Spiderweb Cheesecake Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crust: Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Mix wafers, sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Pat mixture into pan, pressing firmly into bottom and all the way up sides. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Make the ganache: Place chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, process until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons ganache for decorating, and spread the remainder evenly on bottom and all the way up sides of crust. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add sugar and salt. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in lemon juice.
• Whisk cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, then fold in remaining whipped cream. Pour filling into crust, and spread evenly. Gently tap bottom of pan on counter to release air bubbles.
• Transfer reserved ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Starting in the center of the cheesecake, pipe a spiral, spacing lines about 1/2 inch apart. Pull the tip of a paring knife in a gently curved line from the center of the spiral to outer edge. Wipe knife clean, and repeat every inch or so to form a web.
• Cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight. Unmold cheesecake, garnish with candy spiders if desired, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water, let stand for 1 minute.
• Heat gelatin, stir until dissolved.
• Remove from the heat, cool slightly.
• In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
• Gradually beat in whipping cream, vanilla and gelatin mixture until smooth.
• Pour mixture into crust.
• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth.
• Transfer to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, cut a small hole in a corner of bag.
• Pipe a small 1/2 in circle of chocolate in center of cheesecake; fill in with chocolate.
• Pipe evenly spaced thin, concentric circles about 1/2 inch apart over filling.
• Beginning with the center circle, gently pull a toothpick through circles toward outer edge.
• Wipe toothpick clean.
• Repeat to complete web pattern.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray and wrap the outside with foil.
• Pulse gingersnap cookies into fine crumbs in a food processor. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Pulse pecans in the same food processor bowl until finely ground. Add to the cookie mixture and mix in melted butter.
• Press the cookie and pecan mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Beat cream cheese with sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl, until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
• Pour about 1/2 of the batter into a different bowl and set aside.
• Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to the batter in the stand mixer bowl and mix until combined.
• Transfer 1/4 cup of the plain batter into a piping bag or plastic storage bag. Spread the rest over the pie crust. Top with the pumpkin cheesecake batter.
• Pipe remaining plain batter into 5 concentric circles on the top of the cheesecake. Drag the tip of a toothpick or small knife out from the center of the batter to the edge, wiping it down between each pull, to create a spider web effect.
• Place the springform pan in the bottom of a roasting pan; fill roasting pan halfway up with warm water to create a water bath.
• Carefully transfer cheesecake to the oven and bake until edges are set, top is no longer shiny, and center is still a little jiggly, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Turn the oven off and prop the door open at least 4 inches. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
• Remove cheesecake from the oven and water bath. Run a knife around the edge to prevent sticking and cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes more. Cover loosely and chill for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• Run a knife around the edge of the pan and carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter in a bowl; press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just blended. Stir in pumpkin pie filling and cornstarch; pour over chocolate wafer crust.
• Bake in preheated oven until center is just set, 50 to 55 minutes.
• Spread sour cream over top of warm cheesecake; let cool.
• Melt chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave for 1 minute; stir until completely melted. Drizzle chocolate onto sour cream topping in a spiral pattern, starting from the center; draw a toothpick outward, from center to edges, through circles to form a web. Remove side of pan and serve.

Steps:

• Combine wafer crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom and 1 inches up the sides of a greased 10-in. springform pan.
• In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugars until smooth.
• Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
• Whisk in pumpkin, cornstarch, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice just until blended.
• Pour into crust.
• Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until center is almost set.
• Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Combine topping ingredients; spread over filling.
• Bake at 350° for 6 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack for 10 minute.
• Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
• Refrigerate overnight then remove from pan.
• In a saucepan, bring the sugar, cream of tartar and water to a boil over medium heat.
• Boil, without stirring, until mixture turns a light amber color and candy thermometer reads 350°.
• Immediately remove from the heat and stir.
• Cool, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until hot sugar mixture falls off a metal spoon in a fine thread.
• Using a spoon or meat fork, carefully drizzle syrup over waxed paper to form spiderwebs
• Cool completely.
• Place melted chocolate in a resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag.
• Pipe 1-in. spiders onto parchment or foil; cool completely.
• With remaining melted chocolate, pipe two or three dots on each web; attach spiders.
• Cut cheesecake; place a web on top of each slice and remaining spiders on the side.