Cranberry Cheesecake

I usually have my recipes ready to publish months ahead of time and this cranberry cheesecake wasn’t part of the scheduled plan. The idea came to me randomly after staring at a big frozen batch of my cranberry curd last week. It turned out so splendidly I knew it needed to be shared asap; while we were still blissfully embedded in cranberry season and surrounded by christmas cheer. 

I got a bit fancy with this one, giving it a white chocolate ganache topping, a piped whipped cream (my stabilized whipped cream can be piped and keeps shape days later). I sugared some fresh cranberries and rosemary for it too. It was such an epic dessert; I felt I needed to do it justice! 

Let’s get into it, shall we? 

Recipe Origins 

This recipe is built on my lemon curd cheesecake. Over the years, I’ve found this to be the best way to incorporate flavor into a cheesecake: adding the fruit’s curd to the cheesecake batter. 

First we’ll make my cranberry curd recipe, this can be done weeks ahead of time or more if you freeze it, then the cheesecake crust and batter. Some of the curd goes into the cheesecake filling and some will be spread and baked on top. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Cranberries: fresh cranberries are needed for the cranberry curd and for the sugared cranberries. 

Cranberry Curd: follow this recipe for cranberry curd. It will make more than you need but there’s no neat way to divide three eggs. The leftovers are very easily used on other dishes (ice cream, french toast, pavlovas, etc). 

Graham crackers or digestive cookies: you’ll need two packed cups of cookie crumbs. If you prefer an oreo crust, scrape the cream off the cookies first. If you’d like to add nuts (pecans would be great here!), grind them and add up to a cup of finely ground nuts. 

Butter: salted or unsalted is fine. If you do use salted, reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe. 

Powdered sugar: This is for the crust, it partially sweetens it but also contributes to the structure of it. We’ll also need some for the whipped cream. 

Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, use half the amount. 

Cream cheese: full fat bricks of cream cheese. They must be at room temperature. 

Sugar: fine granulated sugar, this is for the filling. 

Eggs: two large eggs at room temperature. 

White chocolate: use a good quality white chocolate; check the ingredients to be sure ‘cocoa butter’ is listed. 

Heavy Cream: or heavy whipping cream; this is both for the ganache and the whipped cream topping. 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. 

How to make cranberry cheesecake 

Start by making the cranberry curd, from this recipe. It uses fresh cranberries, orange zest and juice, whole eggs, sugar and butter. It can be made a few days ahead of time or up to a week: keep it stored in the fridge in an airtight container. If you’d like to make it more than a few weeks ahead of time, freeze the curd in an airtight container and it will keep for 2-3 months. 

Find an 8 inch cake pan, square or circle. It will need to fit into another, larger cake pan which will be its water bath. 

→ If you are using a springform pan you will need to bake the cheesecake in a roasting bag to protect the water from seeping into the pie. 

Make the graham cracker crust 

Prep the cake pan by greasing it then pressing a sheet of parchment paper into the pan and up the sides. Use metal clips to hold the parchment paper in place. 

Grind the cookies/crackers and melt the butter 

Combine with powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, mix until the texture is like wet sand and clumps together when squeezed 

Spread some of the crumbs on the bottom of the pan then work on getting them up the sides. Because parchment is non-stick, the crumbs will not willingly stay up on the sides. Do your best to press them in, and use the bottom of a measuring cup to really pack it. 

Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350 F. It might come out of the oven looking a little warped or bubbled, use the measuring cup to press it back into shape while it’s still warm and compliant.

Set aside to cool.

Make the filling 

Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this step. Set the softened, room temperature cream cheese in a mixing bowl and press it into the bowl with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon. Alternatively, gently mix it with the paddle attachment. 

Add the vanilla, salt and sugar and beat until the sugar is incorporated and the cream cheese is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing 

Add the cranberry curd and mix, until smooth – again, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the eggs and beat to just combine.

→ Optional Step: press the filling through a fine mesh sieve into the baked crust (this helps get rid of any pesky cream cheese lumps).

Pour in the filling:

Bake the cheesecake 

With the oven still at 350 F. Set the cheesecake in it’s cake pan in a larger 13×9 inch cake pan and fill it with water so it comes to be at level with the cheesecake in the pan 

Bake the cheesecake until it is matte all over the top and barely jiggles in the center; check it at 45 minutes; but it will most likely take a little longer. 

We’re going to briefly take the cheesecake out of the oven (still in it’s water bath) and add additional cranberry curd over the top. Spread it so it’s in an even layer – and be careful, the pans are hot!

Return the cheesecake (still in the water bath) to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, this is just to set the curd. Once it’s matte all over it’s likely done.

Take the cheesecake out of the oven and keep it in it’s water bath to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, set it in the fridge to chill for at least six hours but up to 2 days before serving.

Make the white chocolate ganache 

Chop or break up the white chocolate. Then, warm it slightly and then pour hot heavy cream over it (heat the cream in the microwave, 30 seconds should do it) and stir briefly. Let sit for 20 seconds, then stir until all the chocolate is melted, adding the salt and vanilla as you do. 

→ Most likely the curd layer will have some condensation over it after chilling  in the fridge. Use a paper towel to gently soak up the moisture. 

Once it’s smooth, pour over the cooled cheesecake. Return to the fridge to chill again. 

→ My ganache was on the thicker side, if you’d like a softer, looser ganache, use the greater amount of heavy cream 

Topping the cranberry cheesecake 

For mine pictured, I made my stabilized whipped cream and piped it on the top. 

