Maple Cheesecake Recipe with Pears and Bourbon Maple Sauce

This Maple Cheesecake is perfectly smooth and creamy, with bits of pear and ginger in the cheesecake for an amazing dessert! This maple cheesecake is sure to be a hit on your holiday dessert table or anytime you are craving cheesecake!

This Maple Pear Cheesecake is similar to the cheesecake that I made on the Great American Baking Show during the Dessert Week episode. On the show, I added chopped, poached pears and stem ginger on top of a ginger shortbread crust. I added a lemon ganache to the top and didn’t use any maple at all.

I’ve tweaked the recipe to warm it up for fall and winter baking. This Maple Cheesecake Recipe includes maple in the cheesecake batter as well as in the sauce that is drizzled over the top. I’ve warmed up the base of this cheesecake recipe with my favorite Gingersnap Crust.

The pears give a fresh flavor that breaks up and compliments the creaminess. The ginger root adds a pop of warmth. And the bourbon? Well, bourbon is great anytime but is the perfect companion to maple and pears!

You can absolutely choose to leave out the pears and ginger root if you want a creamy and smooth cheesecake all the way through. You could just top the cheesecake with the Bourbon Maple Sauce that makes the perfect cheesecake topper!

If you are looking for a way to decorate this maple cheesecake or any cake or other dessert, check out my Candied Pears that look like Stained Glass!

How to Make a Smooth and Creamy Cheesecake

Everyone wants a smooth and creamy cheesecake but there are a few tricks to know to ensure success.

• Make sure that your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin. If your cream cheese is still cold, it will not cream smoothly. If your eggs or sour cream are cold when added to the batter, it will chill parts of the batter, leaving lumps that are not smooth.
• Adding just a little flour will help to create a smooth cheesecake batter and will help to prevent cracking. Using too much flour will give the cheesecake and more cake-like texture but our tests have shown that 2 tablespoons in this cheesecake batter is the perfect amount.
• Use full fat ingredients. Reducing the amount of fat by using low fat cream cheese or sour cream may seem like a great way to lighten up a recipe. But in cheesecake, it will reduce the creaminess as well!
• Add the eggs last and only one at a time. Adding the eggs earlier in the mixing process will create air in the batter. That air will form bubbles during baking that expand and contract from the heat of the oven. Not only will the finished cheesecake be less smooth and even, it will likely crack due to the expansion and contraction.

How to Garnish or Decorate Maple Cheesecake

Typically, cheesecake doesn’t require any decoration or garnish at all. But if you want to add a little flair to your Maple Cheesecake, the Bourbon Maple Sauce over Poached Pears listed in this recipe are the perfect way to do it!

To get even more fancy, why not add Candied Pears that look like stained glass? I made these stained glass pears for the Great American Baking Show and got rave reviews from the judges and viewers alike. They are easy to make and can be done ahead of time!

If you want to go with a more simple and classic garnish, just pipe on some whipped cream or cover with a thin ganache.

Why Did my Cheesecake Crack?

There are many reasons that cheesecakes crack. Here are several of them and ways to fix them so that your cheesecake has a smooth top!

• Mixing too much air into the batter cause bubbles in the batter which eventually cause cracks. Only mix the cream cheese until it is smooth and then only mix in the remaining ingredients until they are incorporated.
• Mixing for too long or too high a speed after adding the eggs creates air in the batter. That air will form bubbles during baking that expand and contract from the heat of the oven. Not only will the finished cheesecake be less smooth and even internally, it will likely crack due to the expansion and contraction.
• Baking at a high temperature will cause the edges of the cheesecake to set quickly. The center will still expand as it bakes and the uneven top will create cracks. Use an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven is heating correctly.
• Not baking in a waterbath can sometimes cause cracks. Our recipe does not call for a waterbath and if you follow all of the tips in this post, you shouldn’t need a waterbath either. We use a convection setting which helps to ensure an even and gentle bake. If you don’t have a convection oven, you may want to consider using a waterbath.

A crack in your cheesecake is not the end of the world, though! It will still taste delicious and you can cover the cracks with whipping cream, caramel, ganache, fruit, or small cookies.

Can I freeze Cheesecake?

YES! Cheesecake freezes amazing well!

Make sure to chill your cheesecake completely as detailed in the recipe. Then wrap the cheesecake in two layers of cling wrap to keep condensation from forming on the cheesecake. I recommend following this with a layer of foil if the cheesecake will be frozen for more than two weeks to prevent freezer burn.

When you are ready to serve your cheesecake, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator over night or on the counter for about four hours. Keep the cheesecake wrapped while it thaws to prevent condensation.

If you do get condensation on the cheesecake, just dap it off with a paper towel.

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