Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 TBSP melted butter

Filling:
4 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs

Topping:
1 package dream whip (prepared as directed)
2 (15 oz) cans mandarin oranges (drained)

Other items needed:
9-inch spring form pan
parchment paper
a large pan or oven safe skillet, large enough that the cheesecake pan will fit inside of (I used the bottom half of my broiler pan because it was big enough and oven safe)

*This recipe takes time, 30 minutes to prep, 1 hour to bake, and atleast 5 hours to chill in the fridge. 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Place a large pan, filled with 1/2 inch of water into the oven while  it preheats.  This is your water bath, which is necessary in order to make a baked cheesecake)

In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and butter, till well blended.  Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom with parchment paper.  Wrap a large piece of tin foil around the outside bottom of the spring form pan to keep the cheesecake dry when placed in the water bath in the oven.  Put the crust in the freezer until the filling is ready to go in.

In a big bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla with electric mixer.  Mix for a few minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture.  Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling into it.  Carefully place the cheesecake into the preheated water bath.  Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for about 50 more minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown. 

Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool.

Let it cool on the counter for about an hour, then cover and place in fridge for an additional 4 hours (or overnight).

Once chilled, prepare dream whip and spread on top.  Then chill in fridge for another hour. 

Place mandarin oranges on top just before serving.

My search for the perfect cheesecake has led me to many, many recipes that were just - ok.  I mean I love a good cheesecake.   There are a lot of "almost"s out there.  The no-bake version is good in a hurry, but the texture and flavor of a baked cheesecake is really the best.  So after a few "ok" cheesecakes, I found and mixed aspects of a couple of recipes to make this one, and TADA!!!!  We have a winner.  I used mandarin oranges on ours just because I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake that has fruit pie filling as the topper.  This had just enough sweet, but not too much.  Perfect for my family.  Any fresh fruit would be good on it though, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries, and I think it would be really good with fresh peaches.  One thing to note when making this though is the amount of time the cheesecake has to chill.  I started it one afternoon late before I realized how long it had to sit in the fridge, so I baked it, then let it sit in the fridge overnight, then added the topping and oranges the next night.  So remember it needs to sit in the fridge for at least 5 hours total before eating it.