Blood Orange Cheesecake Squares

We’re rounding out winter, and nearing the end of citrus season. Admittedly, Sumos are my favorite by far of the seasonal choices. I find blood oranges too tart to eat on their own, but I love using them in other things (salad dressings, desserts, etc.). I wanted to do a seasonal dessert. One of my “culinary goals” for 2019 was to try grow and new techniques. My first trial was making a gelee. I love tart or interesting flavored gelees are paired with a rich bites of dessert or appetizer. I also thought gelee was hard to make. Turns out it is not.

I made these a year ago for a family dinner for my mom’s side of the family, in celebration of my mom and brother’s birthdays. I skipped the candied blood orange slices that Cooking LSL included in their recipe – it just seemed a bit fussy to me. I also needed to cut these into smaller portions (smaller than the circumference of a blood orange), as they would be served alongside bite-sized chocolate dessert which I’ll also share at some point.

The tart citrus was such a good offset for the rich and creamy cheesecake. I loved this!

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust:

•  1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
•  3 tablespoons melted butter

For the cheesecake layer:

•  2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
•  1/2 cup sugar
•  1 tablespoon flour
•  2 large eggs, room temperature
•  2/3 cup sour cream
•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 teaspoon blood orange zest

For the blood orange gelee:

•  1/4 cup blood orange juice, from about 3 small blood oranges
•  juice from 1 lime
•  3 tablespoons sugar
•  4 tablespoons water
•  1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin

DIRECTIONS:

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press mixture to the bottom of the baking dish. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then cool completely.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

For the cheesecake:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add sugar and flour and beat for 2 more minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition.
3. Add sour cream and mix until just combined. Add vanilla and orange zest, and mix to combine.
4. Pour batter over the cooled crust and bake for 50 minutes, until the top is set and starting to lightly brown.
5. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool down for 20 minutes inside. Remove from the oven and cool down to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before you add the gelee layer.

For the blood orange gelee:

1. In a small saucepan, combine blood orange juice, lime juice, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1 tbsp cold water. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes, then warm up over a double boiler or in the microwave until it turns liquid.
3. Add the gelatin to the blood orange mixture. Pour over the cheesecake layer.
4. Refrigerate for 2 more hours.
5. Slice into squares and serve.