Make Ahead
Cranberry Compote Citrus Cheesecake with Cinnamon-Nutmeg Graham Crust
- Serves 10
Author Notes
Beautiful jewel-tone holiday dessert with tart fruit juxtaposing creamy citrus cheese filling. Cake needs to chill a day; warm compote goes on cold cake, which then chills another two hours. —Alyce Morgan
What You'll Need
Ingredients
-
1 1/2 cups
Graham cracker crumbs
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1/4 teaspoon
Ground cinnamon
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1/8 teaspoon
Ground nutmeg
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3 tablespoons
Granulated sugar
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4 tablespoons
Salted butter, very soft
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32 ounces
Cream cheese, soft (4- 8 oz packages)
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1 tablespoon
Each: fresh lemon juice and orange juice
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1 1/2 teaspoons
Vanilla extract
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1 1/2 cups
Granulated sugar
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2 tablespoons
Grated orange rind
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1 teaspoon
Grated lemon rind
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2 tablespoons
Unbleached, all-purpose flour
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5
Eggs
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1/4 cup
Sour cream
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1
12-ounce package fresh cranberries
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2
Oranges, unpeeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
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1
Cinnamon stick
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1/2 cup
Water
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1/2 cup
Cranberry juice or red wine
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3/4 cup
Granulated sugar
Directions
- Recipe is easy, but is in three parts: crust, filling, and topping. Cake must chill overnight; topping must be added while topping is hot and cake is cold. Topped cake must then chill another 2 hours. (Can freeze untopped cake, well-wrapped, up to one month.) Can be made in food processor or with electric mixer, or with very strong or determined arms.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. CRUST: Mix together graham cracker crumbs - softened butter until very well combined. Press into bottom and up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate while making cream cheese filling.
- FILLING: Beat together cream cheese with juices and vanilla extract until very smooth. Stir together sugar, rinds, flour, and salt and slowly add to the cheese mixture until well-combined. Add eggs at low speed, one egg at a time, into the cheese mixture. Stir in sour cream until well-blended. Pour filling into chilled crust. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake on center rack of oven 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake another 45-55 minutes or until tester comes out nearly clean. Cool completely on rack. Cover well and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. Top cold cake with hot cranberry compote (recipe below) and chill another 2 hours before releasing cake from pan. Slice and serve.
- CRANBERRY COMPOTE OR TOPPING: Heat the cranberries - granulated sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium-high flame to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring very regularly, until fruit is very thick--20 - 30 minutes. Remove pieces of orange and cinnamon stick. Pour over cold cake in pan. (Refrigerate topped cake another two hours.)
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