Arizona Sunset Cheesecake
Ingredients
- ==
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup finely pecan meal|ground pecans
- ? cup granulated sugar|sugar
- 1 large egg, separated
- ½ cup butter, softened ==
- 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce or 2 cups cranberry-orange relish
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar|sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice ==
- 1½ cups fresh orange juice
- 1 x 3-inch x 1-inch piece of orange peel (orange part only)
- 4 x 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
- ? cup granulated sugar|sugar
- 1 tbsp grated orange zest
- 2 tbsp cranberry liqueur (such- as Crantasia Schnapps)
- 8 oz white chocolate, melted
- 4 eggs ==
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups Granulated sugar|Sugar
- 3 seedless oranges (unpeeled)- cut into paper-thin slices
- ==
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Working on a large flat surface, such as a pastry board, place flour, pecans, and granulated sugar|sugar in the center of the surface and mix together.
- Form a small depression or well in the center of the mound.
- Add the egg yolk and the softened butter to the well, then blend these withthe dry mixture.
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly using your hands there is no substitute for warm hands.
- Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill for at least 10 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about ¼-inch.
- You should have a circle of about 11 inches in diameter.
- For best results, roll out your dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper, then peel away the paper and cut the crust in a 9 inch circle.
- Place the circle inside a 9 inch spring-form pan.
- Prick the crust several times with a fork to keep the crust from puffing up during the baking.
- Place the spring-form pan in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown.
- Allow to cool. Using the leftover dough, line the sides of the spring-form pan.
- Press the dough against the sides of the pan, smoothing it so as to have a continuous layer of crust all the way around the sides of the pan.
- Make sure that the side crust meets the bottom crust all the way around.
- Brush the reserved egg white onto the shell, covering the bottom and sides.
- This will seal the dough and keep it from becoming soggy.
- Set aside until ready to use. ==
- Mix the Granulated sugar|Sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan.
- Stir in the cranberry sauce.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.
- Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside to cool slightly. ==
- Reset the oven to 350°F.
- Boil the orange juice and piece of orange peel in a heavy medium saucepan until the juice is reduced to 3 Tbsp - about 12 minutes.
- Remove and discard the strip of orange peel and set aside the reduced orange juice.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, Granulated sugar|Sugar, grated orange zest, Crantasia, and reduced orange juice until smooth.
- Beat in the melted white chocolate and then the eggs, beating just until combined.
- Pour the cranberry glaze filling into the prepared crust, spreading evenly.
- Pour the white chocolate filling over the cranberry layer and bake about 50 minutes (the top will be dry and the sides puffed slightly - the center will not be set).
- Move cheesecake to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
- Chill in the refrigerator overnight. ==
- Cover a wire rack with waxed paper.
- Set aside. Combine the water and Granulated sugar|Sugar in a heavy shallow wide skillet.
- Stir over medium heat until the Granulated sugar|Sugar dissolves.
- Simmer 5 minutes longer.
- Add the orange slices 1 at a time and adjust the heat so that the syrup bubbles only around the edges of the pan.
- Cook the oranges for one hour.
- Turn over the top layer of oranges and cook until the oranges are translucent and the orange peels tender, about another one hour longer.
- Lift and drain each orange slice out of the syrup, and arrange the slices in a single layer on the prepared rack.
- Let dry 1 hour.
- Boil the orange-simple syrup|sugar syrup until thick, about 6 minutes.
- Loosen and remove the sides of the spring-form pan.
- Set the cheesecake on a serving dish.
- Overlap the candied orange slices around the top of the cheesecake.
- Reheat the orange syrup, if necessary, and brush over the orange slices.
- Drizzle any remainder over each serving.
- Garnish: whipped cream.
This article uses material from the "Arizona Sunset Cheesecake" article on the Recipes wiki at Wikia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License
