm glad you like them. Thanks you!
Good evening bea , I have a question please, is it possible to replace coconut sugar with regular or brown sugar? And also golden syrup, can it be replaced with honey or maple syrup? This is because these ingredients are hard to find in Tel Aviv 😭
I am very interested in making this cheesecake with Pecan Topping
I am also interested in a recommendation for a classic cheesecake that can be baked in a round pan, which of your recipes do you recommend? Thanks in advance !
Hi Ami! Yes, you can use brown sugar instead. As for the golden syrup, it's different to honey or maple syrup so I can't say it's going to work good or no, sorry! You can check out this Cheesecake Factory inspired and Double chocolate cheesecake. Have fun!
Hello Bea, I found your recipe by accident although I think it looks AMAZING and can’t wait to try it soon however I have two questions and I would love if you could clarify them for me.. I have made a New York cheesecake (someone else’s recipe) in the past and I baked it in my FAN oven. I know that for baking dessert Fan ovens are far from ideal and I can’t agree more however I managed to make the cheesecake more than successfully. In your recipe you clearly state NO FAN. Is there a reason why it’s not suitable for my oven or it’s just because of how difficult can be? Second question: could you please explain <>. Looking forward to trying this amazing recipe soon. Greeting from London UK
Gabby
Sorry it removed my second question it seems.. I would like to know what exactly you mean by: I will have some balance of the sauce ?
Thank you, cheers
Hi Gabby! Usually when the oven is using the fan option, the temperature is higher by 15-20 degrees. To prevent cracking and the brownish color on top of the cheesecake, I'm using a very low temperature and I want it to be consistent that way. Also, the air circulation tends to make the baked goods drier. And what I meant by the balance of the sauce is, you will not need to use all of it to put on top of the cheesecake (you can watch the video above to see how I use it) to avoid soggy/pudding-like cheesecake. Hope my answers helped. Have fun if you're making it and thank you!
I made this exactly like the recipe and it turned out so good! My cheesecake didn't crack at all and the topping didn't sink inside the cheese filling. Thank you so much, I will be keeping this recipe.
Oh that's great Anna! I'm happy to hear it turned out great for you. Thank you! 😘
Wat could be a good alternative for the golden syrup?
Hi, I’ve found it! Bought Lyle’s golden syrup and I made the cheesecake. It was delicious! I’ve already made your mini cheesecakes and those where also amazing. Thank you for the fool proof recipes!👌🏻
That's awesome! I'm happy to hear that. Thank you Malika! 😘
Does it have to be coconut sugar? Would brown be ok?
Yes brown sugar would be fine 🙂
what in the world is digestive Biscuit Crumbs never heard of it
I wrote a post about it, maybe you wanna check it out.
Graham Cracker crumbs