Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

I have been somewhat MIA lately. It is definitely a busy time of year! But, I have a number of things on my to-make list that I am quite excited about, so hopefully that will change in the near future. But for the first order of business...

One of the things I love about having people over (other than seeing my dear friends and family, of course) is being able to cook/bake dishes that I wouldn't normally make for just the two of us. And an entire cheesecake would certainly fall into the category of one of those dishes that I wouldn't make for just us.

So this past weekend, when H and I, along with MIL, FIL, BIL, and his girlfriend gathered at our place for dinner after picking out our Christmas trees at the farm, I knew I had a chance to make one of those dishes that I had reserved for a larger group of people. I had my favorite beef stew cooking away in the crock-pot, a nice loaf of French bread to soak up the gravy, and for dessert (not to toot my own horn or anything) one of the greatest cheesecakes I've ever had. Seriously. This was just that good.

This recipe was on the cover of my December issue of Cooking Light. I wanted to make it the second I saw it, and I was so happy to finally have the perfect occasion. I probably fattened it up slightly (but not too bad), and I think I made it a bit easier as well. Please note that you will need a large roasting pan for this recipe. The original recipe has you putting a 9" spring-form pan into a 9X13" baking pan, which doesn't exactly work all that well.

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups of chocolate graham crackers crumbs (approximately 6-8 whole crackers)
5 Tablespoons of butter, melted

For the swirl:
1 1/2 cups of cranberries
1/2 cup of sugar
2 Tablespoons of raspberry jam
3 Tablespoons of water

For the filling:
2 1/2 (8 oz.) packages of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of low-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of salt
3 large eggs

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Line the inside and outside of a 9" spring-form pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan, to all the edges. (You can do up the sides a bit if you want, but I just did the bottom.) Bake crust for 8 minutes, and allow to cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325. 

Meanwhile, heat cranberries, sugar, water, and jam in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until cranberries begin to pop. Set aside and allow to cool, for about 20 minutes. When cooled, pulse mixture in a food processor until mostly smooth.

Place softened cream cheese into stand mixer bowl, and beat on medium-low with the sugar until smooth. Beat in Greek yogurt, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition.

Pour cheese mixture over chocolate crust. Spoon cranberry topping over the filling, swirling lightly with a butter knife. Place spring-form pan into large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with about 2" of hot water. Place roasting pan in the oven and bake cheesecake for 50 minutes.

After 50 minutes, it will still be a little jiggly in the center- like a Jello consistency- but that is what you want. Turn oven off, and allow cheesecake to sit in inside with the door shut for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and remove cheesecake from water bath. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Cake will then firm up, and allow you to remove it from the pan with ease. Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Light, original recipe here.