Festive Cheesecake With Cranberry Topping
- Crust
- 2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs, about 20 cookies
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- Filling
- 3 pkgs. cream cheese
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp. orange liqueur or orange juice
- 1 tsp. Orange Zesto
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- Topping
- 3 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ¼ cup orange liqueur or orange juice
- ½ cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
METHOD:
To make crust, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. (160 degrees C.). Combine cookie crumbs, sugar and butter in a medium-size bowl. Coat a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan with cooking spray. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of pan. Bake 5 minutes and cool. To make filling, beat softened cream cheese with mixer. Do not overbeat. Add sugar and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in liqueur, then Orange Zesto, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour mixture into crust and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until almost baked. The centre will be wobbly. Let cool. Refrigerate up to 4 hours or overnight. When cheesecake is cold, make topping. Coarsely chop cranberries. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir sugar with cornstarch. Stir in water and liqueur until sugar dissolves. Add cranberries and pecans. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and continue stirring until mixture thickens, from 4 to 5 minutes. Pour over top of cold cheesecake. Refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled and set., at least 20 minutes.
For neat slices, use a sharp knife and after each cut hold under hot running water for a few seconds. Cheesecake will keep well, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 2 days.
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