Vanilla Bean Cheesecake With Walnut Crust
photo by looneytunesfan
- Ready In:
- 1hr 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
1 cheesecake
- Serves:
- 10
ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cups walnut pieces
- 1 3⁄4 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (do not use imitation vanilla)
- 2 lbs cream cheese, softened
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped, preferably Madagascar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1⁄2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
directions
- Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 10-inch springform pan.
- In a food processor or blender, pulse walnuts with 1/4 cup of the sugar until finely ground. Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like moist sand. Press crumbs into bottom of pan. Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix sour cream with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract. Cover and set aside.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300°.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or using a handheld electric mixer, beat cream cheese on low speed with the remaining sugar and the vanilla seeds until JUST combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add remaining vanilla extract and the almond extract. Slowly mix in cream until smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake for 65 minutes or until lightly golden and slightly jiggly in the center.
- Immediately pour the sour cream topping over the cheesecake and smooth the surface with back of spoon or spatula.
- Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
- Place on wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
- Run a thin sharp knife around cake and remove the ring.
- Refrigerate for 3 hours. Remove cheesecake and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Return to refrigerator and leave overnight before serving.
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Reviews
-
I just made this cheesecake. Too much butter for the crust, I will cut it back to half or just until it is moist enough. I am taking the almond extract out as well, keeping the recipe with all vanilla. I messed up and baked with only 2 eggs instead of 4, and it was still wonderful, not too dense at all. Everyone loved it.
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This is, hands-down, my favorite cheesecake recipe. Every time I make it, friends, family, and co-workers comment on how delicious it is. A few changes: I omit the almond extract and add a little extra vanilla extract (only the good stuff), + 1 whole vanilla bean. I also prefer using pecans in the crust. I always bring the eggs and cream cheese to room temperature before blending them and make sure to mix them to the point where there are entirely no lumps. The sour cream topping compliments the cheesecake nicely and beautifully masks any cracks that may occur during baking. Although, I never need to really worry about cracking because I always put a cookie sheet of boiling water on the rack below the cheesecake. Next time, I may experiment with adding some lemon flavoring to the sour cream topping, as it seems they would go well together.
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Tweaks
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Excellent texture, and delicious too. But I didn't like the almond extract, it gave it a funny aftertaste. Next time I'll either omit it or just use more vanilla, because I think the vanilla flavor could have been a little stronger. I used half & half instead of heavy cream, and I used pecans instead of walnuts (personal preference). They made the crust divine!!
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I am a die-hard chocoholic that only falls for a cheesecake crammed full of chocolate and its various faithful companions. I would have never taken a second look at this recipe if it hadnt been for a co-worker, who requested a vanilla-bean cheesecake for her birthday treat. That being said, I have seen the light. This was a truly fantastic and decadent treat that gives the cocoa bean a true run for its money. I will make it again - for sure. And just in case you are considering being frugal and skipping the vanilla bean or using vanilla flavoring instead of pure extract - DONT do it. I am heartily convinced that using the best organic vanilla bean and vanilla extract I could find was what took this cheesecake over the top and well worth the few extra dollars.
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