Orange Cranberry Cheesecake

A slice of cheesecake on a plate with a fork bite taken out of the front of it.

Celebrate the holiday season with the classic flavor pairing of cranberry + orange in this deliciously creamy Orange Cranberry Cheesecake recipe. The perfect cheesecake with fresh orange flavor from orange juice and orange zest, whole cranberry sauce, and a buttery graham cracker crust.

Course Cheesecake, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry cheesecake recipe, how to make orange cranberry cheesecake, orange cranberry cheesecake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 25

Resting Time/Chill Time 6

Total Time 7 45

Servings

Calories 397kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

9 whole graham cracker sheets
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter melted

Orange Cranberry Cheesecake Filling

24 ounces full-fat cream cheese room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3 large eggs room temperature
1 can (14 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce (divided)

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with softened butter or shortening. Wrap the bottom and up the sides with a piece of aluminum foil. Heavy duty foil is preferred.
^{*Wrap the outside of the spring form pan with the foil like a bowl. Set the pan aside.}
Break the graham crackers apart and place them in a food processor along with the brown sugar. Run the food processor at high speed until the cracker become finely ground crumbs. Slowly pour in the melted butter while running the food processor on low speed until the crumbs are well-coated and start to clump up.
9 whole graham cracker sheets, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 6 tablespoons butter
Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of the springform pan, and bake for 15 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Cheesecake Filling

Lower the oven temperature to 325℉. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until smooth and lump-free.
Add the orange zest, orange juice, and one egg and beat until the egg is fully incorporated. Continue mixing in the eggs (the 2 remaining eggs) one at a time until they are just mixed in. Don't overmix the cheesecake filling or else it can crack while baking. Just mix in each egg until it's incorporated and nothing more.
24 ounces full-fat cream cheese, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice, 3 large eggs
Pour half of the cheesecake filling into the springform pan on top of the crust.
Dump the whole berry cranberry sauce into a small bowl and stir with a spoon just to loosen it up. Spoon half of the cranberry sauce evenly over the cheesecake filling. Pour the remaining cheesecake filling over top. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining cranberry sauce over top the cheesecake and use a toothpick to swirl the cranberry sauce into the cheesecake.
1 can (14 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce

Baking The Cheesecake

Place the cheesecake in the middle of a large roasting pan, or any large pan that will fit it along with the water. Pour 5-6 cups of boiling hot water into the roasting pan around the sides of the spring form pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the cheesecake starts to brown around the edges and the middle is still slightly jiggly. The edges should be set while the center should still have a slight jiggle.
When done baking, turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake inside the oven for 1 hour.
Take the cheesecake out of the oven and remove it from the water-filled roasting pan. Allow the cheesecake to cool on a cooling rack for 1 hour at room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight is the best, so the cheesecake can fully set.
When you're ready to serve run a table knife around the outer edges of the cheesecake and remove the springform pan's outer ring. Carefully transfer it to a round platter or large plate. Top with whipped cream and/or sugared cranberries (or fresh cranberries), slice, and serve chilled.

Notes

Cream Cheese : Use the bars of cream cheese that come wrapped in the foil. Each bar is 8 ounces so you need 3 (8 oz) bars of cream cheese. I highly recommend only using full fat cream cheese when making cheesecake.

Room Temperature Dairy : Place the cream cheese and eggs out at room temperature about 1 hour to 30 ahead of time. For safe consuming, do not leave them out for longer than 2 hours.

Don't Overmix - Once you add the eggs into the cheesecake filling it's so important to not over mix at all. Just mix until the egg is incorporated and nothing more.

Swirl Tips - Don't push the toothpick deep into the cheesecake when swirling. Just keep it more shallow on the surface level of the cheesecake. Remember there is a middle layer of cranberry sauce so you don't need to swirl it deep.

Oven Door : Do not open the oven door while the cheesecake if baking, and only open it briefly (like when checking for doneness of the cheesecake) when it's finished baking to prevent the hot air from escaping while it rests for an hour.

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