The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I can’t say I’m a big cheesecake fan, in general. It’s just to much – too rich, too creamy, and usually, too big.  But making my own was not something I’d attempted before, so it was worth a try for this month’s challenge.

I imagined a fruity, spicy cheesecake – something that would help cut the 24 ounces of cream cheese used to make the dessert.  I laced the graham cracker crust with chopped crystallized ginger, then added bits of mango, along with some cardamom and ginger to the batter.  Next time I’d use m0re of the spices – I underestimated how much it would take to cut the richness – but otherwise I was pretty happy with the result.

Now only one remaining question – how does one best freeze a cheesecake, so I won’t have to polish the rest of this one off myself?

You can check out the original recipe for Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake at Jenny Bakes – I’ve posted my version below.

Mango Ginger Cheesecake
makes 1 10-inch cheesecake

time: 25 minutes prep, 2 1/2 hours baking (plus chilling overnight)

crust:
1/4 cup crystallized ginger
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 8 sheets)
1 stick butter, melted
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cheesecake:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice or lemon liqueur (I used limoncello)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 cups frozen mango chunks

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop the crystallized ginger and mix it with the other crust ingredients.  Press it into the bottom of a 10″ springform pan.

2. Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated.  Add the cream, lemon, vanilla and spices and blend until smooth.

3. Chop the frozen mango (a food processor makes it easy) into small pieces. Frozen mangoes chop without getting smushed to bits, but fresh could easily be used if available. Mix into the cheesecake batter.

4. Pour the batter on top of the crust, and tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.  Set the pan in a larger baking dish that will allow the water to come up halfway on the springform pan.  Boil a kettle of water and fill the baking dish with enough to come halfway up the cheesecake pan.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – set but still jiggly.  Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the over for another hour.  Let cool on the counter before refrigerating overnight.