This beautiful dessert was a delicious ending to our massive Christmas dinner, and well-received by all guests, even those who normally don’t eat cheesecake!

Sadly, my own photo of my lovely cheesecake was so comprehensively awful, I had to pinch one from the internet; I guess I was too busy serving and clearing that I forgot to take a moment to snap some quality pics. But not to worry; I would rather have no photos of a delicious dessert than tons of photos of something that is only *meh* in taste…and this amazing recipe is FAR from meh!  :o)

The original recipe is from Epicurious.com, which I love as one of my favourite repositories of all things complicatedly yummy (heh)

I’ve changed some of the ingredients to suit the taste of myself and my guests, but if you want to see the original recipe without my changes, you can find it HERE.

Cranberry-Glazed White Chocolate Cheesecake

Yield: Serves 12

Crust:

• 5 1/2 ounces shortbread cookies
• 1/2 cup nuts, toasted*
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 8 ounces good-quality white chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 8-ounce packages plain cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons Tia Maria (orange liqueur)
• 4 large eggs, room temperature

Topping:

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Tia Maria (orange liqueur)
• 3 cups fresh cranberries (one 12-ounce package)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel

* You can use any toasted nut, but the best ones are almonds, pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts (I used toasted and husked hazelnuts). If your guests have nut allergies, you can leave them out and add a couple of extra shortbread instead.

Make crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9″ diameter spring-form pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Finely grind shortbread cookies and toasted nuts in food processor.

 

Add melted unsalted butter and process until moist clumps form.

 

Press crumb mixture firmly and evenly onto bottom of prepared spring-form pan.

 

Bake until crust is pale golden, about 8 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling:

In top of double boiler set over barely simmering water, stir white chocolate until melted. Remove pan from over water.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended and smooth. Add sour cream and liqueur, and beat until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in melted white chocolate.

Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake cake until top is golden and puffed and center is set, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool in pan on rack (cake will fall in center). Refrigerate until cold.

Make topping:
Dissolve 1 teaspoon cornstarch in 1 teaspoon liqueur in small bowl; set aside. Combine 1 cup cranberries, 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups cranberries, grated orange peel and cornstarch mixture. Simmer until cranberries just begin to pop and mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Cool. Cover and refrigerate until mixture gels. (Cheesecake and cranberry topping can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Run small sharp knife around sides of spring-form pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Smooth sides of cheesecake with knife. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Transfer cranberries to strainer and drain well, reserving any syrup. Spoon cranberries evenly atop cheesecake. Cut cheesecake into wedges and serve, passing any reserved cranberry syrup separately.