Mandarin Orange Cheesecake (Valentine's Day Recipes)

[bholus10]

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.

[bholus10]

Step 17:

And here it is, finally out of the pan.

The orange layer doesn't show up as well in the

picture, but it looks really nice laying on a plate.
The edges are a little rough and ugly, though,

so first we'll cover that up.

[bholus10]

Step 18:

Take your remaining crushed graham crackers,

and press them into the sides of the cake. You

won't get a huge amount of them to stick, just

a thin layer, but it's enough to pretty it up.

Once that's done, it's time to start making the topping.

[bholus10]

Step 19:

Put the 1/4 cup of Apricot Jam and 1tbsp

of Orange Juice in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. (Why Aprocot jam? Because orange would be too overpowering. Apricot has a sweeter, less acidic flavor that won't overpower the mandarin orange slices, or the cake.)

While that's melting, take a moment to drain the mandarin orange slices and pat them dry with a paper towel.

[bholus10]

Step 20:

Once the jam and juice mixture has melted, coat the top of your cheesecake with it. A pastry brush is excellent for this, of course. You could use a basting brush, but be careful with the stronger bristles it has. If you don't have either of these, just pour it on top of the cake and carefully smear it all over the top with a soft rubber spatula, a spoon, or your (clean!) fingers. Don't worry if it drips over the edges.

Once it's well coated with the glaze, start putting the orange slices in concentric circles on the top of the cake.

The slices are really small, but there's a lot of them. It'll be fine. Cover the entire top of your cheesecake with them.

Letting this chill in the refrigerator for at least a half hour before serving will allow the glaze to firm up and really hold the orange slices onto the top of the cake, though it could certainly be served immediately.

Extra Bonus Content! -- Here are a few more ideas that I just came up with right now.

1) Want an extra fancy presentation? Get an extra can of mandarin orange slices, and prepare 1-1/2 times the glaze. Drain and dry them like the others. Put your cheesecake on a platter big enough to serve it on, and arrange the extra slices around the base of the cheesecake. Drizzle the extra glaze on the plate around the cake.

2) Don't want the mandarin orange topping? Try this. Get some chocolate (baking chocolate would be best because of the firmness and size of the chunks, but you can use a Hershey's bar) and put it in the freezer while your cake is in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to make the topping, zest another orange, and shave the chocolate bar. (Using a knife to shave it will yield the best looking results, though you could use the grater.) Liberally sprinkle the top of the cake with the orange zest and chocolate shavings.

3) The mandarin orange topping goes great on plain cheesecake, too. Or try it with other fruit, like strawberries (you can use strawberry jam for this since they aren't really acidic), blueberries, or cherries. You can take the easy way out by using canned pie filling, or make it yourself with fresh ingredients. You can also try other flavors for the cheesecake itself, though this may require more experimentation.

And there you have it! My favorite part of this recipe, by the way? It's pretty cheap. Assuming you already have the basic baking supplies (sugar, ****er, eggs, vanilla extract) and not counting the cost of the cake pan. Blocks of cream cheese can often be had for $1 on sale, and you can use store brand graham crackers. The cost of the whole thing is less than $10, and you will never find a whole cheesecake this good for that price.

Enjoy!