September 29, 2019
As we established a couple of weeks ago with Annie’s Thin Mint Brownie Cheesecake, cheesecake is a kind of pie. It has a crust, a filling, and it’s served in wedges. Cheesecake is just a kind of custard, really, and we’ve had a lot of custard pies this year.
To celebrate the arrival of fall, it’s time to go maple (despite the fact that maple syrup is collected in the springtime). So Matt went with a Maple Walnut Cheesecake. It’s a pretty straightforward cheesecake: lots of cream cheese and eggs in a graham cracker crust, just with a bit of maple syrup thrown in. We added a tiny bit of maple extract as well, and while we were a little afraid that would over-maple it, it actually turned out with a rather light maple flavor. Without it, it might not have been very mapley at all. On top, there are candied walnuts – covered in maple syrup/corn starch. Ellie threw in some cinnamon on some of them because Matt let her.
We probably should have tented the pie with foil and left it in the oven quite a bit longer. The top was getting well done, but the middle was pretty goopy and undercooked. With all those eggs, it probably isn’t a good idea to eat the point part of each slice. But the part that was cooked was smooth and delicate and luscious. The hint of maple and the very sweet and crunchy walnuts (this is the second pie in a row with nuts, after a whole year without any!) were great and perfect for a sort of chilly fall evening.
The Pie Project 