Yield: One 9” Peppermint Cheesecake
Prepare one 9” springform pan by pan coating the inside ring, dusting it with sugar and placing
9” round parchment paper in bottom. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Ingredients:
For the crust: 2 ½ cups Oreo Cookie crumbs (plus 4 tables spoons for presentation)
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
For the cheesecake batter: 2# softened cream cheese
¼ cup of sour cream
1 cup of granulated sugar
¼ cup of all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
¾ cup of crushed peppermints or candy canes
For the ganache topping: 8oz of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 cup of heavy cream
Mix together the Oreo crumbs and melted butter. Press up the sides of the springform pan and
pat down the bottom. Place the springform pan into your PCS Pan Protector and set aside in the
roasting pan that will be used for the water bath.
In a stand mixer with a paddle or using a hand held mixer, cream the cream cheese, sugar, sour
cream and flour together. Once blended, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just
incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan.
Mix in the crushed peppermints by hand and pour the rest of the mixture into the springform
pan. Place the roasting pan with prepared cheesecake onto the middle shelf of preheated oven.
Carefully fill the roasting pan with very hot water as high as it will go- at least 2 inches. Bake
cheesecake for 2 hours or until it set. Ovens bake differently- check after 1 hour 45 min to see
how your cheesecake is progressing. Once your cheesecake is baked turn off oven and carefully
remove the roasting pan. You can also leave the oven door open until the water has cooled or
even remove the PCS from the roasting pan by the handles.
Refrigerate the cake over night before unmolding. Once cake is ready to unmold there is a trick
to an easy release from the sides. Peppermints are sticky and you’ll find the crust on the sides
very stiff. If you have a blow torch that you use for Crème Brule, simply warm the sides of the
pan up with it. Unspring the buckle and it will simply fall off. You can also place in a 400
degree oven for10 min to heat the sides up. A thin knife between the crust and the sides will
also work but the torch method really works like a charm.
Prepare the ganache by melting the chocolate and heavy cream together. You can do this a
couple of different ways- microwave, double boiler or straight on the stove. For the microwave
start with just one minute on high, stir and heat at 15 sec intervals until the chocolate is melted.
For a double boiler simply stir the two together until they are melted. For on top of the stove
heat the cream until almost a boil and shut off. Add the chocolate and stir until completely
melted. Set aside at room temperature until slightly thickened and spreadable or pourable. If
you are in a hurry you can refrigerate but remember to stir every 10 min or so!
Once your cheesecake has the ring removed place plastic wrap over the cake. Invert onto a
plate. Remove the bottom, the parchment paper, and spread the remaining Oreo crumbs over the
bottom. The sugar in the peppermints make the bottom a bit sticky and the extra Oreo crumbs
will keep it nice. Once the Oreo crumbs are spread place the serving plate over the cake and
invert onto it. Top with ganache by either spreading a thickened ganache over the top or by
pouring a slightly less thickened ganache over the top. Be sure to slice the cheesecake with a
long, thin knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between slices. Enjoy
If you have any questions at all about this recipe please feel free to contact me at
[email protected]. Happy Holidays!