Gingerbread Cheesecake with Lemon-Ginger Glaze

 
Source: [Southern Living]( https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/gingerbread-cheesecake)
CRUST:
2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookie crumbs
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 tablespoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FILLING
3 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature (675 g)
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (250g)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature (235ml)
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
GLAZE
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh juice (from 3 lemons)
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
Step 1
Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Tightly wrap bottom and outside of a 9-inch springform pan with 3 or 4 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. (This will protect the cheesecake as it bakes in the water bath.)
Step 2
Stir together cookie crumbs, dark brown sugar, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl. Drizzle melted butter over crumb mixture, and toss with a fork to moisten evenly. Press mixture across bottom and about 1⁄2 inch up inside of prepared springform pan. (Press edges with bottom of a straight-sided measuring cup to ensure they are not too thick.)
Step 3
Bake in preheated oven until set and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until ready to use.
Step 4
Prepare the Filling: Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, light, and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add brown sugar, ground ginger, and cinnamon, and beat until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl after each addition. Add sour cream, crystallized ginger, lemon zest, and vanilla, and beat just until combined, about 1 minute. Pour into cooled Crust. Firmly tap pan several times on countertop to remove any air bubbles. Place springform pan inside a large roasting pan. Add very hot tap water to roasting pan to come halfway up outside of springform pan.
Step 5
Bake cheesecake in water bath at 325°F until edges of Filling are set and center jiggles slightly when pan is gently jostled, about 1 hour. Turn off oven, and prop door open about 1 inch. Let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour.
Step 6
Remove cheesecake from oven, lift springform pan from water bath, and remove foil. Run a thin knife around edge of cheesecake to loosen from pan. Chill, uncovered, 8 hours or up to 2 days.
Step 7
Prepare the Glaze: Whisk together sugar and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan until smooth. Whisk in yolks until smooth. Whisk in ginger and lemon zest; add butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until mixture is thick and begins to bubble around edge of pan, 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 8
Pour Glaze through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a small bowl, pressing firmly on solids with spatula; discard solids. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of Glaze to prevent a film from forming. Chill at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. (Glaze will continue to thicken slightly as it cools.)
Step 9
Just before serving, remove outer ring from springform pan. Spoon Glaze over top of chilled cheesecake, and spread to edges. Slice and serve immediately.
**Notes:** I have very little to add about this recipe because it’s pretty great all around. I’m not sure why they use kosher salt instead of table salt, and you’d be fine to use the same amount of table salt (as I have many times making this crust). In the past I’ve talked about how I usually bake my cheesecakes at a lower temperature, and that’s true—but with a water bath this recipe works great at 325, particularly when you let it sit in an off oven as they do here. It will come out without cracks, and it will be good.
If you want to get super fancy with your flavors, try doing this with blood orange instead of lemon. My mother used to make a similar one with fresh tangerine juice and zest and that’s pretty badass, too.
 

via Gfycat