Brown Sugar Cheesecake with Cherry Compote

This looks delish right?? It's soooooo delicious!!!  I've been dying to make this ever since I saw it in my CL and I finally had a chance! We hosted a dinner party around the holidays and this was the perfect opportunity to make this cheesecake.  The gingersnap crust is so tasty and it was great to use up the leftover gingersnaps I had from the apple crisp.

We didn't make any changes to this recipe but you should know--it's tough to make 16 servings, so we had about 10.

The compote made a lot more than you need for the cheesecake. I would suggest using the leftovers on meat (save it for your turkey perhaps??), or put it atop of ice cream (this gal would recommend the oatmeal raisin homemade ice cream a la David Lebovitz).  

As of today's post, 4 people gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5.  I would give it a 5 as well.

Definitely going in the recipe book!

Recipe by Bruce Weinstein, Cooking Light, December 2009

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice cheesecake and about 2 tablespoons compote)

Ingredients

• Cheesecake:
• 1 3/4  cups  gingersnap crumbs (about 30 cookies, finely crushed)
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 1  tablespoon  fat-free milk
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  (1 pound) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1  cup  (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese
• 1/2  cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 1.3  ounces  cake flour (about 1/3 cup)
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  maple syrup
• 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
• Compote:
• 2  cups  fresh cranberries (about 8 ounces)
• 1  cup  shredded peeled ripe pear (1 medium)
• 1/2  cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4  cup  fresh orange juice (about 3 oranges)
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To prepare cheesecake, combine gingersnap crumbs, butter, and milk in a medium bowl; stir with a fork. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 3 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3. Place cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add sugars, beating until well combined. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour to cheese mixture; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, syrup, and vanilla; beat well. Pour cheese mixture into crust. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Turn oven off. Remove cheesecake; run a knife around outside edge. Return cheesecake to oven, and partially open oven door. Cool cheesecake 1 hour in oven. Remove from oven; cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.
4. To prepare compote, combine cranberries and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until the cranberries pop, stirring frequently. Cool to room temperature, and serve over cheesecake.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 272

Fat:10.6g (sat 6.2g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 7.4g

Carbohydrate:37.2g

Fiber: 1.4g

Cholesterol: 55mg

Iron: 1.5mg

Sodium: 320mg

Calcium: 92mg