Gingerbread Cheesecake Dessert Recipe

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Decadent Gingerbread Cheesecake with fresh cinnamon whipped cream is like taking a bite of Christmas.

The smell of gingerbread takes me right back to when I was a child and my mom baking gingerbread house pieces in the kitchen. I love all things gingerbread and I love cheesecake so I thought it was time I brought the two together. I’m so excited to be sharing my original recipe for my gingerbread cheesecake today. If you love the taste of gingerbread I think you’re really going to like this.

Gingerbread House Family Tradition

I used to love making gingerbread houses at Christmas time. My mom and her friend, Diane, would bake these amazing houses for us to decorate and I remember the most difficult part was waiting for the houses to dry so we could load them up with candy. I can still picture the houses on the kitchen table with soup can on the inside and out to prevent the walls falling over before the royal icing had time to set. Oh the agony of waiting all night for the icing to dry…it felt like sheer torture!

Now, so many years later, whenever I smell gingerbread I can’t help but think of those fun afternoons piling candy on our houses and saying a silent prayer that the houses didn’t cave in. I haven’t made a gingerbread house in ages but I still crave that taste and smell.

Gingerbread cheesecake is our new favorite thing

Last year I made a gingerbread creme brulee that was absolutely sinful (recipe for that coming soon) so this year I decided I needed to go all out and come up with a gingerbread cheesecake recipe. My son loved it so much that he said he no longer wants pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, he might even want this to be his new birthday cake (in June), and that I should take orders. That is quite an endorsem*nt. Thank you, Glenn!

Pick up supplies at Cost Plus World Market

Before you get started you are going to need to head to Cost Plus World Market and pick up some baking products like Saigon Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Allspice, Vanilla Extract, Nutmeg, Ginger Chips, and Bahlsen Butter Biscuits. I use these spices pretty regularly but I like to stock up around the holidays so I have plenty when I started my Christmas baking.

TIP: Save money and make your own vanilla extract. It’s so easy and only takes two ingredients.

Rose gold baking supplies

I’m obsessed with rose gold right now. I ditched some of my old bowls to make room for these beauties…aren’t they so pretty?! I actually need to go back and get the cute little prepping bowls.

How to Make a Cheesecake

Let’s get baking! The crust for this gingerbread cheesecake is made just like you would a traditional graham cracker crust but we’re going to use Bahlsen Butter Biscuits instead. First, put your cookies in the food processor and pulse until the cookies are tiny crumbs. Do this with the whole package. It should make about 2 cups.

Water Bath Method for Cheesecake

If possible, use a cake pan that is slightly larger than your springform. If you don’t have one, the next best thing is to and wrap the 10″ springform with several layers of heavy duty foil. Place the springform on a large cookie sheet and place in the oven. After you place the cookie sheet in the oven add warm water. There are a number of different ways to bake a cheesecake the water bath method is great because it helps with preventing cracks when baking.

UPDATE I have made many cheesecakes since this gingerbread cheesecake last year and the only method I now use is putting the springform in a slightly bigger round cake pan not another springform. It works much better than wrapping the springform.

A beautiful golden brown cheesecake with no cracks…yes! Put the cheesecake, while still in the pan, in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

I suggest making sure your pan is well greased so the edges pull away from the pan a bit more easily.

Make a batch of fresh cinnamon whipped cream and sprinkle some Allspice and grated Ginger Chips on top.

This is my new signature dessert and I really hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Smooth and silky just like a traditional cheesecake is supposed to be…

Gingerbread Cheesecake Recipe

Yield: 16 slices

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Decadent Gingerbread Cheesecake with fresh cinnamon whipped cream is like taking a bite of Christmas.

Ingredients

Crust

1 package Bahlsen Butter Biscuits,
6 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp Robust molasses
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Saigon cinnamon

Filling

32 ozs cream cheese, (4) 8 oz pkgs, softened at room temperature
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp Robust molasses
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp Saigon cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 tbsp ginger paste or "squeeze ginger"
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Crystallized Ginger Chips, grated, from World Market
3 tbsp cornstarch
4 large eggs, room temperature

Instructions

Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Crust:Crush cookies in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. You should get just about 2 cups out of the Bahlsen package.
Pour crumbs into a medium sized bowl.
Melt butter in microwave and stir into crumbs.
Add sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and salt and mix with a whisk until well incorporated.
Press crumbs into heavily greased springform pan.
TIP: Turn the base of the springform pan over so that the lipped side is on the bottom. This helps when sliding the cake off the pan.
Bake crust in oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Let crust cool completely while you make the filling. You can put the crust in the refrigerator to speed up the cool time.

Cheesecake

Reduce oven to 325 degrees.
Filling:In the bowl of a standing mixer cream together cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, spices, molasses, ginger, cornstarch, and salt until smooth.
Remove bowl from mixer and whisk eggs in one at a time. Do not over whip as this will cause too much air to get into the egg whites which causes cracking.
Pour mixture over cooled crust and carefully place in a slightly larger cake pan. You may use a slightly larger springform but make sure to seal it by wrapping in heavy duty foil several times to prevent water seeping in.
Warm at least 4 cups of water on the stove or microwave.
Place pans on a large cookie sheet with "walls" or a large roasting pan and put on rack in oven.
Carefully pour water in cookie sheet until it is just about full. If you are using a roasting pan, fill the pan to about 1"-1.5" up the sides of the pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes for 9.5" springform pan. If you are using a 9" add 5-10 more minutes and if you are using a 10" decrease time by 5-10 minutes.
Once the cheesecake is done baking turn the oven off and let sit in oven with the door ajar for one hour.
Remove from oven and let cool about 45 minutes. Place cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours. Overnight is best.
Remove springform ring and slide cheesecake on to a serving platter.
TIP: It will probably not slide very easily right after removing from the frig but you can help it along. Turn a stove burner on low and place cheesecake on the burner for 30 seconds. This warms the butter in the crust just enough to slide off the base.
Serve cheesecake cold and garnish with cinnamon whipped cream.

Nutrition Information

Yield 16Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 382Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 18gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 132mgSodium 182mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 0gSugar 21gProtein 4g

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I love pairing co*cktails with my food whenever possible so naturally I had to create a drink to go with this. This is my Gingerbread Cookie Holiday co*cktailand it is rich, creamy, decadent, slightly spicy, and very very sinful. These go down way too easily. Seriously. You’ve been warned!

I hope you enjoyed my Gingerbread Cheesecake Recipe! What is your favorite holiday flavor?

Gingerbread Cheesecake Dessert Recipe - Made by a Princess (2024)