CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE TART — Sweetened cream cheese filling is swirled with tart cranberry sauce and baked in a shortbread crust in this easy but elegant dessert that’s perfect for the holiday season.
This beautiful Cranberry Cheesecake Tart is the perfect holiday dessert! It’s simple to make, yet looks beautiful on any holiday table or buffet. With a shortbread-style crust and a sweet and tangy filling, it’s a wonderful alternative to traditional pie.
Of course, if you don’t have a tart pan and don’t want to purchase one, you can also make this dessert in a pie pan and call it Cranberry Cheesecake Pie! For an extra quick and simple pie, use a pre-made graham cracker crust.
As much as I love cheesecake, it can be a bit time consuming and intimidating to make. This tart, on the other hand, take very little time and is so easy.
And with the shortbread crumble topping, you don’t even have to worry about the top of your cheesecake cracking.
But you still get all the delicious flavors you would in a cheesecake, without all the effort. And the sweet cream cheese filling and tart cranberry sauce compliment each other perfectly.
I served this tart for Thanksgiving and it disappeared well before all of the pies and other desserts! And it can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated until serving. Always a plus during the busy holiday season.
I’m already thinking about transforming this recipe into a blueberry tart for the summer! Or maybe raspberry! Or mixed berry….there are so many possibilities. In fact, this recipe reminds me of my White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, which is another winning recipe.
This would also be a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner–because there is always leftover cranberry sauce.
And if you have leftovers of this tart, they’ll keep for several days in the refrigerator. I wouldn’t plan on leftovers though, because this cranberry dessert was a huge hit! Be prepared to get requests for the recipe.
If you’re looking to serve an easy but elegant dessert this holiday season, then this Cranberry Cheesecake Tart is the recipe for you.
Be sure to save this Cranberry Cheesecake Tart recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Cranberry Cheesecake Tart
- Produce: cranberries, oranges
- Sugar
- Orange juice
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Eggs
- Vanilla
Cranberry Cheesecake Tart
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter cut into cubes
For the cranberry sauce
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup orange juice
For the cheesecake filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch tart pan.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Press the mixture into the prepared tart pan and place the pan on a baking sheet. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture for topping the cheesecake. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, start the cranberry sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has thickened, 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture in and even layer into the partially cooked crust. Dollop the cranberry mixture over the cream cheese. Swirl cranberry sauce into the cheesecake with a skewer or sharp knife.
- Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the cheesecake and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cheesecake is just set and the edges are golden.
- Cool on a wire rack before transferring to the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
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Who Dished It Up First: Adapted from Amy’s Delicious Mess
1 comment
Ena
Can you use frozen cranberries?