Eggnog Mascarpone Cheesecake

This Eggnog Mascarpone Cheesecake celebrates the season with classic holiday flavors. Eggnog and ginger give this cheesecake cozy flavor, and it is decorated with a wintry scene made of classic gingerbread cookies.

Happy December, sweet friends! For the past several years I’ve held a Christmas advent here on the blog, with new recipes each day leading up to the 24th. But this year I’m scaling things back a little to focus on family and to really be present in the season. I still have loads of new, original holiday recipes to post this month, just not 24 consecutive. And I’ll be linking my favorite recipes from Decembers past each day on social media. Be sure to check that out if you have holiday menus to fill, and especially if you’re making holiday cookie or candy trays!

I’m kicking things off with the creamiest cheesecake, ever! Eggnog is such a traditional and beloved holiday flavor, it’s easy to go overboard with it as an ingredient when December arrives. I’m an eggnog lover, you see. This Eggnog Mascarpone Cheesecake has just a hint of eggnog flavor, so even those with eggnog ambivalence will love it, too.

A two ingredient crust!

Begin with just two ingredients for the crust: and butter. You could swap in a different kind of cookie crumb if you like, such as famous wafer crumbs or even shortbread crumbs. But I think the gingersnaps are especially good with the light eggnog flavored filling.

Total disclosure. I call this cheesecake no-bake, but the crust needs a little time in the oven to set it. So it’s almost no-bake. Still. Not having to bake the filling for an hour or fiddle with a water bath makes it a breeze to put together.

Next, mix up the no-bake creamy filling. It’s a simple mixture of sugar, cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, commercially prepared eggnog, and heavy cream (I told you it was creamy!). A little gelatin sets it to mousse-like consistency. Plan ahead because it needs at least 4 hours to chill.

More is more!

Unmold and decorate! If you’re not into making things so extra (guilty!) you could serve the cheesecake just out of the pan. I added swirls of whipped cream on top along with gingersnap crumbs. And, in true holiday fashion I created a wintry gingerbread cookie scene on top.

Here’s one of my favorite gingerbread cookie recipes . I have a few, but that one holds a good, sturdy structure for construction. The mini gingerbread house cookie cutter I used is discontinued, but you can find a similar . I love these one-cut wonders! One cutter stamps out all the shapes for one complete mini gingerbread house.

I’ve been experimenting with stenciling cookies lately, and I really love how these turned out. It’s such a simple, pretty touch. I picked up the stencils for these cookies in the craft section at the dollar store for… well, just one dollar. You can’t beat that! I also have , which is made for cookie-stenciling. Stiff peak royal icing makes a great stencil medium.

Arrange the gingerbread pieces on top of, and around the edges of the cake just before serving. Even though the gingerbread cookies are sturdy, they will soften at the bottom over time, where cookie meets the cheesecake top.

This is definitely not a thick, dense, New York cheesecake kind of affair. This cheesecake is so light and mousse-like. It might be the creamiest cheesecake I’ve ever eaten. The gingerbread cookies are a nice extra bit of ‘crust’ to enjoy with all that creaminess, but I could also see this cake served with a quick cranberry compote.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SprinkleBakes