One of my favorite foods at Thanksgiving isn’t even really a food but more of a condiment.  Cranberry Sauce.  No, not that nasty jelly stuff that comes in a can.  Actual homemade, made with real cranberries, cranberry sauce.  So naturally,  I had to put it in a cheesecake.  It’s the perfect thing really.  Cranberry sauce is tart.  Cheesecake is sweet.  Perfect pairing.

Thanksgiving cranberry sauce cheesecake

    Now for the cranberry sauce.  I recommend home made but store bought is fine as long as it’s not the jelly kind because it won’t disperse through the cake evenly.  Also, don’t get anything too leaky because it will water down you cheesecake.  That’s fine but you might have to adjust you cooking time.

    Same with the whipped cream.  You can absolutely get the can of whipped cream,  Just don’t decorate it all because it will melt quick.  That stuff isn’t stabilized.  Same with cool whip.  That may last a little longer but.

Thanksgiving cranberry sauce cheesecake
Thanksgiving cranberry sauce cheesecake

     This cake absolutely has to be on you thanksgiving dessert table.  That’s all there is to it.  Your family and friends will thank you.  Plus, with how gorgeous and vibrant it is, it looks so impressive.  No one will believe how simple it actually was.


Cranberry Sauce Cheesecake

Cranberry Sauce Cheesecake

Yield: 1 6 inch Cheesecake
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Additional Time: 9 hours
Total Time: 10 hours 45 minutes

A festive Thanksgiving cheesecake flavored with swirls of homemade cranberry sauce.

Ingredients

For Cranberry Sauce

  • 20 Frozen Cranberries (extra for decoration)
  • 1/2 of an Orange
  • 2 Tablespoons of Granulated Sugar.

For Crust

  • 1/2 of a pack of Graham Crackers
  • 1 Tablespoon of Granulated Sugar (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter

For Cheesecake

  • 1 1/2 Blocks of Cream Cheese (softened)
  • 1/4 of a Cup of Greek Yogurt
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 of a cup of Granulated Sugar

For Stabilized Whipped Cream

  • 1 Pint of Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 of a Cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of Cold Water
  • 1/2 Envelope of Unflavored Geliton
  • 1 Tablespoon of Boiling Water

Componants

Instructions

For Cranberry Sauce

  1. Push the cranberries and slices of the orange through a meat grinder while cranking the crank.
  2. Sprinkle the mixture with the sugar and mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
  3. Take the cranberry sauce out of the fridge and taste it to see if it's sweet enough. Just to your liking. Place back in the fridge until ready to use.

For Crust

  1. Prepare a 6 inch springform pan by lining the outside bottom and sides with aluminum foil and the inside bottem with a parchment paper circle. Spray the inside with non stick spray so the parchment paper sticks to the pan.
  2. Place the graham crackers in a food processor or freezer bag. Pulse or crush with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer until you get coarse crumbs.
  3. Add the butter and optional sugar and pulse or crush until you get the texture of wet sand.
  4. Press this mixture into your prepared pan in an even layer.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Place in the freezer for 1 hour.

For Cheesecake

  1. Place the softened cream cheese in the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or regular bowl with a hand mixer.
  2. On medium speed, beat the cream cheese until completely smooth. About 10 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and the sides of the bowl and beat again until smooth.
  3. Add in the sugar and beat until smooth and all incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and the sides of the bowl and beat once more until smooth.
  4. Repeat this step with the greek yogurt and the vanilla extract. Make sure the batter is completely smooth at this point before the next step.
  5. Add in the eggs, one at time, Beating between each addition to incorporate and scraping down the bottom and the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated fully.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan on top of the crust.
  7. Spoon the cranberry sauce on top of the batter. Using a toothpick, the handle of a spoon, or knife marble/swirl the cranberry sauce into the batter.
  8. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath for 45 minutes to an hour or until the edges are set but the middle jiggles slightly.
  9. Shut off the oven, crack the oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour to cool.
  10. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and place it covered in the fridge.

For Whipped Cream

  1. Combine the cold water and the unflavored gelatin in a small bowl and set aside to set. It's ready when it looks like a brown/tan blob.
  2. Place heavy cream in the bowl of strand mixer with a whisk attachment or regular bowl with a hand mixer.
  3. Beat until frothy. About 3 minutes.
  4. Add in the sugar in a steady stream while beating until you get soft peaks. About 3-5 minutes. In the meantime, add in the boiling water to the gelatin and stir to dissolve.
  5. Add the gelatin to the whipped cream and beat until stiff peaks form. This happens fast with the addition of the gelatin so make sure to not over-beat. Once the peak stands straight up on the beater, it's ready.
  6. Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip and place in the fridge until ready to use.

For Decoration

  1. Run a warmed up offset spatula along the sides of the cake to release it from the sides of the pan.
  2. Release the sides of the pan.
  3. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the cake, followed by a light weight cutting board. Using the bottom of the cake pan and the cutting board flip the cake over. Take off the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper. Replace with your serving plate. Flip back over.
  4. Pipe stars of whipped cream around the sides of the cake.
  5. Carefully place a cranberry on top of each star.
  6. Serve immediately or place in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Trore bought cranberry sauce can be used. Just don't get the jelly kind. It won't incorporate well.

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