This is a gooey, mapley, creamy version of cheesecake. There is a little bit of maple in each layer. Just a tablespoon in the graham cracker crust helps bind the crumbs. A bit in combination with brown sugar makes for a caramel-kissed cheesecake. And the topper, literally, is to add dollops of gooey maple and pecans to the surface and then gently make swirls with a fork so each bite has some creamy and some mapley elements.
The rest of my family does not care for cheesecake so I don’t make them often. When I made the final version of this one, however, my daughter declared, “I still don’t like cheesecake but if I had to have some, this one would be okay.” And then she ate the whole piece.