Spice Up Your Life

This cheesecake recipe definitely put me in the mood for fall. The spicy gingerbread crust is what fall dreams are made of, then you top it with a light, whipped honey cream cheese filling and it becomes an irresistible dessert. This was another recipe that I made using leftovers but I wanted to get creative with it and see how far I could stretch it. It turns out that frozen cupcakes and frosting can make a pretty delicious cheesecake.

Working so closely with food for my job allows me to bring home treats from time to time. If you remember the month-long banana trend then you’ll remember that my job was the reason I suddenly had 10 bananas in my freezer. It also helps that I’m currently living with my parents and therefore have more mouths to feed.

My most recent treat from work was half a dozen gingerbread cupcakes leftover from a shoot. They were too delicious to throw away but we already had a lot of sweets in the house so I stuck them in the freezer. While they were chilling, I was determined to transform them into something else because I watch far too much Chopped and like to pretend like I could be on it someday. It didn’t seem too far off to turn the cupcakes into a cheesecake crust, they’re definitely reminiscent of graham crackers, and miraculously it didn’t take me long to come up with a filling recipe. This is because we had 4 containers of frosting in the fridge. Yes, you read that right. We had FOUR containers. My dad was very confused as to why we had so much frosting, even though it’s not a terrible thing to have that much frosting. I decided to take some of that frosting, thicken it up with cream cheese and pour it into the gingerbread crust for a quick and easy no-bake cheesecake recipe.

The crust comes together fairly easily if you use a food processor. You’ll be using a bit more effort with forks or your hands but it can be done! One of the cupcakes I threw in had some cream cheese frosting on it so I think that make it easier to combine the crust. Otherwise, a couple tablespoons of butter should do the trick. Mom had the idea to top the cheesecake with some candied ginger and I think it was the perfect choice. I’m a huge fan of ginger and it really ties together the creaminess of the filling with the spicy, rich gingerbread crust. This cheesecake came together so easily that I will be bringing it out once the leaves change colors. I like to start the fall celebrations as early as I can in my house!

Gingerbread Cupcake Cheesecake with Honey Filling, makes one 9-inch pie

 

Gingerbread Cupcake Crust

• Pre-made gingerbread cupcakes, frozen (homemade or store bought)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons frosting, optional

Honey Cream Cheese Filling

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• Candied ginger, optional

1. Crumble up your pre-made gingerbread cupcakes. I used a food processor but it can totally be done with fork or hands. Frozen cupcakes are much easier to crumble than room temperature ones.
2. Pour melted butter over crumbles and dump the mixture into a pie or cheesecake pan. Press mixture into pan to form the crust. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, add cream cheese and butter. Blend with batter attachment until combined. Pour in powdered sugar, blend until combined, followed by the honey.
4. Once it’s all been combined, spoon honey cream cheese into pie crust and spread out. Top with crumbles of candied ginger.
5. Chill in fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Cheesecake can keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.