Welcome to the Polyphagous Dragon!

Hearty greetings from the Rainbow Dragon to all visitors to my digital kitchen in the blogosphere!

As my blog title suggests, these pages contain a wild mix of recipes which sample a wide range of flavours and cultures. I won't even try to apply an over-arching theme to this project other than to say that every dish is about creating good food!

The Polyphagous Dragon offers multiple options for site navigation in the sidebar panels. Use the Contents box to search for recipes by dish type, the Blog Archives to search for a specific recipe by title or the Ingredients Index to pull up all recipes that feature a particular ingredient. See also my Cooking Philosophy notes for further insights.

Add to Technorati Favorites Wassail!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Chocolate Orange Cranberry Cheesecake

This is a variation on my Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and a favourite flavour combination for the Yule season.

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/3 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 2 lbs. cream cheese
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • zest of one large orange
  • 3 oz. orange liquer such as Cointreau
  • 8 oz. fine bittersweet chocolate, melted
  • 3 cups fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup water

Directions:

To make the crust:

Combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter.
Press onto the bottom of a greased 9 or 10 inch round springform pan.
Bake for 8 minutes at 350 F.

To make the filling:

Beat the cream cheese until soft.
Add 1 cup sugar and corn starch and beat until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Beat in sour cream, orange zest and liquer, then melted chocolate.
Pour filling over crust and bake at 350 F for 75 minutes (or until set).
Allow to cool completely (8 hours) before garnishing.

To garnish:

Heat water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.
Add cranberries and bring to a boil.
Continue boiling gently until cranberries pop (approximately 5 minutes).
Remove cranberry sauce from heat and allow to cool but not set.
Spread cooled cranberry sauce evenly over top of chilled cake.
Refrigerate until sauce is set.

To serve:

Carefully remove cheesecake from springform pan and place on serving platter.
Enjoy with many friends!

No comments: