This thick and creamy Gingerbread Cheesecake is perfect for the holidays. Full of warm spices, a speculoos cookie crust, and fresh whipped cream this cheesecake will be the star of the meal! Easily made ahead of time so no stress for you!

A few weeks ago I did an Instagram poll on whether my followers wanted to see a Gingerbread Cheesecake or Gingerbread Cake, cheesecake won. And I was happy about it! This cheesecake is full of flavor, something about all the warm spices justs makes me feel all warm and fuzzy even if I am in California with the sun shining and eating a cold dessert!

This gingerbread cheesecake is the perfect dessert for Christmas or any holiday event, the best part? You can make this ahead of time, I usually make my cheesecake the day or two before I want to serve it.

If you want to go all out with gingerbread flavor make my Gingerbread Bundt Cake recipe, gingerbread loaf cake, gingerbread brownies, or my simple gingerbread cake recipe! 🙂

Let's get to the recipe.

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What ingredients are in Gingerbread Cheesecake?
How to make Gingerbread Cheesecake?
Tips & Tricks for Baking a Perfect Cheesecake
Recipe Card
Recipe Ratings & Comments

What ingredients are in Gingerbread Cheesecake?

First, we need a crust, and while you could do graham cracker crumbs I much prefer either Speculoos/ Biscoff Cookies or Ginger Cookies. The spicy flavor of the cookies just goes so well with the gingerbread flavored cheesecake.

For the actual cheesecake, you just need your normal culprits and of course the gingerbread flavor. To achieve the gingerbread flavor I swapped out granulated sugar for brown sugar- the softer sugar is made with molasses, a gingerbread flavor. The darker color of the sugar also goes well. I also add some blackstrap molasses. Then you need your spices- ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I also love to add a little lemon zest, it just enhances the depth of flavor. Citrus and ginger go soooo well together.

How to make Gingerbread Cheesecake?

Grease a 6-inch springform pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a food processor, crush the Biscoff Biscuits until they become a fine crumb.

crushed biscoff biscuits in a glass bowl

Add melted butter, stirring until fully combined.

melted butter added to crushed biscoff biscuits in a glass bowl for a gingerbread cheesecake recipe

gingerbread cheesecake recipe crust in a glass bowl with a spatula mixing it together

Press into bottom and slightly up upsides of prepared pan. Place in fridge while you make the cheesecake.

speculoos cookie crust pressed into a springform pan

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat cream cheese for 3 minutes on medium to high speed. Then add the brown sugar and all of the spices then beat for another 2 minutes.

cubes of cream cheese in a metal mixing bowl

brown sugar and spices added to cream cheese for a gingerbread cheesecake recipe

Next sour cream, molasses, vanilla extract, and lemon zest mixing until fully combined. Finally add in the eggs and egg yolk, mix until just combined. You should have a creamy batter with no lumps.

molasses and sour cream added to gingerbread cheesecake batter in a metal bowl

eggs and egg yolks added to gingerbread cheesecake recipe in a large metal bowl

gingerbread cheesecake batter ready to bake

Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan. Place the springform pan in a 9-inch pan- place cake pan in a roasting pan (affiliate link) and fill the roasting pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the cake pan. This prevents ANY water from getting in the cheesecake and you don't have to wrap everything with foil.

Bake for 70 to 80 minutes, the middle of the cheesecake should jiggle just a little bit. Turn the oven off and let cool in the oven for 1 hour then take out of the roasting pan and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge overnight.

gingerbread cheesecake in a roasting pan water bath

What should I top my cheesecake with?

Whipped Cream, obviously, in my world cheesecake is not complete without a nice big dollop of fresh whipped cream. Not the canned crap. This time I went for a fun look of piped stars on top. I left the extra whipped cream on the side so you can serve as much or as little as you want.

When ready to serve the cheesecake, take your bowl and whisk attachment to the mixer and chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes. When ready whisk heavy cream for 1 minute, add vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and milk powder. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a pastry bag and any tip you like to pipe the whipped cream around the edges of the cake, I like to pipe mine pretty high.

