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
  1. Crust:
  2. Combine ingredients
  3. Preheat the oven to 325'
  4. 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.)
  5. Place in the refrigerator while mixing the filling together.
  6. Filling:
  7. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into your graham cracker crust.
  8. 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.
  9. Sour Cream Topping:
  10. Combing and pour on top of the cheesecake.
  11. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate
  12. Pomegranate Topping:
  13. Dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of pomegranate juice
  14. 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.
  15. Stir to cool. Spread over the top of your chilled cheesecake. Chill an additional 2 hours or more.
RECIPE BACKSTORY
This was the dessert I made for my Pom Wonderful Dinner Party. If you're a cheesecake fan and you enjoy pomegranates, this is the dessert for you.