If you love Oreos, get ready for the most delicious Gluten-free Oreo Cheesecake! This creamy cheesecake starts with a gluten-free Oreo crust that is filled with cookies and cream cheesecake filling and topped with more Oreos and chocolate ganache!
Cut a 9-inch circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch2 springform pan.
Spray the bottom of the pan with non-stick spray. Lay the parchment in the pan. Then spray non-stick spray on top of the parchment and on the sides of the pan.
Use a food processor, rolling pin, or mallet to crush up 18 of the Oreo cookies into crumbs, (1-¾ cup of crumbs).
Combine the crumbs with the melted butter.
Pour the cookie crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Press the crumbs down into an even, compact layer.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temp to 250°F.
Make the Cheesecake Filling
With an electric mixer, cream the softened cream cheese and sugar together in a large bowl until well combined. Scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, whipping cream, and vanilla.
Pour half of the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Mix until well combined.
Pour in the other half of the egg mixture and mix.
Crush the remaining Oreo cookies into larger chunks. Reserve about ½ cup for the top of the cake. Fold the rest into the cheesecake batter.
Prep the Water Bath and Bake the Cake
To prevent water bath leaks, put the springform pan with the pre-baked crust into a large oven bag. Pull the bag up to cover the sides of the pan, but not to cover the top. Alternatively, wrap the base of the pan with foil. Then place the springform pan into another larger pan, like a large roasting pan.
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust.
Scatter the remaining cookie pieces on top of the cheesecake, pressing down slightly but leaving them on the surface.1
Boil about 8 cups of water, enough to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Set the large roasting pan with the cheesecake into the oven. Push the cheesecake off to the side to make room to pour in the boiling water.
Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, taking care not to get water into the bag or into the cheesecake. Fill until water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Carefully move the cheesecake back to the center of the roasting pan.
Close the oven and make sure the oven temperature is reduced to 250°F.Bake for 1½ hrs. Resist the urge to open the oven door while it is baking.
When the time is up, the cake will still look jiggly in the center and will look underdone, but turn the oven off and open the door for a minute to let some heat escape. Close the oven door and let the cake sit in the warm oven for 1 hour to finish cooking. It still may seem a tad jiggly in the center after this, but the edges should look set.
Remove the cake from the oven. Refrigerate the cake for at least 6 hours or overnight to cool and set the cake. The cake should be firm at this point.
Remove the Cake from the Pan
Gather two plates: any sturdy, flat plate and a serving plate large enough to hold the cheesecake.
Run a knife or spatula around the side of the cake if it looks like it’s going to stick to the pan, then release the side of the springform pan.
Place a piece of parchment paper, large enough to cover the top, on top of the cheesecake.
Take the flat plate and lay it on top of the cheesecake.
Invert the cheesecake and set it down. The cake should now be upside down on top of the parchment paper.
Remove the bottom of the springform pan and also parchment paper from the crust.
Place the serving plate, upside down, on top of the crust. Flip the cake back over. Remove the parchment from the top of the cake.
Ganache and Garnish
Warm the cream in a pan until it reaches a simmer.
Place the chocolate chips in a bowl.
Pour the warm cream over the chocolate chips. Stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth.
Allow the ganache to cool a bit before drizzling over the cheesecake. To do this, fill a piping bag, small zip top bag, or parchment cone with ganache. Cut a small hole from the corner, then drizzle lines across the cake.
Sprinkle the perimeter of the cheesecake with more oreo crumbs.
Refrigerate until serving.
Video
Notes
Buy 2 packages of Oreos for this cheesecake. If you only have 1 package, don't put any on top of the cheesecake before baking and save those pieces for the garnish.
If you only have an 8-inch springform pan, extend the baking time by 15 minutes.