This festive cranberry and orange cheesecake is really quick and easy to make. Made with fresh oranges, dried cranberries and a ginger crust, this dessert is perfect to serve at Christmas. This holiday baked cheesecake can be made ahead of time for easy entertaining. Creamy and tangy, it's a real crowd pleaser!
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Is everyone ready for Christmas yet?! No...me either! Although, my gosh, I am so looking forward to a couple of weeks off to eat and drink merrily!
I'm not much of a baker, in fact, you'll very rarely find any baked goods on my blog, so for a Christmas dessert this year, I opted for a cheesecake full of festive flavors. It's based on my popular Baked Lemon & Blueberry Cheesecake, and, if I do say myself, it's damn fine!
The perfect mix of sweet, tangy and creamy, it's made with a ginger snap crust for an extra burst of flavor. This is a perfect cheesecake for the holidays!
Like all of my dessert recipes, this cheesecake is super easy to make!
Why you will love this recipe!
- Make ahead: Cheesecakes are a great make ahead dessert, so it's a great option if you are entertaining, or, just want to enjoy something sweet throughout the week.
- Easy: I love cheesecakes mainly because they are so easy to make - they are always a go to dessert for me.
- So festive! With flavors of orange and cranberry, this is so perfect for the holidays, though it's pretty delicious all year round to be honest!
Ingredients
- Biscuits: The base is made with a mix of digestive and ginger snap biscuits. The ginger works so great with the zesty orange!
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Cream cheese: Soften the cream cheese before mixing it with the other ingredients. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to make it. For this recipe it's best to avoid low-fat cream cheese for teh best texture and flavor.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar is best to use in this recipe.
- Yogurt: Plain yogurt adds some extra creaminess as well as a slight tang.
- Eggs: Eggs help to thicken the cheesecake mixture and give it a nice smooth texture.
- Dried cranberries: The cranberries add a nice pop of tart and sweet flavor. Use dried rather than fresh cranberries.
- Orange zest and juice: We use both the juice and zest for a really bold flavor. Use freshly squeezed orange juice.
How to make a cranberry and orange cheesecake
- Break up the biscuits using a food processor, food mallet or rolling pin.
- Mix the crushed biscuits with melted butter in a medium bowl (photo 1).
- Tip the biscuit crumbs into a springform tin and press the mixture down and bake (photo 2).
- In a large bowl, stir the cheese and sugar together (photo 3).
- Add the yogurt and then slowly add the eggs and mix (photos 4 and 5).
- Fold in the orange zest, juice and cranberries (photo 6).
- Pour the mixture onto the crunchy biscuit base (photo 7) and bake.
Recipe Variations
- For a sweeter cheesecake, you can add in a dash of vanilla extract.
- You can decorate the top of the cheesecake with sugared cranberries if you like, or top with a little whipped cream and cranberry sauce.
- Use lemon zest and juice instead of orange.
- You can use Graham crackers instead of biscuits if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
This orange cranberry cheesecake is super creamy, tangy and sweet with a hint of orange running throughout it.
The base is made of a mixture of digestive and ginger snap biscuits. The gingersnap crust works so well with other festive flavors in this cheesecake. The cream cheese mixture is based on a basic cheesecake mix, with a touch of plain yogurt to give a hint of sourness. Fresh orange juice and zest is mixed throughout and dried cranberries are added which just burst with flavor.
Cheesecakes are the perfect dessert to make ahead of time and you can store them in the refrigerator or freeze them. It's best to serve the cheesecake at room temperature.
Refrigerate: Once the cheesecake has fully cooled after baking, keep it in the springform pan and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge. It will keep for around 6 to 8 days. To serve, simply remove the ring from the springform pan and slice. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container.
Freeze: Cheesecake freezes really well, so make a couple, why not?! Let the cake cool fully to warm temperature before wrapping with plastic wrap or foil and then placing in a freezer bag. It's best to keep the cake in it's pan. The cheesecake will keep frozen for around 6 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge the day before serving.
This creamy cheesecake will take around 45 minutes to bake in a 9 ¼ inch springform pan. If you use a slightly smaller pan it will take a little bit longer. The cheesecake is done when the edges are very slightly brown. Give it a gentle shake, and only a small circle in the center should wobble.
Don't use a knife or your finger to check if it's set, you'll leave an indentation in the top (you may be able to see where I poked mine with my finger haha!).
Confession time, I don't always use a water bath with when I bake cheesecakes! Most of the time it's fine, but for a foolproof method, it's best to use one. You basically put hot water in a large roasting dish, and then place the cheesecake in the middle of it. Check out this post for how to cook a cheesecake in a water bath.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- It's best to mix the cheesecake by hand rather than using a electric mixer. Cheesecakes can crack if they are over mixed, you want the ingredients to just be combined. Make sure that there are no lumps in the mixture.
- Once the cheesecake has baked, turn the oven off and open the door and keep the cheesecake on the rack. This will mean it cools slowly and is less likely to sink and crack.
- Let the cheesecake cool completely before removing the ring from the springform pan and slicing. Run a knife around the edges of the pan before removing.
- To make this dessert gluten-free, use gluten-free biscuits.
- You can cut down on fat content and calories if you use a low fat cheese, but it won't be as creamy.
The ginger, cranberry and orange flavors in this cheesecake work so well together. It's so perfectly festive but don't let that limit you to just serving it at the holidays!
Mr Slow The Cook Down took some slices into work at came back with raving reviews, so I can't wait for you guys to try this!
I love that you can make it several days ahead of time and be pulled out of the fridge whenever the cheesecake cravings kick in!
More easy desserts
- Chocolate Pots with a Pretzel Topping
- Layered Eton Mess with Summer Fruits
- Homemade Cherry and Yogurt Popsicles
- Sweet Puff Pastry Pinwheels
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Cranberry and Orange Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 cup digestive biscuits (100g) (3.5 oz)
- 1 ½ cups ginger biscuits (150g) (5.3 oz)
- ⅘ stick butter (100g) (3.5 oz)
- 2.5 cups cream cheese - softened (600g) (21 oz)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (250g) (9 oz)
- ½ cup plain yogurt (150g) (5.3 oz)
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 ¼ cups dried cranberries (200g) (7 ounces)
- zest of 1 orange
- Juice of ½ orange
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325ºf / 180ºc
- In a bowl, bash the biscuits into fine crumbs. Slowly melt the butter and mix into the biscuits ensuring the crumbs are evenly covered.
- Take a loose bottom, round tin and put the biscuits in the base. Press down (you can use a potato masher for this) to form and even layer. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, then leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, mix the cheese and sugar together. Once it is well mixed, add the yogurt and then slowly add the eggs and mix. Don't use a whisk, as you don't want too much air in the mixture. Add orange zest, juice and cranberries. Mix again and pour the mixture onto the crunchy biscuit base.
- Pop in the oven for 40-50 mins. Let it cool, and serve.
Notes
- It's best to mix the cheesecake by hand rather than using a mixer. Cheesecakes can crack if they are over mixed, you want the ingredients to just be combined.
- Once the cheesecake has baked, turn the oven off, open the door and keep the cheesecake on the rack. This will mean it cools slowly and is less likely to sink and crack.
- Let the cheesecake cool completely before removing the ring from the springform pan and slicing.
- To make this dessert gluten-free, use gluten-free biscuits.
- You can cut down on fat content and calories if you use a low fat cheese, but it won't be as creamy.
- Nutritional values are based on one of twelve servings and are an estimate.
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