CRANBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

CRANBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE image

Categories Cake Cheese Fruit Dessert Bake Christmas Cocktail Party Thanksgiving New Year's Eve Fall Winter Chill

Yield 12-14 people

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

Cranberry Filling:
1 (12 oz) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
Zest from one lemon or orange
Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8 oz) pkgs full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Steps:

Cranberry Filling: In a medium sized saucepan, place cranberries, sugar and water. Cook the ingredients over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently boil the filling, stirring often to prevent the filling from burning, until it becomes thick and syrupy and reduced to about 2 cups. This will take 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in zest and let cool completely before using. (You can make filling the day before and refrigerate). Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease or spray with a non-stick vegetable spray a 9-inch round pan. Crust: In a medium sized bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling. Filling: Place cream cheese, sugar and flour in mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour half the cheesecake filling into the pan. Take 1/2 cup of the cranberry filling and place spoonfuls over the cheesecake batter then swirl gently with a knife. Top with the remaining cheesecake batter. Spoon another 1/2 cup of the cranberry filling over the cheesecake batter and swirl gently with a knife. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 60-70 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen. Cool then refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Serve with leftover cranberry filling.