Cranberry Red Currant Cheesecake
This cranberry red currant cheesecake is the perfect holiday cheesecake! It's a creamy vanilla cheesecake with beautiful swirls of cranberry red currant sauce in the middle and on top of the cheesecake creating sweet, tangy pockets throughout each slice.
Cranberry Red Currant Cheesecake
When I was thinking of holiday desserts to make, I instantly thought of something to do with cranberries. I don't know about you, but we have it at every holiday dinner, Easter included. My son and I are really big fans of it even if we mostly just eat it in gel form straight out of the can. Did I just hear a gasp from a reader?
Well, this cheesecake doesn't have the canned cranberry sauce in it, so if it was you who was gasping, don't worry. I cooked the cranberries with some red currant fruit spread to make the sauce. The tart duo go amazing together in the cheesecake.
How to make cranberry red currant cheesecake
We'll need to make this cranberry red currant cheesecake in a few steps.
Cranberry Red Currant Sauce
Make the cranberry red currant sauce. This is going to be used to swirl into the cheesecake for pockets of sweet and tart flavor.
Step 1: You'll start by adding the sugar and cornstarch to your pan. Whisk until the cornstarch is worked through the sugar so it doesn't clump when the liquid is added.
Step 2: Add the fresh cranberries, red currant fruit spread/jam/jelly, and water. Cook until the cranberries pop open and then remove and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Strain to remove the seeds and skins of the cranberries.
Graham Cracker Crust
This crust can be baked or placed in the fridge to chill before adding the cheesecake batter.
Step 3: Add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter to a bowl and stir until the crumbs are coated with the butter.
Step 4: Press the mixture into a prepared 9-inch springform pan. Now bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes or chill in the fridge/freezer until firm.
If you can't find graham cracker crumbs at the store, you can easily grab a box of graham crackers and crush them in the large storage bag with a rolling pin.
Cheesecake
Step 5: Beat just the cream cheese until smooth.
Step 6: Add the sugar to the cream cheese and mix until combined.
Step 7: Beat in the eggs one at a time just until they're worked into the cream cheese.
Step 8: Add the heavy cream, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Beat just until the sour cream and heavy cream are worked into the cheesecake batter.
Assemble the Cranberry Red Currant Cheesecake
Part 9: Pour half of the cheesecake batter on top of the graham cracker crust. Drizzle half of the cranberry red currant sauce all over the top of the cheesecake. Pour the remaining cheesecake batter on top of the sauce. Drizzle the remaining sauce on top of the cheesecake batter. Using a skewer, swirl the cheesecake batter and sauce together.
Part 10: Place in a water bath in the preheated oven and bake for about 90 minutes. It may need longer to bake. Low and slow is the key with cheesecake.
How to Store and Freeze
Store the cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze this cranberry red currant cheesecake, let it cool completely after it's baked. Place the cooled cheesecake in the freezer until firm. Remove it from the pan and wrap tightly in two layers of plastic wrap. Then wrap the cheesecake in a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer container for up to 3 months.
To thaw the cheesecake, unwrap it, place in an airtight container, and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
I adore this cheesecake! I've shared it with my good friends who are in town because sharing is caring! I thought that it would be hard to get people to try the cheesecake, but it's so pretty that everyone wants to give it a try. It's totally worth the risk because you'll never want to go back to regular cheesecake afterward. I really like the streaks and pockets of cranberry red currant flavor as does everyone else that has tried it.
Recipe FAQs
You can get various well-rated brands of red currant fruit spread on Amazon like this one and this one. You can also find it in the jelly section of some (larger chain) grocery stores.
Yes! Crush enough cookies to have 1 ยผ cups of crumbs and leave the sugar out. Sometimes the extra butter will leak out if you use cookies instead of graham crackers so try reducing the amount of butter by 1 to 1 ยฝ tablespoons.
Yes! Whatever you think will pair well with fresh cranberries.
Other Cheesecake Recipes
Cranberry Red Currant Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cranberry Red Currant Sauce
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- ยฝ cup red currant fruit spread
- ยฝ cup water
Crust
- 1 ยผ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake
- 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ยผ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ยฝ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
Cranberry Red Currant Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, add in the sugar and cornstarch. Stir to combine.
- Add in the fresh cranberries, red currant fruit spread, and water. Place over medium heat and stir. Let cook about 9 - 10 minutes until the cranberries pop open.
- Using a food processor or blender, blend the hot mixture for about 1 minute. (You can skip this step, but I prefer to do it so everything is smooth)
- Using a sieve, strain out any remaining skins or seeds from the sauce. Set aside and start working on the crust and cheesecake. Discard skins and seeds.
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the sides of the 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray. Wrap the sides of the pan with a strip of parchment paper.
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until it resembles wet sand and can be packed down.
- Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you work on the cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake
- In a large bowl, add in the cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until the cream cheese is smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add in the sugar and beat on medium again until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the eggs one at a time until they are all incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium until the mixture comes together. It will be runny.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan on top of the crust. The crust doesn't have to be cooled completely.
- Drizzle about half of the cranberry red currant sauce on top of cheesecake batter. Using a toothpick or skewer, swirl it around.
- Pour the remaining cheesecake batter into the pan. I did reserve about 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter to go on top of the final pouring of the cranberry sauce.
- Drizzle the cranberry red currant sauce evenly on the cheesecake. Drizzle the reserved 3 tablespoons of cheesecake batter on top of the sauce to help break it up. Using a toothpick or skewer, swirl the sauce into the cheesecake.
- Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty tin foil. Place the cheesecake in a slightly bigger pan and fill with 1 inch of water.
- Place in the oven with a tented piece of tin foil over the top of the cheesecake to prevent browning on the top. Let the cheesecake bake for 1 hour 20 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes or until done. To make sure the cheesecake is done, gently give it a wiggle. If it slightly jiggles in JUST the middle like jello, then it's done. If it jiggles all over, it needs to bake longer. Turn off the heat and crack the oven door slightly. Let it cool in the oven for 1 to 2 hours until it reaches room temperature and then place in the fridge to chill overnight.
- Add whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip. Pipe swirls on top of the cooled cheesecake.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)