Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Tart

Christmas Day is past and our memories are filled with festive gatherings, delicious foods, and generous gifts. As we sort and put away Christmas decor and supplies, its also a time to consider what foods were favorites and which recipes were 'keepers'.
I made a new recipe for dessert at our family gathering. Everyone likes cheesecake and cranberries, and I like to make tarts with the pan I sometimes forget I have. (blog of March 22, 2013 for a savory tart). I have also made a  strawberry tart with a chocolate crust, but haven't blogged it yet. So the Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Tart recipe sounded like the perfect dessert for Christmas dinner, and it was. It will be a 'keeper' recipe.

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Tart

Ingredients:

1 (9-oz) box chocolate wafer cookies (I didn't find these at our store, but purchased a package of store-brand chocolate sandwich cookies and scraped out the filling. A 15 oz package yielded 9 oz of wafers)

6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into 6 pieces

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup sugar + 2 tablespoons

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I used 1 ½ packages of lite cream cheese)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 (8-oz) container (1 cup) sour cream (again, I used lite sour cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon lemon zest

2 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 11-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. 

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine cookies and butter; pulse until finely ground, approximately 8 times. Using the bottom of a measuring cup (or hands), press cookie crumb mixture into bottom and up the sides of prepared tart pan. 

Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. 

The crust is baked, ready to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine cranberries, 3 tablespoons water, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, and corn syrup; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until cranberries pop and mixture thickens, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

This smells wonderful while cooking. 

Pour cranberry mixture into the container of a blender. Process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of container. Pour cranberry mixture into a bowl. 

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, remaining ½ cup sugar, and flour. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. Add sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, beating until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly into prepared crust. 

A rich creamy mixture

poured onto the crust

Drop cranberry mixture by teaspoonfuls over cream cheese mixture. (if it has thickened while cooling, stir in just enough water to thin the mixture). Lightly swirl cranberry mixture using a wooden pick. Gently place tart on a rimmed baking sheet. 

Bake until set, approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove from baking sheet. Let cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. Lightly cover and refrigerate until chilled, approximately 3 hours. 

If desired garnish with sugared cranberries and sugared rosemary sprigs.