Papa Jer’s Smoky Cheesecake

Place a large pan filled with 1/2 inch of water in oven on lower rack. Preheat oven to 425ºF.

For the crust:
Combine graham cracker crumbs, crushed Oreo cookies, macadamia nuts, and pumpkin spice. Mix in butter and mix till crumbs begin to cling together.

Press the crust onto the bottom and 2/3 the way up the side of a 9-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom. Wrap a large piece of foil around bottom of pan. Freeze until filling is prepared.

For the filling:
Use an electric mixer (hand or stand) on slow speed to mix the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down side of bowl and bottom. Mix in eggs, adding one at a time. Blend just until eggs are incorporated. Fold in chocolate sprinkles. The sprinkles will give the cake a nice marbling effect.

Remove crust from freezer and pour in filling. Carefully place the cake on the middle rack of the oven. Make sure you still have the same amount of water in the pan below; if not add more water. The water will create steam, helping to prevent the cheesecake from cracking.

Bake for 12 minutes; turn oven down to 350ºF and bake until top is golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Do not check for doneness with a knife or toothpick.

Turn oven off and leave cake for 30 minutes. Then open door and leave for 20 minutes to create a slow cool down.

Remove from oven to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Make topping by combining the sour cream and sugar and spread over cake. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Run knife around between the cake and the pan. Unlock pan and gently lift off the cake. Enjoy.

Note: I love BBQ and the smoky flavor. I started making my own smoked salt and began to wonder about smoked sugar. So, I had to make some then decide what to do with it. I have since made smoky maple syrup and smoked chocolate, which needs a bit more tweaking in the lab. For whatever reason, God only knows, the idea for a smoky cheesecake hit me. After reviewing many, many recipes for cheesecake, I hit the kitchen. It is now a very delectable reality.