Monday, March 09, 2009

Blood Orange Cheesecake


Everyone has their favorite go-to recipe. It tends to surface around special occasions and has been around for as long as they can remember. It's probably won them a few friends, helped to keep a few more, and is the most requested recipe by these friends. It is fail-proof, flexible, and--sigh--fattening.


I recently realized that this perfectly describes my citrus cheesecake recipe. It's absolutely my 'go-to' recipe. I've been making it for over ten years now and it has served probably hundreds of people at countless celebrations: graduations, baby showers, and birthdays galore.
Why on earth I haven't shared it with you yet is beyond me! Please forgive the delay--I haven't been holding out on you on purpose, really--and be sure to give this cheesecake a go.

My last post was so epic, I'll keep this one short and sweet.


Feel free to use whatever citrus you have on hand in this recipe I made this cheesecake with blood oranges, which are in season right now, but it's also lovely with limes, lemons, or clementines.

Blood Orange Cheesecake
makes a 10-inch round, serves between 8 and 16, depending on how generous you are.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter

Filling:
675 grams cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
zest and juice of one lemon
zest and juice of one blood orange (or regular orange)
5 large eggs, room temperature

Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
juice and zest of one blood orange
1/4 cup sugar


Preheat oven to 350F.
For the crust, melt butter and add to crumbs. Mix well and press into a ten-inch springform pan. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until slightly golden. Cool.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, citrus zest and juice. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition, but not too vigorously. Pour over crumb crust and bake for about 40 minutes. Middle will still be slightly jiggly.

Remove from oven and run a sharp knife around the sides, but do not remove ring. Cool 15 minutes on the counter.

Meanwhile, prepare topping. Combine sour cream, citrus zest, citrus juice and sugar. Pour over slightly cooled cheesecake and let stand for half an hour at room temperature.
Chill completely. Remove ring and serve.

49 comments:

Maria said...

Beautiful dessert. No wonder that is your go to! It sounds amazing!

Lo said...

Gorgeous! And so seasonal. I'm totally salivating, and I DID have breakfast this morning! Really.

What do you do when blood oranges get scarce?

abigail @ Paper and Cake said...

i have one word.... mmmmm.

is that a word? it should be. can cheesecake be mailed? because i would like your leftovers, please?

CookiePie said...

Oooh - that is GORGEOUS!!!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Ooooh, that looks lovely. I especially like the segments decorating the top. No wonder this is a favorite recipe.

Anonymous said...

I can practically taste the hint of citrus in this. YUM! It looks so creamy and delicious.

Peter M said...

Indeed I'll trade you for a wedge of this cheesecake.

The plate has also hypnotized me!

Aimée said...

Hi Maria- You can borrow it if you need a 'go to'!

Hi Lo- I generally use lemons and naval oranges.

Hi Abigail- Hmm, don't think it would ship OK, but you can make this!!

Hi Cookiepie- Thanks.

Hi Lynn- It's proven itself over and over.

Hi Kristen- That it is. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Mmm this look sooo good! Are blood oranges in season now? I bought a 3 lb bag the other day and was wondering what to do with them. Now I know!

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

I think I have a similar round plate to yours! Love the blood oranges with this. I'm sure the tartness of the blood orange cuts to the sweetness of the cheesecake! Yum.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

I love blood oranges and the way you decorated this is beautiful too.

Anonymous said...

These looks and sounds very delicious!

pigpigscorner said...

This looks amazing! so pretty and sounds really delicious.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I love cheesecakes. That's a beautiful one you made.

Aimée said...

Hi Peter- Agh Twitter spilling onto the blog! This could get confusing.

Hi Lisa- Yep. They make a pretty salad, too, slices and dressed with some shaved fennel.

Hi Shari- Actually the oranges are pretty sweet themselves, but the dessert it not overly sweet.

Hi Linda- Thanks! it's simply done, but effective.

Hi Suesse- Welcome to UtHC! Thank you for stopping by.

Hi pigpigscorner- Nice of you to stop by and leave a comment. Welcome!

Hi Helene- We're huge cheesecake fans around here, but not everyone feels the same way! Glad you do!

Anonymous said...

I'm not a cheesecake lover, or much of a baker either, but this cake looks so beautiful and delicious that I'm tempted to try it.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

So, you've been holding out have you? What else (yummy) haven't you shared with us? LOL!

Looks really good. Love how you added those little slices of blood orange. That red is something else!

Thank you for sharing!
~ingrid

Anonymous said...

Ooo, I just have to make a cheesecake now... since you're much too far to share yours with me.

Treehouse Chef said...

This looks so beautiful and delicious!

Elyse said...

This recipe looks absolutely delicious! I want it to be my go-to recipe, too!! How fabulous the layers of crust, cheesecake and sour cream topping look. So elegant and delicious and creamy!

Culinary Wannabe said...

The layer of topping sounds delicious and I've never seen anything like that done before. We love limes around here, so I'm marking that version to try for sure.

Patricia Scarpin said...

It looks light as a feather, Aimée! And you know I'm a sucker for anything citrus... :D

Lucy said...

Your cheesecake looks delicious - what a fabulous go-to recipe! My go-to recipe is lemon meringue pie - its something about citrus!

Anonymous said...

