This Turtle Pecan Cluster Cheesecake is a riff on a favorite Dairy Queen Blizzard ice cream treat. It’s pure heaven!
What’s your favorite Dairy Queen Blizzard flavor? Mine is “Turtle Pecan Cluster”, consisting of creamy vanilla soft serve blended with chocolate, caramel, and pecan pieces. It’s a treat I crave quite often, thanks to Blake’s parents introducing it to me many years ago. They are some kind of crazy for anything turtle flavored. So I thought I would turn their favorite combination of chocolate + caramel + pecan into a cheesecake treat for them, to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. This Turtle Pecan Cluster Cheesecake did not disappoint this very special couple.
Archie and Loree, still so in love with each other, celebrated their anniversary in early June. 60 years, what an awesome blessing! We traveled back to Fargo to spend a weekend with them in honor of the occasion.
I thought this was the perfect time to pull out some old pictures I had scanned from their photo albums a few years ago…
- Top Left: 1951, while Archie and Loree were dating, and Archie was home on leave from the Navy. Loree was giggling as she told me how she quickly threw a scarf on her head for this picture because they had stayed out late the night before and she didn’t have time to do her hair.
- Top Right and Bottom Left: Archie and Loree on their wedding day in June of 1953.
- Bottom Right: Archie and Loree in 1953, getting ready to leave for Norfolk, VA where Archie was stationed in the Navy.
I could stare at these old black and whites forever.
But let’s get back to the cheesecake!
If you’re looking for an extra special cheesecake to mark an extra special occasion, this Turtle Pecan Cluster Cheesecake needs to be on your list.
At the base is a scrumptious buttery crust of pecans and brown sugar. Then comes a thin layer of chocolatey cheesecake, some caramel and pecans, and then a thick layer of creamy vanilla cheesecake. It stands nice and tall, just the way I like my cheesecake, comprised of four luscious packages of cream cheese. The round is glazed with a gorgeous semi-sweet chocolate ganache, and a ring of big whole pecans around its perimeter completes the turtle sentiment. When serving, an extra drizzle of caramel is optional. But definitely recommended.
Turtle Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½" cubes
Cheesecake Filling
- ½ cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, gently melted and cooled
- 32 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup thick caramel sauce
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
Chocolate Ganache
- ½ cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Finish
- 16 large roasted & salted whole pecans
- additional thick caramel sauce, optional for drizzling over individual pieces
Instructions
- Prepare a 9” springform pan by lightly spraying it with non-stick spray. Place it on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil that is about 18” square and securely wrap foil up around the pan’s sides. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
Crust
- In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt, and pecans. Cut in butter with a rigid pastry cutter or a fork until crumbly. Press mixture evenly onto the bottom of prepared springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 14 minutes, or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
Cheesecake Filling
- First, gently melt chocolate chips in a small saucepan or microwave. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in ¼ cup of the flour, cream, and vanilla. Add eggs and beat on low speed just until blended.
- Remove 1 cup of cheesecake batter to a small bowl and stir in the melted and cooled chocolate. Spread this over cooled crust.
- In another bowl, mix caramel sauce with remaining flour, and then stir in pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls over the chocolate batter. Top with remaining vanilla cheesecake batter. Place springform pan inside a large baking/roasting pan with tall sides and add 1'' of hot water to the larger pan (do not add water to the springform pan).
- Bake at 325°F for about 1 hour and 25 minutes, or just until center is set and top appears dull. Carefully remove springform pan from hot water bath and remove the outer foil wrapping. Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then run a thin knife around the perimeter of the cheesecake to loosen it from the sides of the pan, leaving the sides of the pan in place. Cool 1 hour longer on the wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours – overnight is preferred.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring cream just to a boil. Pour cream over chips and let sit for 30 seconds. Then whisk until smooth. Let ganache cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
- Remove sides of springform pan. Spread ganache evenly over cheesecake, letting it drip down the sides of the cheesecake a bit.
Finish
- Place whole pecans evenly around the top perimeter of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.
- To serve, drizzle individual cheesecake slices with additional caramel sauce, if desired.
What an amazing couple! I love seeing couples together after all those years… makes me smile! I also love cheesecake and this one in particular looks fabulous!
This is such a touching post – and a beautiful dessert!
Love this recipe but I love more the beautiful pictures. What a happy moment and wonderful accomplishment! Love the story too! Thanks for sharing.
Love this recipe and especially love the love story and photos of your father and mother-in-law. 60 years is longer than I have been alive! That’s a long time… :-)
They must really love that they have such a wonderful baker in the family too! Your cheesecake look fabulous!
Thanks for sharing this special family moment with us all! :-)
Looks so amazingly good! Love the love story too =)
This is such an awesome cheesecake! I love the photos! 60 years, that is so impressive!
This is stunning! Definitely worthy of the beautiful couple!
Wow! This looks amazing, Brenda! Cheesecake is one of my very favorite things! :)
Your tribute to Archie and Loree is outstanding! Love the photos. I can just hear Loree giggling about the scarf! :) And that cheesecake is just as outstanding. Too pretty to eat–not!
Such a sweet way to recognize their milestone! (and can I be invited to your next party? swoon!)
First off this cake speaks to my heart! Secondly, what a sweet tribute to your in laws! Love the family pictures!
CONGRATS to the wonderful couple. Those pictures are just too precious–I hope I am still that in love when I reach 60 years (though I won’t be able to wait that long to try this cheesecake!)
Absolutely gorgeous, I love that extra caramel drizzle!
Congratulations to your in-laws for 60 special years together! What a beautiful recipe for this special occasion. This recipe has such a great combination of flavors going on. It looks a little time consuming, but the result is well worth the effort.
Absolutely picture perfect. What a great way to celebrate.
What a stunning cheesecake. Where’s my fork.
Congratulations to your wonderful mother and father in-law on such an auspicious occasion! Sixty years married is a very, very special milestone!
Your cheesecake looks like the perfect dessert for the perfect couple!
P.S. Thanks for sharing their photos with us. I love looking at B&W’s too :)
Oh my goodness Brenda! This looks like heaven on a plate. All of my favorite things in one recipe. YUM!! And those pictures are adorable.
I have never heard of the turtle pecan cluster blizzard. I always went with the reese’s or cookie dough blizzard, but I Bet I would love the turtle pecan! Sounds awesome!
But I got to say, this cheesecake is probably better! Looks amazing!
Looks like a great recipe, and I love the photos and story. Thanks for sharing :)