Christmas Cranberry Raspberry Cheesecake
A special dessert for family and friends, with a tart berry bottom layer under creamy cheesecake, offset by a thick layer of sweet white chocolate whipped cream on top. As Zeke said at Christmas 2025, "This frosting is the best frosting I've ever tasted in my life!"
Equipment
- 9" springform pan
Ingredients
Cranberry Raspberry Compote Layer
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fresh orange zest
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs If using whole crackers, pulverize in food processor until finely crumbled, then measure needed amount.
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter If using salted butter, reduce salt to ¼ tsp
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 oz cream cheese softened 2 blocks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups sour cream 1 pint
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
White Chocolate Whipped Cream Layer
- 2½ cups very cold heavy cream divided: 2 cups + ½ cup
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 ounces white chocolate baking bar broken into smaller pieces
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
Instructions
Cranberry Raspberry Compote
- Put all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and combine thoroughly. Bring to a low boil over medium high heat.
- Reduce heat and stir occasionally until fruit mixture reduces to a jam-like consistency. Remove from heat and let cool while making other cake components.
Crust
- Wrap the springform pan in a double layer of heavy-duty foil paper underneath and up the sides of the pan. Butter the bottom and sides of the springform pan, put a 9" parchment round in the bottom of your pan, and butter the parchment round.
- In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients until completely incorporated. (Use your hands to achieve the best results.) The mixture should feel/look like wet sand.
- Pack the bottom and sides of your springform pan with the graham cracker mixture. To make the best compact crust, use a flat-bottomed glass to press the crust on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Put your crusted springform pan in the freezer while preparing the cheesecake layer. This will firm up the crust to keep it together when adding the compote and cheesecake ingredients.
Cheesecake Layer
- Preheat oven to 350℉. In a large oven safe dish, add 1-2" of water and set on the bottom rack of the oven. The cake will bake on the middle rack. The moisture from the water will keep your cheesecake from cracking.
- In a food processor, blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add eggs and flour to the cream cheese mixture and blend until completely incorporated and smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients -- sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt -- and blend again.
Base Cake Construction/Baking
- Remove springform pan from the freezer. Spread a ¼" layer of compote on the bottom of the cake crust. If you have any extra, save for decorating or when serving the cake.
- Very slowly pour the cream cheese mixture directly over the fruit layer, taking care not to disturb the compote; then tap the sides of the pan gently to even out the cream cheese mixture in the pan.
- Bake the cake on the middle rack for 45 minutes (water on lower rack) and then check for doneness. Your cheesecake will be done when you jiggle the pan and just the 3 inches or so in the center still look a bit jiggly. (The cake will finish cooking after you turn off the oven.) If not done after 45 minutes, check every 10-15 minutes for doneness.
- When done, leave the cake in the oven for 60 minutes with the oven door slightly propped open an inch or two.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely on the counter before adding the white chocolate whipped cream layer and refrigerating. If your cake is not completely cooled before putting in the fridge, it will condensate on the top and get slimy.
White Chocolate Whipped Cream Layer
- While your cheesecake is baking and/or cooling, start the whipped cream layer.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups of the heavy cream and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat it until it is thick with just lightly stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.
- In a medium to large double boiler, heat the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream with the white chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a small dish, add the unflavored gelatin and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over the gelatin. Once the gelatin has absorbed the water, heat for 20 seconds in the microwave and then fully incorporate into the white chocolate/cream mixture.
- Add about 1 cup of the whipped heavy cream to the white chocolate mixture and thoroughly combine. Gently fold another cup of whipped heavy cream into the white chocolate mixture, and repeat until all of the whipped cream has been used. It is important to be gentle while folding in the whipped cream so you don't deflate your white chocolate whipped cream.
- Transfer half of your white chocolate whipped cream to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip, and store the piping bag and bowl of whipped cream in the refrigerator until your cheesecake has cooled to room temperature.
- When your cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, you can top it with the half of the white chocolate whipped cream that is not in the bag. The layer will be over 1" thick. Smooth it out to create a nice finish.
- The cake will need to cool in the refrigerator lightly covered (with venting) for at least 8 hours, but overnight is best.
Finishing
- Once your cheesecake has completely chilled and set, you can remove the outer form from the springform pan, place your cheesecake onto a serving platter, and pipe the remaining white chocolate whipped cream around the top edges for a beautiful finish. Garnish the center with extra compote, sugared fruit, and/or other decoration.
Notes
The bulk of this recipe was highly modified from https://passthedessert.com/christmas-cheesecake/.
The image for this recipe was borrowed from the original author of this recipe and will be replaced the next time I make this recipe.
