Preheat oven to 350° F.

For the crust, mix together the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and ground pecans if you have them in a bowl. Add the butter and mix well. Press evenly into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar a few tablespoons at a time and then the flour and vanilla extract. Add the eggs and heavy cream, beating on low speed until it is all combined. Split open your vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and guts inside the bean. Add this to your batter. Save your split beans to garnish the top of the cheesecake.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the middle of the oven until set, the center should be slightly soft. It should bake for 55 to 70 minutes. Remove from the oven, loosen the outer ring and let cool in the pan.

Refrigerate the cake, for about 6 hours, then remove the outer ring. Top with the vanilla beans and a sprig of something green like peppermint leaf.

1. With an electric mixer at low speed, mix the powdered sugar and butter together. Once combined, add vanilla and milk. Increase speed of mixer to medium and beat for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and of spreading consistency.
2. To frost a cake, first brush away any loose crumbs from cooled cake. If frosting layers, place the bottom layer rounded side down on a plate. Spread about 1/3 cup of frosting to with 1/2-inch of cake's edge. Place the top layer rounded side up. Coat the side of the cake first with a thin layer of frosting to seal in the crumbs, then frost the side making a rim about 1/4-inch high around the top. Finally, spread remaining frosting on top, just to the frosting-made rim.

1. Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C). Grease and lightly flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan (or, two 9 x 1 1/2-inch round pans, or three 8 x 1 1/2-inch round pans). Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing well. Add the milk, shortening and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add the eggs and continue beating an additional 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake the 13 x 9 x 2-inch cake for 40 to 45 minutes (or the 9-inch cakes for 30 to 35 minutes; the 8-inch cakes for 20 to 25 minutes), or until a wooden pick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.
4. Cool the 13 x 9 x 2-inch cake on a wire rack. (Cool the 9 or 8-inch cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.) Frost as desired.