Eggnog Cheesecake

Cheeeeeeeezecake. I've been asked before to post about this most decadent of deserts (well, most fattening, anyway), but haven't gotten around to it. I don't make cheesecake very often, but when I do...prepare to die of a deliciousness induced heart-attack.

There are many, many versions of cheesecake out there! And multiple ways of making them, too. I make mine the old-fashioned way - with a waterbath. The waterbath is the secret to preventing cracking (although it can happen anyway, to my personal frustration.) It also helps prevent over browning, by keeping the humidity up in the oven. Bakes the cake evenly, preventing the pulling that creates the cracks.

I'd never made an eggnog cheesecake before, but I'd seen the idea  floating around on allrecipes.com, and put it on my 'to try' list. Tis the season, so why not? I made this for a meeting, my cheesecake went like hotcakes! I replaced the cream I'd normally place in my cheesecake with eggnog, plus about a 1/2 cup extra. That's a lot more moisture in the cake, so I added 2 TBS flour to help it firm up.

If you're going to do a waterbath for a cheesecake, get one of those aluminum big turkey roasters to do it. Perfect size! And cheap. The water needs to be hot already when you add it, too. Otherwise it will really slow the baking down.

Cheesecake should NOT be fully cooked through when you turn the oven off - needs to be jiggly still in the center. Simply leave the cake in its hot water bath in the oven for another hour. The water's and the cake's own heat will finish cooking it. This prevents over-browning from occurring.

I made homemade eggnog whipcream to go with it. Literally, instead of all cream, I whipped eggnog FOREVER, added some cream and fine sugar, and then whipped some more. Eggnog did not want to turn fluffy. Had to stop because my arm was tired - the results are what you see above.

So delicious. I can't even begin to describe. Sends off small fireworks on taste buds, which catch brain on fire. That kind of tasty.

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Eggnog Cheesecake

Adapted from allrecipes.com December-16-2012

Ingredients

• 20 (or more or less, to your crust thickness preference) ginger snap cookies, crushed
• 3 8 oz regular cream cheese packages, at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temp
• 2 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 3/4 cup eggnog, at room temp
• 1/4 cup sour cream, at room temp
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 TBS dark rum
• 2 TBS flour
• Heavy-duty foil to wrap springpan in
• Heavy duty aluminum turkey roasting pan, for water bath

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray interior of a 9-inch springform ban with PAM spray, or brush with melted butter.2. Add ginger snap crumbs (they don't have to be fine), after crushing in baggy, and tilt pan in all directions to evenly coat.3. Tear off two long strips of heavy-duty foil, overlap in a cross pattern, and set the pan in the middle. Bring up sides, crimping around exterior top of the pan. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. If water gets into your springpan, your cheesecake will be ruined. Trust me, I know.4. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Do not use the 'whipped' cream cheese, only the good old-fashioned kind. No low fat stuff, either. Gradually add sugar and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated.5. Scrape down bowl sides and beat again until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl after each addition to ensure a creamy batter. 6. Slowly beat in vanilla, almond, then cream and sour cream. Meanwhile, bring tea kettle of water to a boil, then turn off heat. (You can use something else, but a tea kettle makes pouring into the roaster pan easy.)7.Pour batter into prepared pan. Set the roasting pan on oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the springform pan. 8. Bake until cake perimeter is set but center still jiggles, about one hour (may take longer). Turn off heat to oven, leaving cheesecake inside. (Leave in waterbath, too).9. Remove pan from water; set on a wire rack. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 3 hours. Cheesecake will gradually separate from springform pan walls while it cools. I never need to run a knife around mine, but if it's sticking, that's what you need to do.

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 30 mins Yield: 10 servings