I always know that the Holidays are upon us when I go to the refrigerated section of any grocery store and see the delicious and creamy concoction we all know and love as eggnog. Many years ago, I had a customer ask me to develop an eggnog cheesecake recipe for a large function, so I did. You will notice that this recipe does not have any eggs or sugar in it. As a matter of fact, it only has a few ingredients altogether, but don’t let that fool you, this is really delicious. The key here is to purchase or make a really good quality eggnog…you know the one that I mean…the one that almost requires a spoon to drink (or rather eat)… well…you know what I mean. The eggnog is the secret ingredient here, and a really good one makes all the difference in the world. Since a good quality eggnog already has eggs and sugar in it, adding more was not really necessary.
If you only have pumpkin spice blend on hand just add that instead of the spices listed in the recipe, it will be just as good…but if you have nutmeg on hand, that one is important here, so definitely include that.
I used a graham cracker crust but you can add a cake layer if you prefer, it’s delicious either way. Make sure to bake it in a regular cake pan which is then placed in a larger cake pan filled half way with water to create the necessary moisture while it bakes…and remember, cheesecakes need to be baked low and slow so that you get a beautiful and smooth cheesecake top without any cracks . Make sure to freeze the cheesecake before popping it out of the cake pan. If you would like some additional direction, check out the recipe for my pumpkin cheesecake which was made the same way except I used a slice of cake as the base instead of a crust.
Eggnog Cheesecake (1-9” pan)
3 packs cream cheese, softened
2 ½ cups good quality eggnog
1 cup flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
Graham Cracker Crumb Crust
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
Preheat your oven to 350°F so that you can bake your crust. Once your crust has been baked, turn the oven temperature down to 225°F so that it will be ready for the cheesecake.
First, add the graham cracker crumbs to a medium sized bowl and then add in the melted butter and mix until all of the crumbs are all well coated. Prepare your cake pan by spraying it well with a good quality pan spray and lining the bottom with a round, cut out piece of parchment like this. Once you have lined the pan, add in the crumbs and using a spoon even the crumbs out all over the pan. Use a flat based object (like the bottom of a jar or a large lid like I did) to press down the crumbs. Bake this for 10 minutes at 350°F and remove to cool.
At this point, remember to turn down your oven to 225°F so that it will be ready for the cheesecake.
Next, add the softened cream cheese to the bowl of your stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, begin to whip the cream cheese on a low speed because you do not want to incorporate too much air into the mixture. Sift all of the dry ingredients together and place them into a medium sized bowl. Add 2 cups of the eggnog to the dry ingredients and using a whisk, mix everything together until there are no lumps. Slowly add the last cup of eggnog to the cream cheese and scrape down the sides of the bowl so that the cream cheese is well incorporated. Lastly, add the eggnog/flour mixture and combine everything together until you have a smooth batter.
Pour this into your prepared pan and then place this pan into a larger baking dish so that you will create a water bath that will add moisture while baking and prevent cracks. Add enough water to fill half the pan and place this in the oven for 1 ½ hours. Once the cheesecakes have finished baking, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in the oven until it has completely cooled, about 1 hour. Make sure to crack the oven door slightly using a dishtowel or an oven mitt to allow the cheesecake to cool slowly. Once cool, place it in the freezer for at least a few hours before attempting to remove it from the pan…it will be much easier.
If the cheesecake has not completely pulled away from the sides, you may have to run a small thin knife along the edge of the pan all the way around to help it along a little bit. Make sure to heat the bottom of the cheesecake on your stove stop (very low heat). You are not trying to re-heat the cheesecake but rather just slightly heat the bottom to give it a little help to release from the pan. Make sure to move it around so that it does not get too hot in one place. Then place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the cheesecake and turn it out onto a plate or a cake circle. Then remove the round piece of parchment from the bottom of the cheesecake and then place your serving plate/platter over the crust and turn the cheesecake upright. Remove the plastic wrap from the top and VOILA, you have a beautiful cheesecake that you can now decorate or leave as is. This will serve 12-14 people.
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