Marvelous Fresh Ginger Cheesecake Recipe

-----CRUST----- 2 c Ground pecans

2 tb Brown sugar

1 t Ground ginger

1 lg Egg white beaten till frothy

1 t Lemon zest finely grated

-----FILLING----- 2 lb Cream cheese, room temp

3/4 c Granulated white sugar

4 lg Eggs lightly beaten

1/2 c Heavy cream

1 t Vanilla extract

8 oz Ginger preserves

2 ts Ground ginger

1 tb Fresh ginger (finely grated)

Minced candied ginger -for garnish

Crust: Mix nuts with brown sugar , egg white, ginger and lemon rind until mixture is just bound together. Press into bottom and sides of 9 inch springform pan. Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and light. Add eggs, cream, vanilla, ginger preserves, ground ginger, and fresh ginger. Mix thoroughly and pour into prepared nut crust. Bake at 300 ? for 1 hour and 40

minutes. Cool 1 hour in turned off oven or overnight. Cool completely before chilling in refridgerator. If serving at home, remove springform band from from pan and place on serving tray or dish. Garnish with candied ginger. This needs one day to mellow! Serve in very thin wedges..very rich. Would be delightful served with fresh sliced ripe juicy peaches alongside.