December 17, 2022
Every year before the holidays, I buy a couple of containers of egg nog. I imagine myself sitting in front of the Christmas tree, lights sparkling, with a cup of spiked eggnog in my hand. The reality is that I never have a lot of time sitting around during the holidays, and often even forget that I even have eggnog in the refrigerator. In order to ensure that I used up my eggnog, I decided to create a dessert that featured it. Although I don’t really enjoy baking that much, but I do enjoy baking over the holidays when entertaining family and friends.
I find the water bath method of baking cheesecake to work the best for me as it creates a very light, creamy cheesecake and it is the only way I make cheesecakes now. The addition of eggnog plus a little extra nutmeg created a true eggnog flavored cake that would be a perfect holiday dessert. I actually made a raspberry sauce to drizzle over my cheesecake but found it actually distracted from the cheesecake and wasn’t needed. We all enjoyed this cheesecake so much I think it will be on my Christmas menu from now on. The topping adds a special touch to the dessert but really isn’t needed if you wanted to simplify this dessert.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele Revised 2022
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
Filling:
- 4 (8 Ounce) Containers Cream Cheese At Room Temperature
- 1 1/3 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Eggnog
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 4 Large Eggs At Room Temperature
Topping:
- 1 (8 Ounce) Container Mascarpone Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Eggnog
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and wrap the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil.
- In a bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, and nutmeg.
- Press the crumb mixture on the bottom and halfway up the sides of the prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven to cool while you prepare the filling.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the sugar, eggnog, vanilla, and nutmeg and beat until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between.
- Pour the filling into the pan and place the pan in a large roasting pan.
- Fill the roasting pan halfway up the sides of a springform pan with boiling water.
- Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and let the pan sit in the oven another hour.
- Remove from the oven and water bath, and cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- To make the topping, place the mascarpone cheese, sugar, and eggnog in a bowl and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
- Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, and then spread across the top of the cheesecake.
- Sprinkle on a little additional ground nutmeg and refrigerate until needed. (I like to remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator one hour before serving).
