Cranberry Ginger White Chocolate Cheesecake Squares
I was inspired to do some Holiday baking, now that Remembrance Day has passed and our family is looking forward to Christmas. I thought about the flavours that I love most in a dessert, as well as what would bring some Holiday vibes. My favourite desserts always include white chocolate or cheesecake, so those parts were obvious. I also love ginger, and cranberry adds a perfect tart sourness to counterbalance the sweetness of the white chocolate. These squares turned out better than I hoped they could, and I hope you love them too! They’re a bit more involved than your average dessert, but it’s worth it and they’ll go over very well at any Holiday gatherings you’re attending (or hosting) this season!
Ingredients:
For the cranberry jam:
1 bag of fresh cranberries (about 2.5-3 cups worth)
1/3 cup water
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon)
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp of ground ginger)
For the base:
15-18 ginger snap cookies (I used a gluten free brand)
3 tbsp salted butter, melted (if you only have unsalted butter, also add a pinch of salt)
For the cheesecake: *Note - ensure all ingredients are at room temperature!
2 x 8 oz packets of cream cheese, full fat!
1/2 cup of sugar
1-2 tbsp flour (I used gluten free)
1/4 cup of sour cream
2/3 cup of white chocolate chips, melted
3 eggs
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp of salt
Method:
Start with the cranberry jam, as you’ll want this to cool while you make the rest of the cheesecake squares. Tip your cranberries into a small saucepan with the water and cinnamon (if using a cinnamon stick). The burner should be on medium-low heat, but you don’t want to burn the cranberries, you want them to cook down slowly. So, if they start to sizzle too much or the pan is drying out, turn the heat down to low and add a splash more water. Simmer the cranberries until they burst and begin to resemble a sauce. Add the sugar, and the ginger if you’re using fresh ginger. If you’re using dried spices, you can add them both now. Continue to simmer until you have a nice, thick jammy consistency.
Using any blender, puree the jam. If your blender doesn’t have a vent for hot substances, let the jam cool a bit before pureeing it. Once it is pureed to a smooth consistency, run it through a sieve/strainer. This will ensure your jam is super smooth. If you want to skip a step, you can either run it through a sieve/strainer OR blend it, but please at least do one. Otherwise your jam will be too chunky with the cranberry skins.
When finished, your jam should look something like this:
Isn’t that colour amazing? Allow the jam to cool while you get on with the rest of the cheesecake. Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare an 8 inch square baking pan by greasing it with butter and lining it with parchment paper. Ensure the parchment paper comes up and over the sides of the pan.
For the base of the cheesecake, use a food processor to blitz the cookies and the butter into a fine crumble. The cookies and butter should resemble damp, course sand. Press the cookie mixture into the base of your baking pan and bake in the 375 oven for 10 minutes. When done, turn the oven down to 325.
While the base of the cheesecake cools a bit, make the cheesecake filling. In a stand mixer or large bowl, add your room temperature cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat together on medium-low speed until smooth. It’s important that you don’t beat too much air into the cheesecake. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and whip again for a minute or two until smooth. At this time, add the white chocolate, ensuring it isn’t too warm. Beat in the white chocolate briefly, and then let the mixer run on low speed while you add each egg one at a time. Ensure that you only allow the mixture to run long enough to incorporate the eggs and as soon as the mixture looks smooth, stop the mixer. It’s important that the cheesecake filling not be over-whipped.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan on top of the cookie base. Then dollop teaspoon size blobs of the cranberry jam evenly around the cheesecake. You don’t have you use all of the cranberry jam, this is a matter of taste. If you love the tartness, go ahead and add all of it. If you prefer to be light on the cranberry, that’s fine too. Once you’ve dolloped your cranberry jam in, use a butter knife or skewer to swirl the jam gently into the cheesecake batter. Try not to mix the colours too much, as you’ll want some definition in the swirls. It should end up looking something like this:
Place your cheesecake pan into a larger baking tray with high tops (I use my turkey pan) and then fill the base of the pan with hot water (freshly boiled from a kettle) until it reaches about a centimetre up the sides of the pan. Then place the whole thing in the 325 oven and bake for 45 minutes. When done, the cheesecake should have the slightest wiggle in the centre. It will continue to cook as it cools.
When your cheesecake looks done, open the oven door and prop it open with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes. Then, open the oven door but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another few minutes before removing it. This will avoid cracks in the cheesecake. Let it sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature, and then place the cheesecake in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight to set.
And voila! You should have the most delicious Holiday cheesecake squares! For cutting them, you can either cut them right in the pan (if it’s just you and your family eating them) or you can use the parchment paper to life them out gently and cut into even squares for serving.
I hope you enjoy! Happy Holiday season!