Gingerbread cheesecake
SERVES ONE
A rich, creamy baked cheesecake with seasonal spices, ginger nut biscuit base and a drizzle of caramel sauce to finish.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
80g salted butter, extra for greasing
300g pack ginger nut biscuits, finely crushed
For the cheesecake filling:
400g soft cheese
150g Greek yogurt
250ml soured cream
200g caster sugar
20g plain flour
1 orange, zested
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp mixed spice
3 medium eggs
For the decoration:
50g salted butter
60g dark brown soft sugar
50ml double cream
50g crystallised ginger, roughly chopped
METHOD
Line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides with butter. Pre-heat the oven to gas three, 160C, fan 140C.
Melt the butter over a low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat. Tip in the crushed biscuits and stir into the melted butter. Press into the base of the tin with the base of a glass, then use your fingers to press up the sides. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
Gently whisk together all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Try to mix as little as possible as this will help keep the cheesecake creamy and smooth.
Pour over the biscuit base. Bake for 50 minutes until the sides are puffing up and appear firm, but there’s still a wobble in the centre about 8cm wide.
Turn the oven off and open the oven door half way. Cool the cheesecake in the tin, inside the oven. This gradual cooling helps to avoid a cracked cheesecake. Once at room temperature, remove from the oven and chill in the fridge for two hours.
To make the caramel sauce, melt the butter and brown sugar over a low heat.
When the sugar has dissolved, add the cream, stir and turn up the heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer for five minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes to thicken and cool.
Drizzle the caramel over the top of the chilled cheesecake and scatter with the chopped ginger.
Unclip from the tin and serve immediately with any remaining sauce on the side or store, covered, in the fridge for up to three days.