Candied Cranberry Cheesecake

Ingredients & Tools
Instructions

Ingredients

For Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

For Cheesecake
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 package white Candy Melts candy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Clear Imitation Vanilla Baking and Flavoring, 8 oz. $6.59
1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
Juniper Green Icing Color food coloring

For candied cranberries
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1/4 cup white sparkling sugar

Tools
Springform Pan
Aluminum Foil
Electric Mixer
Spouted measuring cups
Baking sheet or jelly roll pan
Parchment Paper

Instructions

Click to mark complete

Make Crust. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Prepare the 9 inch springform pan with non-stick vegetable pan spray and wrap the bottom half of the pan in aluminum foil.
Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter.
Pour the mixture into the pan and firmly press to set. Set aside.
Make cheesecake filling. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, while mixing on a low speed.
In a microwave safe bold, melt the Candy Melts according to package directions. Cool slightly, then add the melted candy, vanilla, and heavy cream to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well.
Tint batter and bake cheesecake. Remove 2½ cups batter. Using the Juniper icing color, tint the removed batter light green. Separately place the white and green batters into two separate glass measuring cups with spouts.
Pour a small amount white batter into the center of the crust-lined pan. Pour a small amount of green batter into the center of the white batter that was just poured, allowing the batter to travel to the edges of the pan without stirring. Continue pouring batter into the center of each previous pour, alternating colors, until all the batter is used/When pouring, make sure to decrease the amount of batter poured each time.
Make a water bath by placing the springform pan on a jelly roll or cookie pan. Fill the pan with about a 1/2 inch of water.
Bake at 300ºF for 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, or until the center of cheesecake jiggles only slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make Sugared Cranberry Topping.To make sugared cranberries, combine 1 cup of granulated sugar and ½ cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the warm syrup over the cranberries and chill 1½ hours, or up to 12 hours. Drain cranberries.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar with sprinkles. Working with about ¼ cup of cranberries at a time, roll the cranberries in sugar then spread them out on parchment paper to dry.
Top the cheesecake with the sugared cranberries. Garnish with fresh herbs (rosemary, sage and thyme), if desired.

Notes

How To

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