Cranberry and orange swirl cheesecake

An amazing cheesecake with a cranberry and orange sauce. Delicious, beautiful and yet so easy to make! With a chocolate biscuit base, good-quality curd cheese and the sweet-tart flavour of cranberry and orange sauce. Just how I like it :).

Ingredients for the base:

• 1 packet of chocolate petit beurre biscuits

Line a 21 or 22 cm square baking tin with baking paper. Arrange the biscuits over the base, fitting them snugly together.

Wrap the outside of the tin twice with aluminium foil – the cheesecake will be baked in a water bath.*

Ingredients for the cranberry and orange sauce:

• 250 g cranberries
• freshly squeezed juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 60 g sugar

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until the mixture comes to the boil and the cranberries begin to burst. Cook for a little longer, just until the cranberries have softened, but do not allow too much of the liquid to evaporate. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve to get a smooth cranberry and orange sauce.

Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:

• 600 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, finely ground three times
• 200 g sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 170 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp potato starch

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and mix until just combined. Do not overmix, as you do not want to incorporate unnecessary air into the mixture. Carefully pour the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base. Spoon the cranberry and orange sauce over the surface in small circles and dots. Using a skewer or the thin end of a teaspoon, gently drag through the centre of the dots to create a swirled pattern.

Bake in a water bath* at 160°C for about 45 minutes, or longer if necessary. The cheesecake should be set and springy on top. After baking, remove the water bath and transfer the cheesecake to the worktop to cool. Refrigerate overnight – this allows the cheesecake to reach the perfect consistency.

*How to bake the cheesecake in a water bath: Place the cheesecake tin inside a larger roasting tin or ovenproof dish. Pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin. The cheesecake is baked surrounded by steam and high humidity. This helps it bake evenly, including in the centre, prevents cracking and gives it a beautifully creamy texture.

Enjoy!