Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

Cranberry Swirl

• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup whole fresh cranberries

In a small saucepan, stir together the water, sugar, and cranberries. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring frequently as cranberries burst. When mixture has thickened, remove from heat.

Transfer mixture to a fine sieve. Press mixture through sieve with back of a spoon, or process mixture through a food mill; discard cranberry skins. Cover cranberry purée with plastic wrap; set aside.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, about 8 crackers
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Process graham crackers in a food processor or blender to yield 1 ¼ cups crumbs.

In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and chopped cranberries until crumbs are moist. Press mixture into bottom of a springform pan. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes; set aside to cool.

Filling

• 3 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl of an electric mixer, blend cream cheese, sugar, and flour at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined, but do not overmix. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan.

Stir reserved cranberry purée and spoon purée onto cheesecake in various spots. Swirl gently with a small spatula or knife.

Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake 25 to 35 additional minutes until center of cheesecake is set, but still soft. Turn off oven, open oven door, and cool cheesecake in oven about 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, cool 1 hour on a wire rack, and run a sharp knife around edge of cheesecake. Release outer band of springform pan and remove.

Transfer cheesecake to a serving plate. Cover loosely and refrigerate several hours or overnight. With a metal spatula, gently loosen and transfer chilled cheesecake from bottom of springform pan directly onto serving plate, if desired.

Recipe makes one cheesecake.