Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with a Walnut Crust
This is a Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with a Walnut Crust. It’s quite addicting, especially if your weakness includes walnuts and butter. And that’s just the crust. Vanilla extract and almond extract team up to add depth to the vanilla bean filling. And last, the vanilla sour cream topping rounds out all that goodness with a bit of tang. Don’t take it from me, try it out yourself and see how addicting this cheesecake can be!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 people 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: New American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (- 3 Tablespoons (take two out of the filling and one out of the sour cream for less sweetness))
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 2/3 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 pounds cream cheese (softened)
- 1 whole vanilla bean (split with seeds scraped)
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
- In a food processor, pulse the walnuts with 1/4 cup of the sugar until finely ground. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture resembles gritty sand.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and bake about 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300°.
- While the crust is baking, using a stand mixer beat the cream cheese at low speed with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla seeds just until combined.
- Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Add the 1 Tablespoon of vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Slowly beat in the cream until smooth.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan with the crust and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until lightly golden.
- When the cake is almost done baking, make the topping in a small bowl. Mix the sour cream with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
- Immediately pour the sour cream topping over the cheesecake and smooth the surface. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for 5 minutes longer.
- Transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Run a sharp, thin-bladed knife around the cake and remove the ring. Refrigerate the cake for 3 hours, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before serving.
Notes
The baked filling goes to the top of my 9 inch pan, when done. I let it cool a few minutes and it lowers enough to add the topping. The first time this happened I thought the filling wouldn’t work, but it may be okay if your pan rim is tall enough. Otherwise, it may be better to use a 10 inch pan if you have one.
Also, my springform pan was not sealed all the way on the bottom and butter dripped out causing smoke. Place a rimmed cookie sheet underneath to catch any drippings just in case…