Maple Bacon Cheesecake

So I made a Maple Bacon Cheesecake.....

because of the advent of things like the Rogue Brewery/Voodoo Doughnuts Bacon Maple Ale, and the maple bacon Manhattan from the bar downstairs, Earl suggested I make a maple bacon cheesecake.

So I did.

Run enough Nilla wafers through a food processor to get 2 1/2 cups crumbs.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and mix thoroughly.
Melt 1/2 cup of butter add to crumb mix and combine until well moistened.

I always put a square of aluminum on the bottom of my spring form - makes it a billion times easier getting the cheesecake off the bottom plate.

 Press the crust into the spring form cover and put in refrigerator to cool.

Place bacon on a sheet pan, sprinkle with brown sugar.
Put in a cold oven, turn oven to 400 degrees. Set Timer for 18 minutes.
Remove and cut into desired size pieces.
Turn oven temp to 350 degrees.

.

Blend three packets of cream cheese in a stand mixer until smooth.
Add 14oz can of condensed milk, scraping down sides.
Add 3 eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next.
Add 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 cup Maple Syrup.

Pour into prepared spring form pan, add some bacon and drizzle a little more syrup on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Remove, add more bacon and more syrup.
Return to oven for another 5 minutes.

And here's the final product with the instigating beverage....