It’s blood orange season in Australia. The best time of the year since it’s also beginning to look like spring. How bloody amazing are blood oranges! I wish they didn’t have such a short season and I could come up with a hundred recipes. That may be difficult but this one recipe of Blood Orange Cheesecake makes up for everything. It is absolutely DIVINE to taste.
This is a baked cheesecake with a biscuit crust a blood orange infused filling and blood orange jelly on the top made from freshly squeezed oranges. The smooth and creamy filling is balanced out beautifully by the strong citrus notes in the jelly. And for an outcome so amazing, there is barely any effort. All the layers can be made ahead and assembled later. The cheesecake takes a bit of time in the oven (first cooking, then cooling) and you need loads of patience to not slice it already.
Needless to say, if blood oranges are not in season, you could go with regular oranges. The only thing to be mindful of is the sweetness of your oranges. Adjust the sweetness in the jelly as required.
If you love blood oranges, don’t forget to check out my Blood orange Olive Oil Cake
Here is a fabulous Ricotta cheesecake for the cheesecake lovers.
Blood Orange Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch (20 cm) round cheesecake
Cheesecake
250 g digestive biscuits
150 g butter, melted
500 g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 Blood Orange
whipped cream, to decorate
dehydrated blood orange slices, to decorate
Blood Orange Jelly
Freshly squeezed juice of 4 large Blood Oranges (approx 1 cup), strained
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp castor sugar
2 tbsp water
1 and 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease the base and sides of a springform pan and line the baking paper. Use a square sheet of baking paper larger than the base of the pan so there is an excess paper sticking out. This helps to move the baked cheesecake easily when done. Place the springform pan on a baking tray so it is easy to move it in and out of the oven.
Process biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Add butter . Process until combined. Press mixture over base and side of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until combined. Add eggs , one at a time, beating until combined. Add vanilla extract, blood orange zest and juice . Beat for 1 minute. Pour mixture into prepared pan, ensuring there is room on the top for the jelly so it does not overflow from the sides.
Bake for 60-70 minutes or until filling is just set (mixture should be slightly wobble in centre). Cool in oven with door slightly ajar. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before adding the jelly layer.
Make the jelly : Place the juice and sugar in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then remove from heat.
Combine gelatine and water in small bowl. Microwave for 10-20 seconds or until dissolved, then stir into hot juice mixture. Ensure there are no lumps and mixture is smooth. Strain again if required. Cool to room temperature, then pour gently on the top of the cheescake filling. Refrigerate until set (approx 2 hours). Gently release the sides of the cake pan and tranfer the cheesecake onto a plate or cake stand (it should slide off easily due to the baking paper underneath.
Decorate with whipped cream and dehydrated orange slices. Slice and enjoy!
