Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Smooth and creamy with the rich caramelizedmolasses flavor of dark brown sugar this brown sugar pecan pie cheesecake is an upgraded take on classic cheesecake. The sweet gooey caramellike pecan topping is reminiscent of pecan pie and I promise youll be looking for more ways to use it over ice cream brownies pumpkin pie everything!.
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups 240g graham cracker crumbs about 16 full sheet graham crackers
6 Tablespoons 75g granulated sugar
12 cup 8 Tbsp 113g unsalted butter melted

Cheesecake
32 ounces 904g fullfat brick cream cheese softened to room temperature
1 cup 200g packed light or dark brown sugar I recommend dark
1 cup 240g fullfat sour cream at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice optional but recommended
14 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs at room temperature
Brown Sugar Pecan Topping
1 and 12 cups 180g pecan halves
14 cup 4 Tbsp 56g unsalted butter
12 cup 100g packed light or dark brown sugar I recommend dark
6 Tablespoons 90ml heavy cream
pinch of salt less than 18 tsp
1 Tablespoon 15ml light corn syrup
optional homemade brown sugar whipped cream see Note
Instructions
Adjust the oven rack to the center position with a lower oven rack in place for the water bath described in step 5 and preheat oven to 350F 177C.
Make the crust If youre starting out with full graham crackers use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in sugar until combined and then stir in the melted butter. Mixture will be sandy. Try to smashbreak up any large chunks. Pour into an ungreased 9inch or 10inch springform pan. With medium pressure using your hand pat the crumbs down into the bottom and partly up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumbycrumbly and you can use the flat bottom of a small measuring cup to help smooth it all out if needed. Prebake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to slightly cool as you prepare the filling.
Make the filling Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together on mediumhigh speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream vanilla extract lemon juice and cinnamon and then beat until fully combined. On medium