Mandarin Orange Cheesecake (Cheesecake Recipes)

[bholus10]

Step 11: Now, get the small work bowl with the eggs in it, and whisk in the sour cream. Again, it makes the going easier if you add the sour cream slowly, about 1/4 of it at a time. Once mixed, add the vanilla extract, orange zest, and OJ concentrate, and whisk to combine. Now, add this mixture to the cream cheese, break out the hand mixer again, and mix them together until the whole thing is smooth (will take a couple minutes of mixing).

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Step 12: Now, get your springform pan out, and pour half of the cheesecake mixture into the pan. Yes, half. Smooth it all out with a spatula, and get out the food coloring. Add three drops of red and five drops of yellow to the remaining mixture, and use the hand mixer to mix it all in.

[bholus10]

Step 13: It now should have an orange color: Why not just add the food coloring to the whole thing? Because this way, when you cut into it, we'll get a nice two-layer effect, with the top orange and the bottom white. It's entirely optional, of course, but it looks really nice.

[bholus10]

Step 15:

Carefully pour the colored mix into the pan, and spread it evenly over the first half. Place the whole thing in the oven, and set your timer for 15 minutes.

This is going to take a lot longer than 15 minutes to bake. But, during the first hour, you'll want to open your oven door for a few seconds (to let the heat out) every 15 minutes. This will make the heat "gentler" and reduce your chances of the top of the cake cracking open. Adding 1 tbsp of corn starch will help even more. And if you want to avoid opening the door entirely, put the pan in a water bath. (This means place it in a large pan with about 1/2 inch of water in it. This will soften the heat, and keep the top of the cake moist. Alternately, you can use a baking stone.) If you're using a springform pan, only use a water bath if you have lined the bottom with foil, and have enough extra to fold up along the edges of the pan. Otherwise, water will leak into your cake through the gaps in the bottom of the pan!

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Step 16:

After the first hour has gone by (and you've opened the door four times, now) go ahead and keep the door closed, baking it for one more hour.

I've seen a lot of cheesecake recipes that bake for a much shorter time than this. Trust me, the cake will come out perfect. Also, it may "rise" a bit in the oven -- don't worry, it'll settle back down when it cools.

How to tell when the cake is done? It will be lightly browned around the edges, but stil soft and jiggly in the middle. A toothpick inserted near the edge will come out clean, but near the center will come out with cake batter on it.

And here it is, very slightly brown around the edges (the brown doesn't show up as well against orange), a little wobbly in the center. Carryover will take it the rest of the way.

When it gets to this point, remove it from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for one hour. Do not place it directly in the fridge! The heat that it's hanging onto will finish cooking the middle of the cake, without overcooking the edges. Once an hour has passed, place the cake in your fridge for at least six hours before removing from the pan.