Nanaimo Cheesecake Bars

This is a little bit of a cheat post, since it's not a new recipe to this blog. But, I haven't posted it since last year, or since I moved, and I have a new camera to take some beauty shots of the cream cheese-y goodness of these. It's chocolate...brown sugar...walnuts, coconut...with more chocolate. It's my little piece of heaven.
It all began when Sugar High Friday decided to go Canadian last year. I asked a good friend who had Canadian family if she had any ideas, since all I could think of was something maple-flavored or shaped like a leaf. (Maybe something icy.) She suggested the Nanaimo Bar, a purely Canadian treat made of a deliciously complex crust, a custard filing and a crisp chocolate topping.
I made the classic recipe, but found the combination of soft custard and crunchy layers to be a bit strange. Delicious, but odd--definitely fork and plate pie-style, not a handheld snack. I re-imagined it a bit, and came up with a cheesecake filling and a ganache topping. According to my husband, it was the most popular treat I baked for the San Diego Boys in Blue.
He requested that I make these again now that we've moved, before I make another thing! So here they are in their encore posting, the Nanaimo Cheesecake Bar.

Nanaimo Cheesecake Bars
by Anna

Crust:
9 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 oz (1/3 cup) cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-Process
7 oz graham crackers (2 cups crumbs, 1 package plus 4 sheets)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup (2 oz) walnuts, toasted
pinch kosher salt
Filling:
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 egg plus one yolk
2 tsp flavoring--vanilla, rum, or liqueur of choice
2 tsp flour
Ganache:
3 oz best-quality dark chocolate
3 oz heavy cream
1 tsp honey

Make Crust: Heat oven to 350. Line a 10x13 inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until they become coarsely chopped crumbs. Remove all but 1/4 cup to a large bowl, and add walnuts. Process until nuts are finely ground, but not to a powder or paste (by leaving the crumbs, you prevent the oils from making them into walnut butter).
Add walnuts to crumbs, and add the rest of the crust ingredients.
Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake 8-10 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside. Lower oven to 325.

Make Filling: In the workbowl of a stand mixer or with a large bowl and electric beaters, beat room-temperature cream cheese until very smooth and no lumps remain. Add sugar, scrape after addition.
Add eggs, and scrape bowl again.
Add flavoring, and sprinkle on flour, then remove workbowl and scrape the batter down very well, making sure everything is blended.
Pour over warm crust, and return to oven. Bake 35-40 minutes, til center is no longer jiggly. If you have a thermometer, you're aiming for 160 degrees. Remove to rack, and let cool 1 hour at room temperature before refrigerating.
Make ganache--scald cream, add honey, and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit a minute or two, then stir til smooth. Allow to thicken 15 minutes at room temperature, then pour evenly over slightly warm cheesecake, tilting pan to coat. Return to fridge and let cool at least 4 hours or overnight before slicing.

This post and recipe also posted on the new location of this blog, Baked By Anna. Come see the new digs!!