Brandied Cranberry Sour Cream Cheesecake

um-um-good's Note:

LCBO Food & Drink 2008 recipe. They're description says, "This is a cheescake fanatic's dream come true." Can't wait to find out! (May use fresh/frozen cranberries.)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

CRUST

• 3 ½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2⁄3; cup unsalted butter

CRANBERRY TOPPING

• 340 g cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 2⁄3; cup water
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons brandy

CHEESECAKE LAYER

• 3 (225 g) packages cream cheese (NOT low-fat)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs , room temperature

SOUR CREAM LAYER

• 2 cups sour cream
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. CRUST.
3. Stir all ingrediants together until crumbly. Press into the bottom and to the top of the sides lightly greased 9" springform pan. Place on a baking tray & bake for 10 minutes. Then cool while preparing other ingrediants.
4. CRANBERRY TOPPING.
5. Simmer all ingrediants over Medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most cranberries "pop", about 20 minutes. Cool, then chill completely.
6. CHEESECAKE.
7. reduce oven to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese until smooth & fluffy. Gradually add sugar while beating, scrape sides often. Beat in cornstarch & vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, scraping well after each addition. Scrape into crust (only will go 1/2 way). Bake 30 minutes.
8. SOUR CREAM LAYER.
9. Stir sour cream, sugar & vanilla to blend. After cheesecake has baked, remove CAREFULLY & GENTLY dollop sour cream layer on cheesecae. Spread until even & return to oven for 30 minutes. (Mine took an extra 5-10 minutes to set.).
10. Chill overnight before garnishing.
11. To garnish, spread cranberries over top of chilled cheesecake & chill until ready to slice.

Reviews

[elliotts]

I am by no means an expert cheesecake maker.....but I AM an expert cheesecake TASTER! And this recipe made me look like a pro and is by far one of the best cheesecakes I have ever made AND TASTED! I would recommend using the richest sour cream that you can find (Western brand makes one that is 30%), and I would also recommend using a couple of the Western brand cream cheeses (2 of the 3 required) - just adds to the taste. Very important for the consistency for items to be at room temperature, and important to let it chill/set in fridge long enough - so don't skip those parts. And I did not have brandy in the house so I used Chambord (black raspberry liquer - mmmm!) instead and that combined with the cranberries was so yummy! This recipe may become my go-to dessert recipe that I call my own! You won't be disappointed.