Gingerbread Cheesecake

Jeff the Chef

Gingerbread Cheesecake: spicy, warm, tangy, and sweet. Ginger up front, molasses in back. Candied ginger graham cracker crust.

Gingerbread Cheesecake
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Gingerbread Cheesecake

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: Dessert
Serves

12

Ingredientsp

  • For the crust:

  • 210g (1¾ cups, from 13½ crackers) graham crackers

  • 35g (1/4 cup) crystalized ginger, thoroughly chilled and thinly sliced

  • 1 Tbs dark brown sugar

  • ½ tsp ground ginger

  • Pinch salt

  • 70g (5 Tbs) unsalted butter, melted

  • Fof the filling:

  • 2 lbs. (four 8-oz. packages) cream cheese, room temperature

  • 175g (generous 3/4 cup) dark brown sugar

  • 1 Tbs + 1 tsp ground ginger

  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

  • ½ tsp ground allspice

  • ½ tsp ground cardamom

  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

  • 170g (¾ cup) sour cream, room temperature

  • 77-122g (¼-⅓ cup) unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)

  • 1 oz. (2 Tbs) dark rum

  • 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

  • ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest

Directions

  • Wrap the bottom and exterior sides of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil. Heat oven to 325°F.
  • Make the crust.
  • Break the crackers into quarters as you add them to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse 8 one-second bursts to break them up. Let the machine run continuously until you no longer hear any pieces knocking about. Continue processing ten more seconds. Pour the crumbs into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
  • Place the crystalized ginger and brown sugar into the processor. Process until the ginger is broken down to pieces the size of couscous, and is just starting to clump, about 12 seconds. Add 3 heaping Tablespoons of the ground graham crackers, and process for 5 seconds. Add remaining ground crackers, ground ginger, and salt. Process for 10 seconds. Pour back into mixing bowl. Add the melted butter to the crumbs and whisk until all the crumbs are moistened. Continue whisking, 50 strokes.
  • Pour the into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a flat-bottomed, straight-sided rocks glass or the like to tamp the mixture down with medium-light pressure into an even layer. Bake the crust until golden brown and fragrant, 11 to 13 minutes. Set aside while you set a kettle of water to boil and prepare the filling.
  • Make the filling.
  • Place the cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Beat the cheese on med-high speed (setting 4-5 out of 7), scraping down the side of the bowl occasionally, until very smooth and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and spices, and mix until well combined and completely smooth, about 2 more minutes. Scrape the bottom and side of the bowl, then add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each completely before adding the next. Add the sour cream, molasses, rum, fresh ginger, and lemon zest, and mix until just combined.
  • Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and side of the bowl and mix the last few strokes by hand. Make sure the mixture is totally, completely smooth, then pour it into the prepared crust. The mixture will fill the pan almost all of the way to the top. Firmly tap the pan on a countertop to release any air bubbles.
  • Set a roasting pan on the oven rack and place the cheesecake in the pan. Fill the pan with boiling water, bringing the water level about 3/4 up the side of the cake pan. Bake the cheesecake for one hour, without opening the door. After one hour check for doneness by gently tapping the side of the pan. The cheesecake should be set at the edge but still have a Jell-O-like wiggliness at the center. It should be light golden brown on top. If it is not finished baking, check it every 5 to 10 minutes until done.
  • When the cheesecake is finished baking, turn off the oven, prop the oven door open a crack (a wooden spoon works great for this), and let the cheesecake cool in the oven until it is close to room temperature, at least an hour.
  • Remove the cheesecake from the oven, remove the foil from the outside of the pan, and allow the cake to cool completely on a rack. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 5 days. Serve chilled.

Notes

  • It may take more effort to process the crystalized ginger if it’s the softer sort. The type I used was on the dry side.
  • If your processor’s capacity is 5 cups or less, you may need to process the crackers in batches.
  • The molasses flavor is pronounced – yet still well balanced – if you use the greater amount.
"Gingerbread Cheesecake," from Make It Like a Man!

I suppose there are many different kinds of cheesecake textures. I especially like this one. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Silky smooth. Creamy. Light, in spite of its richness. Perfect straight from the fridge.

The crust is delicious and remarkable. When you take it out of the oven, it smells like you just walked into an ice cream shop where they’re making their own waffle cones. Whereas most graham ctacker crusts are predominantly functional as far as I’m concerned, this one actually adds to the cake. You know how, when you get to the outer edge of a slice of cheesecake, the crust is often thicker there? Usually, I wouldn’t call that an out-and-out bummer, but often – especially if the crust is dense and particularly thick – I’ll leave that part of it uneaten. I mean, cheesecake is about the filling, not the crust. Well, not with this crust. It adds another dimension of ginger that is completely delightful. Plus, It holds it shape perfectly and has a subtle crunch, but it’s rather soft.

Not only does this gingerbread cheesecake keep well, it improves over time. The molasses backs down a bit as the flavors continue to meld, and the texture improves slightly. Even four days later, this cheesecake is beautifully guest-worthy.

