I love Elegant Orange Blossom Cheesecake with Candied Orange Slices
Elegant Orange Blossom Cheesecake
Submitted by: Sharon Delaney-Chronis
SOUTH MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
From Country Woman magazine--February/March, 2013
·
3 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 60 cookies)
2 tsp. plus 2 Tbsp. grated orange peel. divided
1/3 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 cups orange juice
1/3 cup sliced fresh gingerroot
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
6 oz. white baking chocolate, melted
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
CANDIED ORANGE SLICES:
3 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 small navel oranges. thinly sliced
1. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan. (I used a 10" cheesecake pan, greased with melted butter, wrapped first in a large sized Reynolds baking bag and then double foil over that.)
2. In a large bowl, combine crumbs, 2 tsp. orange peel and butter. Press onto bottom and 2 in. up sides of prepared pan.
3. In a large saucepan,combine orange juice and ginger; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 3 Tbsp. Strain; discard ginger.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in ginger syrup, melted chocolate, vanilla extract and
remaining orange peel. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 70-80 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes ..Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; cool 1 hour longer.
Refrigerate overnight.
CANDIED ORANGE SLICES
6. For candied orange slices, in a large skillet, combine water and sugar. Cook and stir over' medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Add orange slices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 45 minutes or until translucent. Drain oranges on a wire rack; arrange in a single layer on waxed paper to dry.
7. Remove sides of pan. Top cheesecake with candied orange slices. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12 servings.
Caryn's NOTES:
1) For 2 cheesecakes I used about 2-1/4 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice and 2/3 cup of peeled and thinly sliced gingerroot. It took about 2 hours to boil down to the 6 Tbsp needed to make 2 cheesecakes.
2) For baking, I followed my former Cook's Illustrated bain de marie instructions--posted somewhere in detail in some other cheesecake recipe I've listed on this site.
3) For candied orange slices I used 2 large skillets and split the water-sugar mixture between them and put the slices of one orange into each skillet.
Link:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Elegant-Orange-Blossom-Cheesecake
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=204996