Pomegranate Cheesecake
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
- Servings: 8
- Crust
- 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 4 - 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- Filling
- 3 - 8oz packs of cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- Sour Cream Topping (btw...this cheesecake as 2....yes TWO toppings)
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- Pomegranate topping
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 cups pomegranate arils
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (more to garnish if desired)
DIRECTIONS
- Crust:
- Combine ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 325'
- Pat on the bottom of a springform pan and up the sides a little. (I like to use the bottom of a glass to get up along the edges....works wonderfully.)
- Place in the refrigerator while mixing the filling together.
- Filling:
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into your graham cracker crust.
- Place in the middle rack in your oven. Pour 1 cup of hot water into a dish on a rack below your cheesecake. Bake for 1 hour, turning the cake 180' halfway through. If needed, add another cup of hot water to the baking dish. This helps prevent big cracks by providing a humid atmosphere within your oven.
- Sour Cream Topping:
- Combing and pour on top of the cheesecake.
- Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate
- Pomegranate Topping:
- Dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of pomegranate juice
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring the remaining 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, orange liqueur and sugar to a boil Stir in the cornstarch mixture and heat, stirring constantly until everything thickens. Stir in the pomegranate arils and orange zest. Pour everything into a bowl and set the bowl inside a larger bowl that contains ice water.
- Stir to cool. Spread over the top of your chilled cheesecake. Chill an additional 2 hours or more.