Social Learning

They make extra-large rolls of foil that you can use to wrap your pan. Otherwise, it takes two sheets, which makes “water leaking into your cake” a real possibility. If all you have is regular (12-inch wide) sheets, here’s what you can try: rip off five16-inch-long sheets. Place two of the sheets on top of one another, and crimp one of the long edges twice, tightly, using 1-inch folds. Fold the top sheet back over the crimp. You’ve now constructed a wide foil strip. Make another one. Place one atop the other so that the seams are making a “plus” sign. Encase your pan. Take the remaining sheet, and encase the pan with that, just to cover the seam. Make sure that the foil is tightly molded to the pan. Any excess foil, crimp around the outer top edge of the pan. Say three Hail Maries and two Our Fathers.

There are alternatives to the water bath. One of them is to place pan of steaming water on the lower rack (apparently a steamy oven if helpful for cheesecakes), and wrap the cake pan in magic strips (which should help it form a flat top). I like this idea. I haven’t tried it, but I’m going to.

Although I suggest a roasting pan for the water bath, a skillet or a very large cake pan will work, too.

Although I wouldn’t say so in the recipe, I’ll often gently shake the oven from it’s door handle and watch for wiggles through the oven door window.

The Backstory

I spent several days on the fence about the whipped cream garnish. Texturally, it’s perfect. It adds to the cheesecake exactly what it would add to a slice of pumpkin pie. The cream’s flavor amps up the tartness of the cheese, which I kind of like and kind of don’t. It does tone down the gingerbread flavor, though, if you use too much, which is a shame. Ultimately, after trying it with and without, and also with several other garnishes, I decided I like this cheesecake best head on, unadorned.

You might instead think to dust ungarnished slices with powdered sugar, but the cake will absorb that almost instantly. You might dust the plate with sugar before placing the slice onto it. Maybe sift a little powdered ginger into that sugar beforehand.

"Gingerbread Cheesecake," from Make It Like a Man!
 Gingerbread Cheesecake

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you, Kesor. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: Chatelaine, Cook’s Illustrated, Food 52, NYT, Pear and Pecorino, Wyldflour. Make It Like a Man! has been ranked by Feedspot as #14 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs!

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49 thoughts on “Gingerbread Cheesecake”

  3. This looks great. I could go for three or four slices right now. You’ve brought to mind a place in Brooklyn called Junior’s. It has a reputation for outstanding New York style cheesecake. I’ve been there, but not in decades. Good cheesecakes, regardless where they are from, are hard to beat.

    Reply

  4. I’ve made all kinds of gingerbread flavored desserts but never a cheesecake! I am all about gingerbread during the holidays – for 20 years I bullt 6 gingerbread houses and each family decorated them. It’s the best flavor of the holiday season. This looks delicious and maybe I can give it a try 🙂

    Reply

    • Gingerbread houses are so challenging! What a fun tradition. I’ve been all about Gingerbread too this year.

      Reply

  5. I’m all about a silky smooth textured cheesecake, and I adore the warm flavors in this, so clearly I’m on board. Love the way you described the just-out-of-the-oven scent. That sounds so cozy and warm — just the way I like my house. 🙂 ~Valentina

    Reply

  6. Most cheesecake recipes call for baking temperatures that are too high – resulting in a grainy texture. For a super smooth cake, set the oven at 180 – 200 degrees F. You will not need to use a water bath. The cake should bake for 6 to 8 hours and be refrigerated overnight before slicing.

    Reply

    • That’s interesting! Thanks! This cakes’s texture is ultra-creamy. But I’m always interested in alternative methods.

      Reply

  8. I would describe this cheesecake as party in the front AND party in the back! I love gingerbread everything, and I do love a good slice of cheesecake. Naturally this one screams out to me. I also particularly love a good thick crust on a cheesecake – call me strange. Either way, I need a slice of this on Christmas Eve this year!
    David @ Spiced recently posted…Eggnog Cheesecake

    Reply

    • Thanks, David! That’s high praise coming from someone I consider to be the King of Cheesecakes!

      Reply

  9. I love gingerbread and cheesecake so I can only imagine how delicious this is. What a holiday show stopper of a dessert you’ve created.

    Reply

  11. Well, I can see that you have done your penance here… And the two sheets of foil? That all but guarantees water leakage – I have learned the hard way as well. I love this recipe Jeff – it looks perfect and the spices are just what I need these days.

    Reply

    • Yes, I once had a waterlogged cheesecake. What a frustration! So far, I’ve had good luck with the double sheets, but I am going to try that alternative I discovered.

      Reply

  18. Gingerbread cheesecake sounds like a winning combination for the holiday season. It’s too much work for me to make it, but I sure wouldn’t mind eating it. Looks delicious.
    Judee recently posted…On Vacation

    Reply

    • Thanks, Judee. Each time I’ve made it, I’ve thought to myself that it wouldn’t be too time consuming, but it always turns out to be a fairly big production.

      Reply

  23. What a fabulous cheesecake! We adore cheesecakes and this one is a winner! thanks for a great recipe Jeff! We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New year!!
    Looking forward to seeing additional recipes in the new year!

    Reply
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