EGGNOG CHEESECAKE WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare a 9-inch spring-form pan. For the Crust: Prepare the crust by melting the butter and combining it with the gingersnap crumbs and brown sugar in a large bowl. Make sure all of the ingredients are moistened evenly. Press them into the bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is nicely toasted. Set aside to cool.
• 2. For the Cake Batter: In a mixer, cream the cream cheese until it is softened and smooth. Then add the heavy cream and sugar, mix until everything is fully combined. Then, add the eggs one at a time until they are all incorporated and the mixture is glossy. Last, add the vanilla, dark rum, cognac, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix to combine.
• 3. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the cooled gingersnap crust. Then, wrap the pan very tightly with aluminum foil so that it can be placed in a hot water bath. (You are not going for looks here - wrap the aluminum foil as tightly as possible - you don't want the batter ruined by water seeping in!!) Then, fill a deep baking or roasting pan with water until it is at least halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake cheesecake for 60-70 minutes. Or, until it is set and the top is light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. (This pic is mine)
• 4. For the Glaze: Add sugar, cornstarch, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate juice to a small saucepan. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and starts to get syrupy. Allow to cool to room temperature before drizzling over cool cheesecake to serve.
• 5. Cognac is brandy that comes from Cognac, France, and meets specific criteria: it has to have been aged in oak casks for at least two years at a storage facility that is registered with the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC); the minimum level of alcohol content when sold must be 40%; no additives may be put in the cognac; and a label on the bottle should indicate all information about the spirit, exactly where the grapes were harvested from as well as the name and the address of the cognac producer. FOR SUBSTITUTION:Non-Alcoholic You can also substitute cognac in a recipe with a non-alcoholic beverage. Cognac is made from grapes so that is the obvious choice, but make sure you are using unsweetened grape juice. You can try other juices such as apple, peach or apricot as long as they have no added sugar. In addition, non-alcoholic wine and brandy are available in the supermarket if you want to stick to a taste that is closer to brandy. Read more: Cognac Substitutes for Cooking | eHow.com
• 6. Dark Rum Substitution: "We have no idea what you're making or how important the rum flavor is to the finished dish, so finding an acceptable substitute is going to land mostly on your shoulders. You can try water, white grape juice, pineapple juice, apple juice, or apple cider. Your recipe's call for dark rum, though, is surely an indication that it wants a lot of flavor, so all of those may fall disappointingly short. Rum is distilled from molasses or cane syrup, so your best bet could be a mixture of molasses thinned with pineapple juice or white grape juice." From: http://www.ochef.com/1029.htm