GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE
🎄 ❄️🎄 ❄️🎄 ❄️MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!🎄 ❄️🎄 ❄️🎄 ❄️🎄 ❄️
Warm épicé gâteau de fromage, avec cinnamon, gingembre et nutmeg. feels so festive. IT’S A HUG IN A CHEESECAKE, A WARM TIGHT HUG THAT MAKES YOU FEEL SO LOVED AND THERE’S NO OMICRON SHYT HAPPENING 🥺 I love all things gingembre 😌, especially in this nice Christmasy weather. HEHEHEH. 🎄 ❄️
This is adapted from my go-to cheesecake base recipe and it's placed in a hot water bath so that it comes out smooth and not cracked/burnt. Instructions for hot water bath below or you can google to see how it should look like if you're a first timer! I'm sorry i didnt take a pic of it because i hadn't intended on posting this recipe at first!
Speculoos biscuit Base
200g speculoos biscuit/gingerbread finely crushed
100g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
A generous sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger powder
1. Mix all ingredients together well. It should be slightly wet looking and able to hold to the side of the tin, if the crumbs look too dry add more melted butter.
2. Using a metal spoon, flatten and smoothen the crumbs into the base and some on the sides of your 8 inch removable-base cake tin. Set in fridge to chill.
Prepping for the bain marie (hot-water bath)
1. Line the outside of your removable base 8" cake tin with 2 layers of aluminum foil, covering the base and the sides fully. This is to prevent water from seeping into your cheesecake later.
2. Prepare a larger separate pan with a high base, such that your 8" cake tin sits in it comfortably. Boil a small pot of water while preparing the cake batter below. The boiling water would later be poured into the larger tin when the cheesecake tin sits in it .
Cream Cheese filling
500g cream cheese, room temperature
142g greek yogurt/sour cream
2 large eggs, room temp
80g sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1tbsp orange juice
A splash of cointreau/orange liqueur (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1. Preheat oven to 165’c.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese till soft and smooth. Then add in yogurt, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, liqueur (optional), vanilla and all the spices. Beat till creamy and smooth.
3. Then, add in eggs one at a time, ensuring batter is well-mixed before adding another egg.
4. Pour mixture into baking tin, smoothen it out and lightly tap the tin on the table three times to remove air bubbles.
5. Sit the aluminum-lined cheesecake tin in your larger pan and pour the hot water into the pan such that it covers about half of your cheesecake tin. Bake for 45-1hour or until the center of the cake remains wobbly.
6. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool. Use a thin sharp knife to gently run along the sides of the tin to separate the side of the cake from the tin. Chill for for 2-3 hours before removing and cutting into it. This would be a creamy, molten-ish cheesecake. Or alternatively, chill it in the fridge overnight to set for a less molten-ish cake.
Decoration (Optional)
100g heavy cream
1 tsp orange juice
Whip cream until soft-peak, add in orange juice and continue whisking till stiff peaks.
Top cake with whipped cream. I've decorated the cream with crystallised ginger, speculoos biscuit, cranberries, coconut flakes, hazelnuts, dried orange, rosemary.