Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry-Raspberry Compote | Full Fork Ahead

By McCarleyRHLAC

Ingredients

• For cranberry purée
• 2 cups fresh cranberries or frozen, thawed
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• For crust
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 3/4 cups finely ground butter biscuit cookies or butter cookies
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• For filling
• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Cranberry-Raspberry Compote
• 1 12-ounce package frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
• 1 cup fresh cranberries or frozen, thawed
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Details

Adapted from fullforkahead.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make cranberry purée:
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in heavy large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to processor. Add vanilla. Puree until smooth. Strain into medium bowl. Cover with plastic. Refrigerate at least 6 hours.

Make crust:
Spray 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Wrap outside of pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Blend cookies, sugar and cinnamon in processor. Add butter; blend until moist clumps form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of pan. Chill crust while preparing filling.

Make filling:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla.

Transfer 1/3 of filling to prepared crust. Dollop 1/3 of cranberry puree atop filling and swirl it through with a knife to distribute the puree into the filling. Repeat layering of filling and and puree 2 more times. Using knife again, swirl puree through filling, creating marbled design on the top layer. Try to make this swirling a more decorative effect. (If you don’t achieve it, don’t worry. Like I said above, it’ll still taste wonderful.)

Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until cheesecake puffs around edges, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off oven. Let cake stand in oven 1 hour, leaving oven door ajar.

Transfer cake to rack. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Cool completely. Remove foil from pan sides. Cover cake and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Remove pan sides. Serve cake with Cranberry-Raspberry Compote.

Cranberry-Raspberry Compote:

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until cranberries burst and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 6 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Notes:

Again, swirl the puree through the cream cheese filling each time you dollop it on a layer. This will make your cheesecake a true swirled one, and not one with merely lumps of cranberry puree throughout.

When it was time to loosen the cake from the pan with a knife, I did have some crust come out and it did damage the crust a little. We just decided not to take pictures of this atrocity. It still tasted wonderful. I guess the moral of that one is no matter what you might fudge up cosmetically, this cheesecake will what? Still taste great. You got it!