Gingerbread Cheesecake

Just in time for Christmas and continuing my exploration of dessert flavours I haven't used before, we have this rich, delicious gingerbread cake.  When I first read the recipe, it seemed really complicated, but don't worry, it's not.  The tricky part to this cake was that it calls for baking it in a broiler pan full of water, but as I've learned, following the recipe directions, not matter how complex, means things will usually turn out.  

The crust of this cake is gingersnap crumbs, which I liked, but might be a bit too gingery for some.  The rest of the cake is good even for those who are on the fence about gingerbread, but if it's not your favorite thing, you can switch the gingersnaps to graham crackers.  The top of the cake is also pretty open to interpretation - I crushed up Skor bars and put them around the edges, but I think it would also be super cute to bake and decorate a gingerbread man or two and put them on top for a more festive, Christmas-y cake. 

Heat oven to 300°F. Combine crushed gingersnaps and butter listed in crust ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Press crust into a 9" springform pan.  The original recipe called for it to be pressed up the sides, but I prefer just a crust on the bottom so I did that.  It's up to you!

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.  This will be difficult and chunky, and your mixer will get clogged with cream cheese a lot.  Just do your best to get a decent mix going and make sure your cream cheese is softened and not straight out of the fridge.  If you forgot to take it out, just put it all in the bowl and microwave it on 10 second intervals until it's soft. 

Add eggs one at time, beating after each addition.  This will smooth out your mixture and make it much, MUCH easier to beat together. 

Add remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well mixed.  This shouldn't take long, just enough to achieve a nice, smooth brown colour. 

Pour the filling into the crust, then wrap the springform pan in a sheet of aluminum foil.  I used two pieces, shiny side out, one going in each direction for maximum coverage.  I'm not 100% sure what the point of the foil was, but probably something to do with putting the cake in water. 

Place the cake in the broiler pan and fill it with hot water until the water reaches halfway up the cake.  Place the cake in the pre-heated oven.  Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes or until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. Center should move slightly when pan is tapped but should not ripple as if liquid. Turn the oven off and allow cheesecake to cool until you can take it out without using oven mitts.

The cake will have darkened significantly.  Allow to further cool, covered by a dishcloth, on your countertop until room temperature. Cover the top with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours -- overnight is best.

Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in large bowl at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in rum, if using, until firm but not stiff peaks form.

Spread whipped cream all over the top of the cake.  You may have some extra - I slapped it all on there but ended up with an edge of whip cream that sort of hung over the edge of the cake itself.  I didn't mind, but if you do, just be careful to keep the whip cream closer to the center of the cake, or take the top of the springform pan off before you do it. 

Apply Skor bits or other decorations to the top of the cake, and voila! You're done. 


Gingerbread Cheesecake

2 cups finely ground gingersnaps
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 (8-oz.) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. molasses
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon rum or 1/8 tsp rum extract (optional)
4 Skor bars, crushed

adapted from:  Perry's Plate