Every now and then a weird idea turns into something delicious.
A lovely lady shared with me her sister’s recipe for Chess Pie, something I had always heard of but never tried. I went home and made the pie that evening only to be stricken by sugar overload with every bite. However, I did enjoy the flavor and texture very much and knew this was a recipe to be kept. As I came down from my sugar high I had a thought that perhaps a creamy cheesecake top layer would help to tone down the sugar and complement the custardy lemon filling of Chess Pie. So I gave it try the next day making a graham cracker crust and modifying the Chess Pie recipe with less sugar and less yield. After baking the filling in the crust, I let it cool for 10 minutes and then added a thin layer of cheesecake batter on top and let it bake slowly in a water bath. The next day after letting it setting overnight I was treated to the most delicious treat that went beyond cheesecake. It was a creamy cheesecake with a surprising lemon bar-ish bottom layer and crust. Please, please try out this recipe. You will not be disappointed!
Beyond Cheesecake awaits you!
Beyond Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 oz unsalted butter melted
Chess Pie
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Cheesecake Batter
- 8 oz cream cheese soft at room temp
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment.
- Combine graham crumbs and sugar in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter and press into a 9-inch round cake pan. Let chill in refrigerator.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Add in the remaining ingredients until combined and pour into crust. Bake for 25 minutes.
- In a KitchenAid bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the sugar on low speed, followed by the eggs, one at a time, and the sour cream and vanilla.
- Remove chess pie from oven and let rest 10 minutes in refrigerator. Place a water bath in the oven. Reduce heat to 325 degrees.
- Carefully pour cheesecake batter over lemon layer. Bake in the water bath for 80 minutes. Let set up overnight in refrigerator. Next day flip out cheesecake and serve.