Monday, July 11, 2011

Orange Mint Cheesecake

Well, I'm here to tell you this may be one of the best cheesecakes I've ever tasted!  It is light and not too sweet, but has just the right amount of sweetness from the fresh orange juice!  The mint flavor was extremely light, and just kind of left a coolness on my tongue afterward.  If you like mint, add way more!  LOL  My husband and I both, are not big fans of cheesecake, but we're both fans of THIS cheesecake! I'll definitely make it again!

This Orange Mint Cheesecake came to me when I bought an Orange Mint plant at our Local Farmer's Market.  Doesn't that sound great!??  Think of the Mojitos.......mmmmmmm!

You know how some cheesecakes, well, MOST cheesecakes crack on the top when you bake them?  MINE DIDN'T!  Am I the goddess of cheesecake??!?!?!?  Perhaps!  ;)  Hee hee!

Allow time for your cheesecake to cool completely before you serve it.  I tried it when it was about room temperature and the flavors were not fully developed and it was just o.k.  Today, fully cooled in the fridge, it was awesome!  HUGE difference!

Ok, you really do have to try this!

You'll notice mine "kind of" has a crust.  I tried it....it tasted delicious, but I did not get the measurements right at all.  You need way more!  I'll try to change it below, but honestly, it really depends on the dish you cook your cheesecake in.  Mine did not cover the bottom of my dish completely at all.  It was spotty.  BUT, it was kind of a fun surprise every now and then!

(Make sure you have a baking type/ramekin dish that fist inside your slow cooker.  Mine fit, but touched the edges and got stuck......with much panicking, my mom and I eventually got it out as it cooled!  Don't scare yourself that way and test it out first!)

Orange Mint Cheesecake

Ingredients:
8 oz. lite Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lite Sour Cream
1 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Juice of 1/2 an Orange (I'm guessing this is approximately 1/4 cup of juice....use fresh, it's worth it!!!)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Zest of 1/2 an Orange
1 tsp. Orange Mint, or just regular mint, finely minced

Crust:
Aprroximately 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
4 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:
In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, flour, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the eggs and orange juice until just mixed in.
(I accidentally added the zest and mint first, and if it happens to you too, no biggie!)
Stir in the zest and mint.

Spray your baking dish that fits inside your slow cooker liner with non-stick spray.
Mix together the crust.
Spread it on the bottom of your baking dish.
(See, I was really short on crust!  Ooops!!  LOL)

Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of your crust.

Place the dish INSIDE your Slow Cooker liner and then pour warm water in the slow cooker so that it comes up about halfway on your baking dish.

Cook on LOW for about 2 hours.  You will know it's done when it is set in the middle and just kind of jiggles a little.  The edges will also pull away from the dish.

WAIT FOR AN HOUR BEFORE YOU EVEN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THIS DISH FROM YOUR SLOW COOKER!!!!  YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF PEOPLE!

After it has cooled some, remove your baking dish from the slow cooker and let cool some more at room temperature.  Refrigerate the rest of the way until cold and then serve!
Enjoy!
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6 comments:

  1. What size dish should be used for this recipe? About what size did you use? I am just asking since I am not sure how much the recipe makes, don't want to have too much batter and not enough pan and vice versa. Any tips?

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  2. Ugh.....well, my dish was approximate 3 1/2"x 6 1/2" and about 2 1/2" deep. Sorry I can't give you much more than that! It was the only dish I had that fit in my Slow Cooker, so I crossed my fingers it would not overflow! I would have just added less of the mixture I guess if there was a problem.

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  3. two questions; do you have have have to use sour cream?
    and is there a way to make this in a convection oven?

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    Replies
    1. Here are some suggested substitutes for sour cream http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodequivalents/a/sourcreamequivs.htm

      I have never made it in a convection oven, so I wouldn't know what to tell you there, sorry!

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  4. bet this would be even better with just a little bit of chocolate swirled through it!

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