| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 1 large or 6 mini cheesecakes |
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla wafers, such as Nilla
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 stick butter, at room temperature
- 2 pounds cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 eggs plus 2 yolks
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 8 ounces bacon, cooked until crisp and roughly diced
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons bacon fat
- 8 ounces bacon
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, plus more to season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- For the crust: In a food processor, pulse the wafers, pecans, sugar and cinnamon until they reach a consistency that can be pressed. Work the butter into the mix until crumbly. Press uniformly into 1 large or 6 mini springform pans. Bake for 5 minutes.
- For the filling: In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time; mix well and scrape down the sides before adding the next egg. Add the maple syrup and extract. Pour into the pan with the baked crust, stopping 1/2 inch from the top of the crust. Bake for 12 minutes (if using mini pans) or 27 minutes (if using a large pan). After 5 or 10 minutes (depending on the size of pan), put the pieces of bacon into the cheesecake.
- For the topping: Mix the sour cream, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and bacon fat in a bowl. Carefully pour spoonfuls of the topping on the cheesecake from the outside edges to the middle of the top. Be careful to not overfill the pan. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and cool in the refrigerator until set.
- For the candied bacon garnish: Cook the bacon until crispy and place on a rack. Mix the maple syrup with the extract and pepper and paint the mixture with a pastry brush on both sides of the bacon. Broil the bacon for 1 minute on each side. Crack more pepper over the bacon and cool until set. Garnish the cheesecake with the candied bacon.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1760 |
| Total Fat | 132 g |
| Saturated Fat | 61 g |
| Carbohydrates | 126 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 114 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 401 mg |
| Sodium | 1151 mg |
Reviews
Flavors were good. Filling and topping were good. Baking time was way off!!! The middle did not set at all. The bacon on top of the cheesecake then the topping made the bacon soggy. I cannot comment on the crust as I used a gluten free pecan shortbread cookie instead.
Overall 3 star.
Overall 3 star.
Okay, the cook time is wrong, and the crust directions make twice as much as you need, but otherwise this recipe is great.
I made it in a 9″ springtime pan, cut all of the amounts of the crust ingredients in half, and that was the perfect amount. I left it in the oven at least 40 minutes, and then checked it every 10 minutes until the very middle was ONLY JUST jiggly. Then I poured the topping on, and left the cheesecake in the cracked open oven to cool for an hour. Didn’t bother with the candied bacon garnish.
It was absolutely delicious, it tasted like pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, like breakfast cheesecake for someone who wants to put on several dozen pounds. The only reason it doesn’t have five stars is because of the adjustments needed to the recipe.
Should have read the reviews first. Shame on you, Food Network for posting ANY recipe with a disclaimer. If it hasn’t been tested, it shouldn’t be posted. And this one was a disaster! Trusted it to set up as claimed and it seemed to be okay. Total embarrassment when my co-worker cut into her birthday request only to find it was a gooey mess and waste of $33 worth of ingredients. Please test, revise or pull this from your site.
This is the first Food Network recipe I have ever had issues with. I would make it again, but 27 minutes was definitely NOT long enough!! The flavors were excellent, and I love the crust, but the filling is much too runny.
27 minutes did not seem long enough. I’ve gone 15 minutes past that and it’s still jiggly all over. So, I’m not sure if that’s ok, and it will set in the fridge, or if it’s like all my other cheesecakes and needs to be just a little jiggly in the center when done. So, I took it out, and after sitting a while, it did firm up. I’ll probably bake it for 40-45 minutes next time. Also, I had a pan of water in the oven for humidity, but it still cracked along the edge.
STACEY REALLY MADE THIS, ONE INCREDIBLE DESSERT !!! YOU WILL REALLY BE IMPRESSED WITH THE COMBINATIONS OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS AND TASTE !!! WAY TO GO STACEY !!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK !!!
I saw Stacey make this on Next Food Network Star and I was instantly inspired to try to make this at home. I used exactly what the recipe called for with the exception of a little less bacon fat and a little more maple syrup. It turned out great! The sweet & salty taste combined with some of the best crust I’ve ever tried…it was amazing.
This was a HUGE hit! I didn’t use as much bacon or bacon fat in it and i cooked it about 15 minutes longer. It was amazing! Thanks Stacey!
THE BEST!!!!!!