Crumbly Cranberry Cheesecake Pie

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The idea for this cheesecake came about because I had a punnet of cranberries and some cream cheese to use up, so I thought of a cheesecake. Crumble toppings seem to be in fashion and this would give an extra dimension to the dessert.
So, there's a pastry crust, then the cheesecake, the cranberry layer then a final crumble layer.
The cranberry layer has the same consistency as cranberry sauce, so you could use a jar of sauce instead of fresh cranberries.

 Preheat oven 180C/gas4       23cm tart or pie tin

 To make the cranberry filling - put  250g cranberries in a pan with 6tbspn granulated sugar, 1/2 tspn lemon zest, 1 tspn lemon juice and 120ml water. Bring to the boil on medium-high heat, then reduce to simmer for about 10 mins till cranberries are soft; leave to cool.

 To make the crumb base and topping - mix together 175g plain flour, 100g sugar, 1/2 tspn baking powder, 1/2 tspn salt ; add115g butter cut into dice and rub together till breadcrumbs. Take out about 50g crumbs for the topping, and bring the rest together to make a ball.
Press into the base of the tart tin; try to make it even.

 For the cheesecake - put 250g cream cheese in a bowl with 100g caster sugar; beat with electric mixer till light and fluffy. Add a large egg and 1 tspn vanilla extract and beat gently to mix. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the pastry base and spread it evenly.
spoon the cranberry mixture over the cheesecake then sprinkle over the rest of the crumbs.

 Bake for30-35 mins till the topping is golden and the cheesecake filling is set.

 Cool, then put in fridge for about 2 hrs before using. Keep in the fridge.


I didn't spread the cranberry mixture to the edge of the crumb base, but left a border all round. I think I'd make more crumb mixture another time to get a better crumb topping.
 Not sure whether to call this a pie or a cheesecake! We loved the sweet/tart flavour with the cranberries, and the cheesecake is smooth and creamy .A good contrast of flavours and textures.
 An unusual dessert, and a good way of using fresh cranberries.


Comments

Suelle said…
This sounds delicious - I love the idea of cranberries and cheesecake together, and the crumble gives an extra textural dimension. A bit of crunch even if the base softens.
21/1/15 2:42 pm
Jean said…
Looks delicious!
22/1/15 10:39 am
Diane said…
Wow this looks yummy.

Hugs Diane
22/1/15 12:34 pm
Phil in the Kitchen said…
I haven't used cranberries in sweet or savoury dishes for far too long. This sounds lovely.
23/1/15 4:18 pm
The Caked Crusader said…
What a lovely combination of flavours - looks so pretty too
26/1/15 10:40 am
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