One Perfect Bite: Cranberry Layered Cheesecake - Away A While Recipe Favorites

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Cranberry Layered Cheesecake - Away A While Recipe Favorites

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I was seduced by its color and because I'm weak, this five layered cranberry confection ended up on my table. I normally don't make desserts that are this involved. As a matter of fact, I rarely make cheesecakes at all. I love them, mind you. I just can't convince myself that the protein packed into all that cream cheese offsets the fat and calories that keep the protein company. The first time I saw this cake was on the table of an accomplished cake decorator. It was gorgeous and its garnet glow snared me before reason could take hold. I made a homely version of the cake, one precious time consuming layer at a time, and thought that would be the end of it. I never dreamed Bob would like it. He did and now I'm dealing with a case of unintended consequences. I'll have to make the cake again. The cake begins with an almond flavored crust that is partially filled with a sweetened cheese custard and then topped with a cranberry filling. The garnet layer is then smothered with the rest of the custard before being topped with sweetened sour cream. The cake bakes a considerable while, and then is cooled and chilled for a considerable while, before a final layer of cranberries crown the cake and decorations of almond whipped cream are applied. It is a lovely tangy cake that provides irresistible color on the holiday table. The recipe was developed by Teri Rasey for Taste of Home magazine. I've made some changes to that recipe and I suggest that in addition to adding salt and almond extract to the crust, you eliminate the ground almonds from the whipped cream. It's also imperative that the cake chill for 24 hours before serving if you have any hope of serving neat slices. This is a very nice recipe and, if you like cheesecake, it will be a great addition to your files. The recipe can be found here.