A Really Special Dessert; Liz’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

My sister Liz is famous in our family for her Irish Cream Cheesecake. Rich, creamy and utterly delectable!!! It has the traditional creamy smooth consistency of a New York style cheesecake that everyone enjoys. It’s an elegant, decadent treat that you are absolutely going to love! The best part? This cheesecake is not at all difficult to make and the results are pretty darn spectacular!

There are three elements to this cheese cake; the crust, the filling, and the topping. The crust, filling and creamy topping can be made up to a day in advance making it easy to pull off this spectacular dessert without a lot of stress. All that’s left to do is to add the shredded white chocolate and pecan halves right before serving.

Make the crust:

Start by greasing a springform pan generously with butter.

Set aside.

Place graham crackers, 5 oz pecans, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse until you have a fine mixture that resembles sand.

Don’t forget to put the blade in your food processor like I did…LOL! I didn’t get very far without the blade.

Once you’ve got the blade in the food processor and processed the graham crackers, sugar and pecans, add the melted butter and pulse to combine.

Pulse until mixture looks like coarse wet sand.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and about 2 inches up the sides of the springform pan.

Place the crust in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. While the crust is chilling in the fridge, you have just enough time to make the filling.

Make the filling:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Use an electric mixer to beat together the softened cream cheese and ¾ cup sugar until it’s smooth and creamy.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, Irish cream, and vanilla extract until blended.

Beat the egg mixture into cream cheese mixture until smooth and creamy and well combined.

Pulse white chocolate in a food processor or chop it using a sharp knife. Reserve about 1½ oz for the topping.

You can use a white chocolate bar or you can also use white chocolate chips.

Add 3 oz of the grated/chopped white chocolate to the cream cheese filling.

Stir to combine.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the chilled crust.

Don’t worry about any lumps you might see in the batter. The white chocolate bits will melt into the cake batter as it bakes.

Bake cheese cake until the edges are puffed and dry looking and the center is just set, about 50-55 minutes.

Resist the urge to open the oven door to check on the progress as it bakes. The fluctuation in temperature from opening the oven door could cause cracks to form on the top of the cheesecake. Turn on the oven light to check on progress through the glass door instead.

Remove cheesecake from the oven before it starts to brown.

Cool cake completely to room temperature on a rack.

Make the topping:

Once the cheesecake has cooled completely, make the topping. Mix sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together in a small bowl until smooth and creamy.

Spread the sweetened sour cream topping onto the cooled cheesecake.

Cover cheesecake and refrigerate until well chilled, about 6 hours or overnight. (Cake can be prepared 1 day ahead up to this point)

To serve:

Sprinkle with reserved grated/chopped white chocolate evenly over the top.

One last little special touch before serving up this cake. Line the edge of the cheesecake evenly with pecan halves.

Run a knife all around the edge between the cake and the pan to make sure the crust isn’t stuck to the sides of the springform pan. Gently release the sides of the spring form pan and remove before serving.

A big shout out to my sister Liz for sharing her wonderful recipe! She is legend in our family for this cheesecake and for good reason. It’s one of the very best cheesecakes you will ever eat and it’s a beautiful and impressive dessert to serve to guests and at special occasions when an ordinary cake just won’t do.

You will get loads of oh’s, ahh’s, and yum’s, when you serve up this delectable dessert, guaranteed! Trust me, you can bake up a cake in your kitchen that’s just as elegant and beautiful as any cake you can buy at a bakery at a fraction of the cost. Plus, I bet it tastes even better too, because it has that one secret ingredient that you will never find in a store bought cake…love!

Did You Make This?

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And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

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