The Gorgeous Gingerbread Cheesecake

Imagine a Gingerbread Cheesecake glazed with dark chocolate truffle ganache and drizzled with white chocolate, finally embellished with cinnamon sticks, star anise stars, and sugared cranberries. Then style it with evergreen fronds and a variety of kales - purple and white, large and small, curly and flat-leaved.
Oh. And toss a few more of those sugared cranberry jewels on it and around it and on the table.

Ooooh. Yummy!

Gingerbread Cheesecake

This recipe will make one lovely 8 inch cheesecake. Bake at 350 degrees F.

Let's make it!
Ingredients:

Crust:
3 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs. Here's my favorite cookie , but you can use any gingerbread cookie you'd like.
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted

1. Crush cookies with a rolling pin or whirr in a food processor until the cookies are fine crumbs. Put them in a medium bowl.
2. Melt the butter and pour over the crumbs, mixing until all of the crumbs are coated.
3. Press the crumbs into a greased 8-inch springform pan.
4. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F to set the crust. Cool.

Cheesecake:
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 t. whiskey vanilla or regular vanilla
2 T. finely chopped crystallized ginger*
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

*Slice the crystallized ginger pieces into very fine strips, then chop them cross-wise into tiny pieces. Toss the ginger pieces with a Tablespoon of sugar to coat them; work them apart with your fingers to be certain that each piece is coated.

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until very well mixed and the mixture is soft.
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
3. Add vanilla, crystallized ginger, heavy cream, and sour cream. Mix very well.
4. Pour into crust. Bake until center is set, about 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate.
5. To remove cake from the pan, run a thin knife or spatula around the sides of the cheesecake to loosen from the pan, do the same at the bottom of the cake when the side of the springform pan is removed. Transfer to a pretty cake plate or cardboard cake round.

Glaze:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 ounces (about 1/2 bar - dark (55% or better) chocolate (consider adding an ounce or two of really dark (85-99% cacao) chocolate to it. Ooooh - Decadent). If you add a little more chocolate, you'll want to add a drop or two more of the cream to make the ganache smooth and spreadable.

1. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat to scald (just before boiling). Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 1 minute.
2. Add the chocolate to the cream and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Pour the mixture onto the chilled cheesecake and spread around the center area of the cake.
4. Allow to cool and stiffen. Refrigerate.

White Chocolate Drizzle:
2 ounces white chocolate - do not use the white chips as they will not melt smoothly. Baker's brand melts well.

1. Melt the white chocolate by microwaving it for 60 seconds then at 30 second intervals until it is creamy and stirs well.
2. Using a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over the cake in any desired design. I love to make an off-center starburst or flower petal design.
3. Refrigerate cake until the white chocolate is hard.

Style it:
Gather the following pretties to style and decorate the cheesecake or work with what you have at home.

Cinnamon Sticks
Star Anise
Sugared Cranberries
Ornamental Kale of various varieties
Evergreen fronds
Powdered sugar

Add cinnamon sticks and star anise and cranberries on the cake, concentrating in one area off-center and fanning out on the cake. Arrange evergreen fronds around the cake plate. Arrange the heads of kale as if a bouquet at one side of the cake in varying heights. An egg cup or very small cup can hold a kale upright to add height. Play with the look till you like it!
Add more sugared cranberries around the cake plate itself and on the table to extend the display.
As a final touch, sprinkle powdered sugar over all to give it a unified, polished appearance. Place a few tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small strainer. Shake lightly over the display, just to add a slightly snowy dimension to it. Be careful not to use too much powdered sugar... less is more!