Homemade Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

This creamy York Peppermint Patty cheesecake has an Oreo cookie crust and chocolate ganache topping. The texture is smooth and velvety without being too dense, and it has a delicious creamy peppermint flavor that's perfect for the holidays.

Last year, I created {cough, cough} a peppermint hot chocolate recipe using Peppermint Mocha creamer, and Grace and I have been looking forward to this year's Peppermint Mocha season with glee.

A few weeks ago, I realized that creamer can be used in place of cream in recipes, and this was a revelation of epic proportions. The girls and I immediately drove to our local Walmart and purchased two large bottles of creamer, in York Peppermint Patty and Peppermint Mocha flavors. (I wanted to try Pumpkin Spice but I let Grace overrule me. She doesn't like anything pumpkin this year.)

At home, we had a taste test to determine which flavor would work best in our cheesecake. York Peppermint Patty won out, and we saved Peppermint Mocha for hot chocolate and other fineries.

We served our York Peppermint Patty chocolate peppermint cheesecake with Thanksgiving dinner.

As usual, my cheesecake cracked. As usual, I covered the giant cracks in my cheesecake with chocolate ganache. As usual, my cheesecake was amazing. It was so amazing that I may have licked the springform pan, and no one noticed or complained that it had cracked.

Of course they didn't. They were too busy eating it.

How to make a York Peppermint Patty Cheesecake

For the cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Combine the crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter until it forms a thick paste. Press into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set crust aside.
   
3. Soften the cream cheese by placing one block at a time in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Do another 15 seconds if it’s not soft enough after the first go ’round. 
4. Combine the softened cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer (or in a stand mixer) and cream together until smooth.
   
5. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg.
   
6. Add 1 cup creamer, peppermint extract, vanilla, and candy bits. Mix until smooth and creamy. Do not over mix.
   
7. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface.
   
8. If your cheesecake pan is not airtight (or if you’re not sure), cover the bottom securely with foil before adding to the water bath. Place your springform pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until it is halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. This is a very important and necessary step; don’t skip it!
9. Bake at 350º for 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost set. This can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one additional hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and lift it carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter.
   

For the optional chocolate ganache

1. While the cake is cooling on the counter, prepare the chocolate ganache. In order to do this, heat chocolate chips, butter (cut into small cubes), and ½ cup creamer in a pan in the microwave in 30 second increments. Continue to heat for 30 seconds at a time, then stir well, then heat for 30 seconds and stir well. Do that two or three times, until the chocolate is very smooth and creamy. The chocolate may become too runny to spread on your cheesecake, so you may have to let it sit on the counter for a while, until it cools and thickens enough to spread.
   
2. Once the cheesecake and the chocolate ganache are sufficiently cool, pour the ganache over the top of the cheesecake. Put the whole thing in the fridge to chill over night. Once fully chilled, the cheesecake is ready to serve.

Do I need a springform pan for this cheesecake?

Yes, you need a springform pan if you're going to make a cheesecake. The sides of a springform pan expand and can be removed so that you can slide a slice of the cake out easily. I honestly don't know what you could use if you don't have a springform pan. If you don't use one, you're going to have a huge mess on your hands when you try to cut the cheesecake.

Is a water bath necessary for this cheesecake?

Some recipes will tell you that a water bath is essential for baking a cheesecake. They claim that a cheesecake baked without a water bath will be dry, overly dense, or cracked. I have not found this to be the case with any cheesecake I've ever baked.

I personally think that water baths are risky because, if you don't get the springform pan wrapped tightly enough, the water will leak in and ruin your crust. I had that happen several times in my early cheesecake baking days.

After giving up on the springform-pan-in-the-water water bath, I used to put a pan of water on the rack below the cheesecake, allowing the steam to fill the oven. However, one time I forgot to do it, and guess what! The cheesecake was awesome. So now, I never use one because I have found that it is just not necessary. Why do the extra work if you don't need to?

Why did my cheesecake crack?

The most common reason for a cracked cheesecake is over beating the filling, resulting in an excess air in the batter. Extra air is the enemy of a cheesecake because it makes the filling puff up in the oven, and then it cracks as it cools and sinks.

You should never use a whisk to mix cheesecake filling. Don't use the whisk attachment on your mixer, either. If you're using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. If you're using a hand mixer, the beaters are good. And of course, if you're doing it by hand, go for a spatula instead of a whisk.

Even if you use a paddle attachment or the beaters, you could still add too much air if you beat and beat and beat the filling. So, never mix more than is absolutely necessary.

If you aren't sure if you've beaten it long enough, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to turn the filling over a few times and look for pockets of unmixed ingredients. If it's evenly mixed, don't beat any more.

One good thing about this cheesecake is that you're going to cover it with marshmallows, so even if it does crack, no one will know.

More tips for the best Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Use quality ingredients - Try to stick with the name brand ingredients, because the quality of your ingredients will make a huge difference in your finished cheesecake.

Keep the oven door closed - Don't peek at your cheesecake while it's baking. The cold air can shock the cheesecake and make it crack.

Likewise, when the cook time is done, and you've jiggled it to make sure the edges are set, put it back into the hot oven with the door cracked an inch or two, and let it cool in there for an hour. This also helps to prevent cracking.

Don't over bake - Don't over bake your cheesecake. Turn the heat off and crack the door open as soon as the outer edge is set. The center should be jiggly.

Try these other delicious cheesecake recipes while you're here:

• Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
• S'mores Cheesecake
• Pecan Crust Cheesecake (Naturally Gluten-Free)
• Candy Cane Swirl Cheesecake
• Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
• No Churn Cheesecake Ice Cream