A Fall Sweet

If you have a special occasion coming up, you might want to consider making this wonderfully-fall cheesecake.  The orange-flavored cream cheese filling is poured into a ginger-snap cookie crust, baked and then topped with orange marmalade.

The marmalade didn't make the pictures, nor did the slices or crumbs.  It's one of those desserts that causes you to lose some of your senses until it's too late.  You all are lucky I had the where-with-all to snap this one.

There are no fancy ingredients here and while there are three parts to the recipe, they are simple and easy to follow.  If you'd like to remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan, scroll to the bottom of this page to see my tutorial with photographs.  

Cooling before the center sunk.  The center will sink a bit.  That's okay.  It gives you the perfect place to put the topping.

Orange-Glazed Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust (adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002) Yields 12-16 servings (depending on the size of your servings).

Crust:
1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 18-20 small cookies)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:
4 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened (you can use all full fat cream cheese, or all 1/3 less fat or a combination of the two)
1 (8 ounce) carton of sour cream (full fat or reduced fat)
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
2 large egg whites

Topping:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp. orange juice

To make the crust:
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray thoroughly (I like to wrap the bottom of my pan with foil because it sometimes leaks.  You can skip this step if yours doesn't).  Combine the cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp. sugar and melted butter with a fork in a small bowl.  Pour the crumbs into the greased springform pan and spread them gently around the bottom of the pan until it's covered, then press the crumbs down with your fingers.  Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes and then set aside.

To make the filling:
In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.  Add the flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the orange juice concentrate and vanilla, beating well.  Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Pour the filling into the prepared pan (the crust can still be warm).  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center barely moves when the pan is bumped and when the center kind of puffs up.  Let cool for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the outside edge of the pan.  Cool to room temperature, remove sides and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the topping:
Combine the marmalade and 1 tbsp. of orange juice and spread it on top of the cheesecake up to several hours before serving.  Chill cheesecake again until ready to serve and eat.  This freezes very well, by the way.  Just wrap the entire cheesecake well with several layers of plastic wrap and let it thaw overnight in your fridge. Pin It