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Cranberry Cheesecake

This recipe makes an 8-inch cake made in a springform pan. For the sake of the all-important photo shoot, I made a 7-inch cake to take to the dinner party and a 4-inch cake to photograph the next day. If you're going to switch up pan sizes, remember that the baking time depends on the size of the pan — the taller the cake, the more time to bake. Make the cranberry topping a little looser than a typical cranberry sauce, so it will flow nicely over the cake.

Category Dessert
Keyword Cranberry Cheesecake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 8 servings
Author © Marlene Cornelis/UrbanCottageLife.com 2013–2022

Ingredients

Cheesecake

  • 750 gr cream cheese, softened at room temperature for about an hour and cut into cubes
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cranberries, picked over, rinsed and coarsely chopped

Cranberry Topping

  • 1-1/2 cups cranberries, picked over and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • zest of 1/3 orange
  • zest of 1/3 lemon
  • 2 tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

How To Make This Recipe

Cranberry Cheesecake

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF. Butter an 8-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper. Wrap the pan in a piece of tinfoil large enough to reach up to the top of the tin. For extra insurance, you can add a second protective layer of tinfoil. Get out another oven-proof dish, large enough to hold the springform pan with some room around it. This will be used to create a water bath (or, bain marie).

  2. Put a kettle on to boil so that it's ready about the same time the cake batter is done.

  3. Unless you're in training for a rowing team, I recommend using a stand or hand mixer to beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light, scraping down the bowl part way through. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until each is incorporated. Pour in the vanilla along with the last egg. Scrape down the bowl and continue to blend until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped cranberries, distributing their ruby beauty throughout the batter.

  4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and set it inside the larger baking dish. Place the pans on the partly pulled-out middle rack of the oven. Carefully pour the hot water into the outer baking dish, taking care not to splash into the lovely batter. Gently slide the rack back into the oven (don't make waves!), and bake the cake for about 60 minutes. When done, the cake will be only slightly wobbly in the centre; it will continue to firm up as it cools.

  5. Remove the springform pan from the water bath and peel off the foil wrapping. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Once it's not hot to the touch I finish cooling mine, uncovered, in the refrigerator. Cover when cold.

Cranberry Sauce

  1. Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the cranberries start to pop (about 5 minutes), turn the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from the heat and cool. Chill in the refrigerator until it's time to lavish this topping on the cake.

Serving

  1. When it's time to serve the cake, run a knife around the outside before releasing the ring of the springform pan. Then run a knife or large cake lifter between the parchment paper and the cake and transfer it carefully onto the serving platter. Or, you could invert the cake onto the plate and then peel off the parchment.

    Top either the whole cake or individual slices with the cranberry sauce.