One of your go to recipes was for cheesecake and you have been holding out on us?! I am a total cheesecake fanatic and will being making this asap.
Thank you :)

Siri said...

Wow, beautiful! And I was on the hunt for a great dessert recipe to use my bag of blood oranges on. Thanks! Lovely photos, too!

Thistlemoon said...

That looks absolutely gorgeous! I really miss blood oranges, I used to be able to get them when I lived in New England, but have yet to find them in Florida.

Aimée said...

Hi Lydia- I wasn't a huge fan before this one...just to say.

Hi Ingrid- I've still got plenty to offer, don't worry!

Hi Haidi- The kids will thank you. I hear Marley is a fan.

Hi Treehouse Chef- Thanks!

Hi Elyse- I'm happy to share it!

Hi culinarywannabe- Lime would be amazing.

Hi Patricia- I thought you'd like this one!

Hi Lucy- Mmm, I'm due for a LM pie.

Hi Michelle- Forgive me, OK? :)

Hi Siri- Thanks for stopping by UtHC!

Hi jenn- Really? I find that surprising. Isn't Florida like the orange state or something? You could probably grow your own!!

Peabody said...

Yum. I love blood orange, and in a cheesecake no less!

Melissa said...

So beautiful. Blood oranges are such a rare find done here-but when I find them, I will keep this recipe in mind.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Oh, yummy....

kickpleat said...

it's been YEARS since i've eaten cheesecake...i think i've got to get back on the cheesecake wagon. looks beautiful, as always.

Emily said...

Can I hug you?! This looks so amazing! I've never made a cheesecake so beautiful. I'm trying to figure out how much cream cheese you used. 4 (8-ounce) packages? It's very tall.

I'm disappointed I haven't seen any blood oranges this year.. I love them so.

missweb said...

I set out and made this puppy last night. It's sitting in my fridge now and I can't wait to try it. I really hope it turns out!

vanillasugarblog said...

I am always looking for new ways to use those gorgeous blood oranges. this is perfect.

Aimée said...

Hi Peabody- So many fans of the blood orange. Who knew?

Hi M. Housman- Really, it's fabulous with any citrus.

Hi Cheryl- Thanks for dropping by!

Hi Kickpleat- Seriously? Yep, you gotta try this one.

Hi Emily- Thanks!! A little over 2 pkg. They are 250g each, so two is 500g, and I used 675g.

Hi Missweb- So?? Hope it came out nice...but I know it did.

Hi Dawn- Thanks for stopping by UtHC!

il ramaiolo said...

Hey!! che meraviglia!!!
Very compliments!! If you want see me... I follow you! Ciao

Catherine said...

Oh my. It looks lovely! I love the subtle color and the blood orange garnish. I'm definitely adding this to my list.

missweb said...

DEADLY! I LOVE IT!

Shayne said...

what a beautiful cheese cake I love how the red pops on the top of the cake like that

Susan @ SGCC said...

That is one gorgeous cheesecake! Did I mention that I adore cheesecake? Well, I do and I am drooling over yours. It looks like it came right out of a bakery window! Well done!

Deborah said...

My favorite cheesecake recipe has a sour cream topping like this one - but I'm a citrus lover so I will be trying this!!

eatme_delicious said...

This cake looks absolutely stunning! Wow. I can see why you've been making it for the last 10 years. =) I love you put little slices of orange on the top of the cake around the edge.

Melisa Taylor (aka "Dessert Chic") said...

Looks delish! I'm getting ready to make it! I have to improvise, though. I wasn't able to find blood oranges (in Florida, go figure). But I found Blood Orange Juice.
I decided to reduce the juice down to a simple syrup and I am going to flavor it that way. I figure that will make up for the lack of blood orange zest and fresh blood orange juice.
I'm also throwing a little spice in there, and using a cinnamon orange spice tea (ground to a powder with my magic bullet) and putting it in the graham cracker crust. :)
I'll let you know how it comes out!

katie said...

Hey i made this yesterday and im pretty confident your directions are incorrect.

First there is sour cream listed in the filling ingredients but it is never added in the directions. additionally there is just no way that the cake pictured was made with that ingredient list in a 10in spring form. Thats just under 3 bricks of cream cheese. I made mine in a 9.5 so mine should have been taller than yours but mine came out about 1.5 inches tall. are you sure on that pan? 8 inch seems more likely to turn out as pictured.

Ronnie Danger said...

Hello,

I stumbled upon your blog while doing research on blood oranges for class my project. Im in culinary school and for my first phase ending project im adding your cheesecake as part of my project! Thank you!

Ronnie
(cookingschoolreject.blogspot.com)

sandy said...

Could someone write his recipe without all the pictures. Would like to print it out but don't like using all the paper and ink that it would take to print everything. Thanks.

Karin@yumandmore said...

I made a version of this inspired by your recipe and linked back to you!
http://www.yumandmore.com/2013/03/cheesecake-aganza-part-1-blood-orange-cheesecake/

yanmaneee said...

adidas tubular x
kyrie shoes
balenciaga shoes
air max 97
kd shoes
timberland outlet
fila shoes
air max
lebron shoes
jordan retro

sheau said...

advice review that site look at more info these details Valentino Dolabuy

ShareThis

Blog Widget by LinkWithin