Christmas Cranberry Creamy Cheesecake

Heat oven to 325 F degrees.

How to make the graham cracker crust: In a large bowl, using a fork, mix graham crackers, shugá (that’s how I say sugar, wink), cinnamon and butter until well combined and moistened. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add prepared graham crackers, pressing evenly and firmly onto the bottom (using a ramekin or the bottom of a glass). Bake until crust is lightly golden, 8 minutes. Remove to cool.

Decrease the oven to 225 F degrees, opening the door to help drop the internal temperature for a few minutes. Check temperature read with an oven thermometer, once 225 degrees F., is reached, close the door. {Note: this is a very important step, to ensure the oven is at the proper temperature, so the cheesecake doesn’t crack}

How to make the cheesecake filling: in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix cream cheese, shugá, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time until blended. Scraping down the sides and bottom cavity of the bowl, re-mixing until smooth.

Pour cream cheese mixture into the cooled graham cracker crust. Bake until set with a slight wiggle in the center, 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door ajar to vent, leaving the cheesecake inside for 15 minutes. {This step prepares the cheesecake for room temperature, so it doesn’t crack}.

Meanwhile: Let’s work on the cranberry topping. Stir 1 cup shugá and 1 cup water in a 2-quart pot over high heat until dissolved. Bring to a bubble and cook until slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove to cool. This is for the garnish.

Add 3 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cranberries, 3/4 cup shugá, orange peel, fresh orange juice, cinnamon and salt into a 10” skillet over medium heat and stir until the shugá is dissolved. Bring to a bubble and cook until the berries burst, and the sauce begins to thicken, 8 to 10 minutes. Careful it does not bubble over! You can help it along by bursting the berries with a potato masher or with the back of a spoon. Once it begins to thicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and keep stirring until thickened like a jam for about 2 minutes. Do not let the sauce stick!

Remove the cranberry sauce into the blender (with the orange peel) and blend until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on top of the cranberry sauce, so it does not form a skin. Once it cools, refrigerate 5 hours overnight.

Toss and coat 2 cups cranberries into the cooled simple syrup. Cover and refrigerate, 5 hours overnight.

Remove the cheesecake to a cooling rack to fully cool at room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover the springform pan with a clean kitchen towel, not touching the cake, tightly fitting under the pan and refrigerate until completely set, 5 hours overnight. (This prevents condensation from forming and dripping onto the cake).

How to decorate the cheesecake: strain the cranberries from the simple syrup into a strainer, reserving the simple syrup. Bottle it up and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It is great to make cocktails or to sweeten iced tea. Add the sticky cranberries onto a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining, 5 to 6 tablespoons granulated shugá all over them and toss to evenly coat.

Run a butter knife around the perimeter of the springform pan and remove the cheesecake to a cake stand or plate. Stir the cranberry sauce until smooth and evenly spread on top of the cheesecake, using an off-set spatula. Re-toss and shake off the excess shugá from the cranberries and top on the cheesecake. You can prepare this up to 1 hour ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Garnish with mint if you’re fancy and then cut into ten slices.