Rania's Recipe: Cheesecake With Praline Sauce
Do you like cheesecake? If so, you're going to want to try out this tasty recipe from Rania Harris!
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 ½ cups
- 2 ½ pounds cream cheese, softened
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup sour cream
Topping:
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Praline Sauce, recipe follows
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1½ tablespoons sugar and mix well. Press onto bottom of springform pan and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. When completely cooled, butter the sides of the pan.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 1½ cups sugar, zests, and vanilla and beat until light and creamy. Add the flour, then the eggs and yolks 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Place the pan in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 1½ hours. Remove cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
Topping:
In a bowl, mix the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Spread this mixture over the warm cake and return to the oven for 4 minutes. Let the cake cool to room temperature in the pan, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. At serving time, use a table knife to loosen the cake from the pan. Remove the sides of the pan and place the cake on a platter, leaving it on pan bottom.
Praline Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In a small heavy saucepan stir together the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the corn syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nuts and vanilla. Cool slightly.
Serve the cheesecake, passing the sauce in a bowl with a small ladle. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
