Well, my mother tried for years to tell me carrots were good for your eyes and this one, my cheesecake lovers, will do just that. It is a ‘carrot/ginger’ cheesecake. Here we go.
Base
- 2 cups graham crackers crumbs
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- pinch of cinnamon
In a small bowl stir the crumbs, sugar and cinnamon until combined and add the butter, mixing well. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan and up the sides by about 1 1/2 inches. Set this on a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Cool on a wire rack and continue on with the filling.
Filling
- 3 pkg. of softened cream cheese (not the light kind)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 tbsp. sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup candied ginger, finely, finely chopped
- 1 1/3 cup of cooked and pureed carrots
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and the sugars until smooth and no lumps. On a low speed, add the eggs beating until incorporated. Add the cream, cornstarch, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger bits and lemon juice. Fold in the carrots.
Pour this onto the baked crust. Place the pan in a double thickness of tin foil and securely wrap around the pan. Place in a larger pan and add about 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Check it at the 50 minute mark to see how it is coming along. You want this to be ‘just set’.
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup graham crumbs
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Combine this all together and sprinkle over the entire cake surface, and bake a further 6-8 minutes. Carefully remove the cheesecake pan from the larger pan and set out on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen it and then cool for an hour longer.
You MUST refrigerate this overnight before trying to gobble it up. The wait make the difference and you won’t be sorry you waited, I promise you.
