I've tried this several times, and it's always been a disaster so I'm searching for some help. I've seen pictures (never actually tasted any) of a layered pecan pie and cheesecake. These are two of my favorite desserts, and I reasoned that they would be fabulous when combined into one. In the pictures that I've seen they put the pecan part on the bottom. I tried this the first time. I blind baked the "pie" for about 30 minutes (just long enough to form a crust on the top). Then I carefully spooned in the cheesecake. I reasoned that 1 1/2 hours should be enough to get the pecan pie filling done. Well, when it was all done, the pecan pie never set up, and was really runny. Tasted good, but was really a runny mess. Then I reasoned that it would be better with the "pie" on top. I put cheesecake in the bottom, and then carefully spooned the pie filling on top of the cheesecake. When it was done baking, (the top of the pecan pie was starting to turn really dark and get hard), the inside was still like the cheesecake batter, and most of the pie filling had been dispersed thru the cheesecake, or somewhat baked into the batter. This didn't really work either. Any ever done this, and if so, what's the process ??? I think that my next thing is to go back to the pie on the bottom, and TOTALLY bake the pie, let it completely cool, and then put the cheesecake on the top. I think that if I ever get this to work, the taste combination will be awesome!!! CADman_ks
I would stick with the pie filling on top, but par bake the cheesecake a little before you put the pecan filling on top. Give that a try and let us know how it comes out.
I'll keep you posted. It might be a while before I actually attempt to make it again. I've got holiday baking that I have to do right now. I was hoping that I could use this for the holidays, but it's going to need a little refinement...
You could bake the pie and cheesecake in springform pans of the same size. Line the bottom of the cheesecake pan with parchment and after it's chilled remove the sides from the cheesecake pan and carefully turn it over onto the pie. If you wanted to mask the cheesecake/pie junction you could remove the sides from the pie pan, put it on a rack and pour a caramel glaze over it (you could even arrange some toasted pecan halves on top before glazing). Or you could press chopped sugared pecans around the sides of the exposed cheesecake if you didn't want a glaze. Maybe more trouble than you had in mind but I think it would work. I've used cheesecake as a layer in cakes and it's not all that difficult to move them around if they're baked properly and well chilled.
CAD, Find a cold set formula for your cheesecake part. Made them meny yrs. ago but probably don't have the formula. By that I mean a formula that you mix and it sets up in the cooler. Goes right on top of the PP.
That's an interesting idea. That would probably work. I guess that I have to break my mindset that "true" cheesecake is baked, huh. One other thing that I forgot to mention in my original post was that the pecan pie part doesn't work too well with a graham cracker crust. I might have to use a pie crust in the bottom of the pecan pie. Now, if I only get that pie crust down in the springform... CADman_ks
You can use a pie plate, if you're having trouble with the springform. Are you tring to make it go up the sides?
Yeah, I'm making the graham cracker crust go up the sides. I've actually gotten pretty good at that. You can make the crust somewhat "tight" so that it doesn't leak during baking, but that tends to make a pretty hard crust when you're done. If you don't add enough butter, it won't stick together enough, will be kind of loose, will taste real good and have the right conistency, BUT the pie filling will seep right thru. Even if I was to use pie dough in a springform pan, it would need to go up the sides. Otherwise the pie filling will seep out the crack in the pan. One of the reasons that I haven't attempted this in a pie plate, though, was because I wanted the height of a cheesecake. If I did it with a pie plate, I would have to have a pretty deep pie plate, which I currently don't have. I guess maybe I need to make a trip to the local kitchen supply store. :smiles: CADman_ks
I have done this with the cheesecake on the bottom. The method that works for me is baking the cheesecake almost completely, while cooking the pecan pie filling (I use a recipe without egg, mostly a soft caramel filling) on the stove top so that once it is poured onto the hot cheesecake, it only needs about 5-10 minutes in the oven to set.