Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Eggnog Cheesecake



Whoops! I lied. I had one more little recipe from the holidays to share -- the pictures were on my camera and I was reminded when I uploaded. Maybe you have some leftover eggnog in your fridge that you can use up on a yummy cheesecake. I have a whole quart in my fridge -- that's a lot of cheesecake!



The idea for the recipe came from a
Better Homes and Gardens magazine, but I made a few changes. First of all -- no candied kumquats for my gang, and second -- I changed the crust to a gingersnap crust which was just perfect in my opinion. Oh, I also omitted most of the alcohol except for a little spiced rum. The recipe is a simple one and everyone at my house on New Year's Day thought it was great (all except my brother who hates eggnog -- I don't get it!). Note: I used low-fat cream cheese and my cheese cake was soft. It was still plenty firm, but if you like a really firm cheesecake be sure to use full-fat cream cheese.




Eggnog Cheesecake

5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. gingersnap crumbs
1 T. granulated sugar
pinch salt

3 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. eggnog
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1 T. spiced rum


Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter; set aside.

In a bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs, butter, sugar and salt and stir to combine (I crushed mine in the processor and then added the other ingredients). Press crumb mixture on bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan, using a juice glass to press firmly.



Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar until combined. Add eggs, mixing until creamy, scraping down sides several time. Add eggnog, vanilla, and rum, mixing until combined. Do not whip longer than necessary.

Gently pour filling into baked crust (cheesecake mixture will fill the pan beyond the crust -- that's o.k.). Sprinkle with a light dusting of nutmeg (freshly grated if possible).


Bake 45 minutes or until sides are slightly puffed (the center will be soft). Turn off oven and leave the door ajar. Let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour.

Transfer to wire rack; cool 15 minutes. Using a small thin knife, loosen sides of cheesecake from sides of springform pan. Cool 30 minutes. Remove sides from pan, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.






1 comment:

Lisa said...

This filling sounds wonderful. I don't like to drink eggnog but I like the flavor. Next year I will try a different Twelfth Night Cake and use the eggnog to make one of these!