Pecan pie cheesecake

SERVES 12 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME)

250g packet butternut snap cookies ½ cup (60g) almond meal ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 125g butter, melted

FILLING

2 cups (440g) caster sugar ½ cup (125ml) water 750g cream cheese, at room temperature 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature ½ cup (110g) firmly packed brown sugar 3 eggs ¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup 3 cups (360g) pecans 1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line the base of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper. 2 Process cookies until fine crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in almond meal and nutmeg. Add butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly over base and about 4cm up side of pan. Place pan on oven tray; refrigerate while making Filling. 3 FILLING Place sugar and the water in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring syrup to the boil; boil, without stirring the pan, for 10 minutes or until syrup has darkened to a golden colour. Remove from heat and immediately put in 250g chopped cream cheese. Be careful, this will cause the mixture to froth up. Stir constantly until the cheese is combined with the caramel. Beat 250g of the cream cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually pour in caramel, beating until well combined. Add the remaining cream cheese; beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. 4 Pour the Filling into the chilled base. Bake for 25 minutes. 5 TOPPING Meanwhile, beat butter, sugar, eggs and maple syrup in a bowl until combined; stir in pecans. 6 Remove cheesecake from oven; gently spoon Topping over. Bake for a further 30 minutes or until the Topping is set. Refrigerate for 6 hours before serving. Suitable to freeze. Butter suitable to microwave.