Ginger Cheesecake With Chocolate Crust

Uncut Spiced Cheesecake with Chocolate Ginger Crust

4.75 from 4 votes

Ginger Cheesecake With Chocolate Crust

Ginger Cheesecake is the a dessert that's meant to be the centerpiece of your holiday meal. Every bite has the perfect amount of warm spice that tastes like gingerbread, and it's an ideal treat to make in advance for a party or gathering. Fresh ginger pops in both the chocolaty crust as well as the creamy filling. You can stabilize the whipped cream topping for a mile-high presentation.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 40

Total Time8

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheesecake

Servings: servings

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Tara Teaspoon

Ingredients

Crust

16 ounces (40 cookies) Oreos Makes 4 cups crust
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger

Filling

4 packages (8 ounce packages) cream cheese room temperature
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
4 large eggs room temperature
2 large egg yolks room temperature

Topping (Optional gelatin)

1 envelope Knox Unsweetened Gelatin
4 cups heavy cream
⅔ cup confectioners' sugar
Chocolate curls optional

Instructions

For the Crust:

Heat oven to 350°F with rack in the lower third. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment; set aside.
In a food processor crush Oreos and sugar until mixture is fine crumbs. Add the butter, grated ginger and salt and pulse until well combined. Press mixture into the pan so crust is about ⅜ inch thick on the bottom and all the way up the sides (you may have a little extra depending on your pan). Set crust aside.

For the Cheesecake:

In a mixer beat together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and grated ginger until there are no lumps. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger and mix. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing in completely on low to medium speed, and scraping sides of bowl as needed between each addition, until completely combined. Don't over whip the mixture once the eggs go in.
Prepare the pan and water bath: Place springform pan on a few sheets of foil and bring the foil up around the sides to seal the pan in foil to prevent water from seeping in. Line the bottom of a roasting pan with paper towels and set wrapped springform pan on top. Pour filling into the crust. Prepare a few pitcher of water.
Place roasting pan in the oven and gently pour the pitcher of water into the pan, around the springform pan, so the water comes about ⅓ to ½ way up the sides. Close the oven and bake cheesecake until the center is only slightly wobbly and cake is set, 70 minutes. Tent cheesecake with a sheet of greased foil part way through baking if the top is getting to brown. Turn oven off and crack the oven door a little. Let cheesecake sit in cooling oven for about 30 minutes. Then, remove it and lift cheesecake out of the water. Cool on a wire rack completely, then chill 4 hours or overnight.
When chilled, gently unlatch the springform pan and loosen the ring. Lift ring from cheesecake. Using a spatula lift cheesecake from the parchment-lined bottom and transfer to a serving platter.

Topping:

For stabilized whipped cream: sprinkle the gelatin over ⅓ cup cold water in a heatproof bowl. Let "bloom" or soften about 2 minutes. Microwave until hot and stir to dissolve gelatin completely. Let cool a few minutes
In a large mixing bowl whip heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla to combine. Add dissolved gelatin and continue to whip until to the consistency of firm peaks. Spoon and swirl on top of cheesecake. To set cream, allow to chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
Alternatively, just whip cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla to firm peaks and spoon on top of cheesecake.
For chocolate curls: Melt ⅓ to ½ cup chocolate candy melts in a bowl in the microwave. Spread into a thin, even layer on the bottom of a clean baking sheet (I used a quarter sheet pan). Chill in the fridge. Remove and let sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 minutes, then use a small spatula or bench scraper to scrape chocolate from the pan into curls. Gently transfer to a plate and chill until ready to use.
Top cheesecake with chocolate curls and serve. Leftover cheesecake can be store, covered, in the fridge up to 4 days.

Notes

Parchment under the crust allows it to slide off easily onto the serving platter.

Nutrition