Eggnog Cheesecake with Praline

Merry Christmas world!

My favorite Christmas memories:

• When i was young, we did not have Christmas stockings, but rather, Christmas SACKS! Running to the living room and rifling through a great hulking sack of presents from Santa was the best feeling in the Universe to a kid.
• Every year, Christmas lunch would be different. One of my favorite memories was playing Celebrity Heads, and the random hints my grandfather would give. For example, 'the block' was his hint for Barbie. How? Well, the 'block' referred to a block of land my Aunt and Uncle own. It has a fence. That fence has barbed wire. Barbed... Barbie.. get it? O_o
• Christmas with my strange Uncle the accordion player. Him cracking it out and belting some tunes, and always bringing the most random Christmas presents. Giant fly swats? Transformer bugs? That's only the beginning!
• The night before Christmas. Perhaps the thing i miss most now that all of the kids have flown the coop. But sitting together, excited, filled with trepidation, as we watch Christmas movies and listen out for Santa.

Ingredients

• 1kg cream cheese (4 blocks of Kraft)
• 250gm Granita biscuits or similar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 large pinch nutmeg
• 1 cup cream
• 100gm butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups mixed, roasted nuts
• Glace cherries

Method

Invert the base of a 22cm spring form cake tin and line. Replace in the tin upside down then grease the sides and base.

Place the biscuits into a food processor and blend until a fine crumb.

Add the butter and blend until combined.
Turn the crumb out into the spring form tin and press evenly over the base.

Transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes to cool.
Preheat oven to 140 degrees.
Place the cream cheese in a mixer/food processor with the cream and blend until smooth.

Add the nutmeg, and 1 cup of sugar and blend through.
Then add the eggs, 1 at a time, blending well after each addition.

More the mixture into the prepared base and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 1 hour or until the centre is just firm.
Then turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in there, with the door ajar for 2 hours. This will help prevent the cake from cracking.
Refrigerate, covered, overnight
The next day, lay the nuts out on a tray lined with baking paper; ensure there is a small gap between the nuts, and only one layer.

Combine the remaining sugar and water in a small saucepan.

Heat on medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
Turn up the heat to high and cook, not stirring, until the mixture turns lightly golden.

Then pour over the nuts.

Leave to cool and set hard.
Crack the toffee praline into pieces and arrange on top of the cheesecake.

Adorn with the glace cherries, then serve.
Merry Christmas world!