Peppermint Cheesecake

Add the finely chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl.
Add the heavy cream to a microwave safe measuring cup, and microwave for 30 second intervals until almost boiling.
Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and leave for 2 minutes. Then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate isn’t quite melted, microwave for 30 seconds on medium power (do not use high power, which is often the default).
Remove the cheesecake from the fridge. Carefully trace around the edge of the springform pan with a thin knife (not a table knife) and unclamp the outer ring of the cheesecake.
Blot any moisture off of the top of the cheesecake using a paper towel. Pour the ganache over the cheesecake, allowing it to drip over the sides. Place the cheesecake back in the fridge until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, crush the candy canes (I do this with a rolling pin) and sprinkle over the cheesecake. Slice with a thin, sharp knife. Be sure to slice all the way through the crust.

Room Temperature Ingredients: The cream cheese, sour cream and eggs should be room temperature before getting started. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to making the cheesecake. Take the cream cheese out of the package and cut into cubes and measure out the sour cream. Eggs can be placed in a bowl of warm water to speed up the process.
Cream Cheese: Be sure to use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese. Do not use low fat, spreadable, whipped or anything that comes in a tub.
Sour Cream: I used 7% MF sour cream. It can also be substituted for plain Greek yogurt (it must be Greek yogurt for the proper consistency). Do not use vanilla flavored yogurt.
Peppermint Extract: Peppermint extract can be found in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract.
Eggs: You will need 5 eggs in total – 3 full eggs and just the egg yolks from the 4th and 5th eggs.
Chocolate: Feel free to use semi-sweet or dark chocolate around 50%. I prefer to use chopped chocolate as opposed to chocolate chips, but either will work.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
- Because the cheesecake needs to chill for at least 6 hours in the fridge, I typically make the cheesecake the day before I want to serve it. You can add the chocolate ganache at any point in time when the cheesecake is in the fridge. Just be sure to only add the crushed candy canes right before serving.
- Store leftover cheesecake covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.