You can check my post on How to make a stabilized whipped cream post for a more in-depth view of whipped cream.

For more Christmas desserts check out my Christmas Pudding or English Sherry Trifle.

Tips & Tricks for Baking a Perfect Cheesecake

As always I highly suggest you take these steps to make sure you have the best cheesecake possible

Bake your cheesecake the day before you want to serve it.
- Baking your cheesecake the day before means it has plenty of time to chill (very necessary) and it is already made so you can focus on other party planning things!

How do I make a cheesecake with no cracks?

Do not overwhip the cheesecake, you do not want a ton of air bubbles. Air bubbles = cracks
Bake the Cheesecake in a Springform Pan (affiliate link) for easy release when you serve it
When you pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan tap the tin on the counter to release any air bubbles
Do not open the oven doors when the cheesecake is baking you want all the hot air to stay in the oven until you turn the oven off
Bake the cheesecake in a water bath

How do I make a water bath for cooking my cheesecake?

Make a water bath to bake the cheesecake
- Place the Springform Pan in a large Round Cake tin
- Place the Cake Tin in a Roasting Pan (affiliate link) and fill the roasting pan with hot water, stopping halfway up the side of the cake tin
Let the cheesecake rest in the oven when baked
- When about the inner 2-inch diameter of the cheesecake is jiggly and the rest is set I turn the oven off and let the Cheesecake rest in the oven for 1 hour, I usually prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon for the last 20-30 minutes
Cooling the cheesecake
- Take Cake Pan out of the Roasting pan and let Cheesecake cool further on a wire rack for one hour
- After the cheesecake has cooled wrap it in plastic wrap and let the cheesecake chill overnight or a minimum of 6 hours

What is the best way to serve my cheesecake with clean slices?

Best way to serve cheesecake?

When cutting the cheesecake to serve always have a hot cloth nearby to wipe the knife clean after each cut
When serving let the cheesecake sit for 5-10 minutes before serving

slice of gingerbread cheesecake on a small round plate

Craving more cheesecake? Try these recipes:

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Recipe Card

Gingerbread Cheesecake

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5 from 2 reviews

Print Recipe

This thick and creamy Gingerbread Cheesecake is perfect for the holidays. Full of warm spices, a speculoos cookie crust and fresh whipped cream this cheesecake will be the start of the meal! Easily made ahead of time so no stress for you!

Total Time: 9 Hours 35 Minutes
Yield: 8-10 Slices 1x

Instructions

Crust

Grease a 6-inch springform pan (affiliate link) set aside. Preheat oven to 325F. In a food processor, crush the Biscoff Biscuits until they become a fine crumb. Add melted butter, stirring until fully combined. Press into bottom and slightly up upsides of prepared pan. Place in fridge while you make the cheesecake.

Gingerbread Cheesecake

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat cream cheese for 3 minutes on medium to high speed. Add brown sugar and all of the spices then beat for another 2 minutes. Add sour cream, molasses, vanilla extract, and lemon zest mixing until fully combined.
Add in eggs and egg yolk, mix until just combined. You should have a creamy batter with no lumps. Pour into prepared pan. Place the 6-inch springform pan in a 9-inch cake pan- place cake pan in roasting pan (affiliate link) and fill roasting pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the cake pan. This prevents ANY water from getting in the cheesecake and you don't have to wrap everything with foil.
Bake for 70 to 80 minutes, the middle of the cheesecake should jiggle just a little bit. Turn oven off and let cool in oven for 1 hour then take out of roasting pan and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge overnight.

Whipped Cream

When ready to serve the cheesecake, take your bowl and whisk attachment to the mixer and chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes. When ready whisk heavy cream for 1 minute, add vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and milk powder. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a pastry bag and any tip you like to pipe the whipped cream around the edges of the cake, I like to pipe mine pretty high. Then crumble crushed Biscoff Biscuits on top. To serve use a hot clean knife cut slices of cheesecake. Store in the fridge.