Orange Cheesecake with Candied Kumquats
A luxurious cheesecake infused with fresh orange and topped with candied kumquats. This elegant dessert features a vanilla wafer crust and a creamy orange-scented filling, crowned with translucent candied kumquat slices and finished with a citrus syrup.
Ingredients
- •2 cups water
- •2 cups sugar
- •1 whole vanilla bean
- •9 ounces kumquats
- •2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
- •⅓ cup golden brown sugar
- •6½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- •1 cup fresh orange juice
- •1 cup sugar
- •2 tablespoons orange peel
- •32 ounces cream cheese
- •1 cup sour cream
- •3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- •¼ teaspoon salt
- •5 whole eggs
- •room temperature
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add kumquats; reduce heat. Simmer until kumquat slices are translucent, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; cool kumquats in syrup. Strain kumquats, reserving syrup. Combine kumquats and 1/4 cup syrup in small bowl. Return remaining syrup to same saucepan; boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 8 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover separately and chill.
45 min
- 2.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine cookie crumbs and brown sugar in medium bowl; add 6 tablespoons melted butter and stir until crumbs feel moist when pressed together with fingertips, adding remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter if mixture is dry. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake crust until set and edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool crust in pan on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
35 min
- 3.
Wrap 4 layers of heavy-duty foil tightly around outside of pan with crust to make pan waterproof.
5 min
- 4.
Combine orange juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and orange peel in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Chill until cool.
25 min
- 5.
Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until smooth. Mix in sour cream, flour, and salt. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in cooled orange juice mixture. Pour filling into crust; place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan.
15 min
- 6.
Bake cake until just set in center, about 1 hour 35 minutes. Remove cake from roasting pan; remove foil. Place cake directly in refrigerator and chill overnight. Arrange kumquat slices atop cake, covering completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Tent cake with foil and refrigerate.
95 min
- 7.
Remove pan sides; place cake on platter. Cut cake into wedges; drizzle some kumquat syrup over and serve.
5 min
- 8.
The KUMQUAT SYRUP is perfect with the cake-but don't stop there. It's also yummy drizzled over vanilla or coffee ice cream or in a cup of tea, a glass of club soda, or even a vodka Martini.