Sugared cranberries: set half a cup of water and a half a cup of granulated sugar in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add the cranberries to the pot and remove from heat. Let the cranberries sit in the hot sugar for a minute or two then transfer them to a parchment lined plate or pan. Let them dry for a few hours until they are sticky, then toss them in a bowl of granulated sugar. The sugar adheres to the sticky coating. 

Why bake a cheesecake in a water bath? 

Cheesecake filling or cheesecake batter is essentially a custard. Just as you would bake a creme brulee or a pudding in a water bath, we do the same with cheesecake. A water bath means that there is a barrier between the heat of the oven and the custard. Water takes time to heat and will allow the cheesecake to bake slowly and steadily. The eggs won’t curdle and the cheesecake won’t overbake in a water bath. 

How to protect a cheesecake baked in a water bath 

With my method of using a cake pan, the solid pan is submerged into the larger cake pan. We do not need to worry about water getting into the cheesecake. 

It does mean however that the sides of the cheesecake will be more rusticly charming than professionally tidy. So, if you desire to use a springform pan: you must use a roasting bag. Place the cheesecake in the roasting bag, and tighten it at the sides (tie a knot), then place that in the water bath. 

In both cases, carry the cheesecake in it’s water bath carefully so no water is splashed around into the pie. 

How to know when the cheesecake is done baking 

With an oven mitt on, gently shake the pan and watch the center. Does it wobble a lot indicating liquid in the center? It needs more time. If instead it is matte all over and shows barely a wobble, it’s done baking. 

Cranberry Cheesecake Recipe

Cranberry Cheesecake

Creamy and tart cranberry cheesecake made with cranberry curd in the filling and topped with more cranberry curd and white chocolate ganache.

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Chill Time: 8 hours hrs

Yields: 1 8 inch pie with 4 layers

5 from 5 votes

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Ingredients

Crust

• 300g or 2 ½ cups digestive cookies or graham crackers ground into crumbs
• 113g or ½ cup butter salted or unsalted is fine
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• Pinch fine sea salt if using unsalted butter

Cranberry Cheesecake Filling

• 452g or 2 brick packages cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 100g or ½ cup fine granulated sugar
• 280g or 1 cup cranberry curd
• 2 large eggs at room temperature

Cranberry Curd Layer

• About 210g or ¾ cup cranberry curd or up to a full 280g or 1 cup of curd, if you like

White Chocolate Ganache

• 200g good quality white chocolate chopped or broken into small pieces
• 75g heavy cream or heavy whipping cream or up to 100g if you’d like a creamier, softer ganache

Method

• Do ahead: make the cranberry curd. You’ll likely have leftovers, it’s great on scones, ice cream, or french toast. Keep it in the fridge, in an airtight container until the day of baking the cheesecake.
• Prep the pan: grease an 8 inch round or square cake pan and press a sheet of parchment into the pan. Use metal clips to hold it in place (see photos and video for reference). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Make the crust: grind the cookies/crackers in a food processor and melt the butter. Stir together with the powdered sugar and salt until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press the crumbs in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Use a measuring cup to pack and press it into an even layer. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. If it is looking a bit warped or bubbled when it’s done baking, use the measuring cup to press it back into shape. Set aside to cool. Keep the oven on.
• Make the filling: (The cream cheese and eggs must be at room temperature before starting the filling). Set the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and press it into the bowl using a spatula, add the vanilla, salt and granulated sugar. Affix the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Scrape the bowl and beat to ensure even mixing. Add the cranberry curd and beat to combine, scraping the bowl as needed. Once the mixture is even, add the eggs and beat to just combine. Pour the filling into the crust (if you want to avoid any cream cheese lumps, pour and press it through a fine mesh sieve).
• Bake the cheesecake: Set the cheesecake pan in a 13x9 inch cake pan and pour water into the larger pan so that it comes to be level with the cheesecake, so about halfway. Set the pan(s) in the oven and bake until there’s barely a wobble in the cheesecake’s middle; check it at 45 minutes but it will likely need longer. If there's still a wobble, leave it another 10-15 minutes then check again. Once it’s done, take it with its water bath out of the oven and set it on the counter. Carefully and gently spread the additional curd on top and smooth into an even layer. Set the pan(s) back in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the curd is set and matte all over. Take the pans out and let the cheesecake cool in its water bath until it’s room temperature. Then, transfer it to the fridge and chill for 6 hours or up to 2 days.
• Make the white chocolate ganache: warm the white chocolate in a microwave, just for about 30 seconds so only some is starting to melt. Warm the heavy cream too, until it’s hot but not boiling, and pour over the white chocolate. Stir, then leave it for about 20 seconds, then stir again, until smooth. Add a dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. If the cranberry curd has gathered some condensation, collect it with a paper towel gently pressed over it. Pour the ganache over the cranberry curd and smooth it into an even layer. Return to the fridge to set until you can gently touch the ganache and it isn't overly soft and doesn't leave a a deep indentation, this can take around an hour. If you need it to set faster, freeze it.
• To remove the cheesecake from the pan, run an offset spatula between the parchment paper and the cake pan to loosen it. Then use the parchment to lift the cake out and place it on a plate. Remove the parchment carefully from underneath.
• For the topping: make my stabilized whipped cream. You can simply spread it over the top of the ganache, or use a piping bag and tip to pipe it on in a cute design. If you’d like to add sugared cranberries, scroll up to see instructions for ‘topping the cranberry cheesecake’.
• The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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