Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. I also take the extra step by placing the foil wrapped spring form pan inside an oven bag while baking, but this is optional (see recipe notes below for more info on this process). Lightly spray the springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together crushed gingersnap cookies, nutmeg and melted butter until thoroughly combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
Bake gingersnap crust in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool completely.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add in the eggnog and mix until incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add in vanilla, flour, salt and nutmeg and beat until fully incorporated and smooth. Pour batter into the prepared crust.
Place the springform pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until it is halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake for 65-70 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have a slight jiggle to it. At this point, turn off the oven, but leave the door cracked and allow the cheesecake to rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
Before serving, top with eggnog whipped cream, a light sprinkling of nutmeg and crushed gingersnap cookies.
To make the eggnog whipped cream:
Place a metal bowl and the beaters of an electric hand mixer in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before making the whipped cream.
Add the whipped cream ingredients to the cold bowl. Using the mixer, beat at low speed until well combined, then gradually increase the speed to high. Mix on high until the cream forms stiff peaks.
Notes
You may optionally add rum extract or spiced rum to the cheesecake and/or whipped cream. For the cheesecake, add 1 ¼ teaspoons of rum extract or up to 2 tablespoons of spiced rum. For the whipped cream, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon rum extract or up to 2 tablespoons of spiced rum.Don’t be intimidated by the water bath process. I have a post that walks you through baking a cheesecake in a water bath. You can skip the foil and oven bag for the water bath by placing your 9-inch springform pan into a 10-inch cake pan. Set this entire thing into the roasting pan, then add the boiling water into the roasting pan, outside of the 10-inch pan. This will still let the water bath do its job without the danger of any leaks.