Ingredients

• 50 gr (1 and 3/4 oz) unsalted butter
• 125 gr (4 and 1/2 oz) cranberry biscuits (Use regular digestive biscuits if you can’t find these. In Holland, LiGa belVita sells these at almost every supermarket)
• 250 gr (9oz) cranberry compote (I used one jar of Ocean Spray’s compote, if you want to make it yourself, see the note below)
• 150 gr (5 and 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 400 gr (14 oz) cream cheese
• 250 gr (9 oz) mascarpone
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp plain flour

Used kitchen appliances

• Oven
• 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin
• Roasting tray
• Tin foil
• Optional: food processor
• Optional: baking foil

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F. Grease the cake tin with butter. You could line the tin with baking foil, to get the cake out of the form more easily.
2. Put the cranberry biscuits in a ziplock bag. Crush the biscuits, either with a rolling pin, or just like me by smashing it on the counter. Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Pay attention, as the butter should not get brown. Add the crumbled biscuits, and stir until they are completely coated in the melted butter. Take off the heat, and place it in the greased cake tin. Ensure that the mixture is evenly distributed, and use the back of a spoon to get all the crumbs together as a solid bottom.
3. Heat the compote in the sauce pan until it starts boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. In a food processor (or a mixing bowl) add the sugar, cream cheese, mascarpone, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and flour. Mix it together until you end up with a smooth mixture without any lumps. Pour it over the biscuit bottom, and spread it evenly.
5. With a spoon, place some drops of the compote on the cake. With a skewer or fork, or any metal object, trace the drops and make swirls (see the photo so you’ll know how it should look).
6. Boil a kettle of water. Wrap tin foil along the sides of the cake tin, so the water will not get to the cake which results in a soggy bottom. Place the cake in a roasting tray, pour in just enough water to reach the cake halfway. By doing so, you’re preventing the cream cheese mixture from cracking.
7. Bake for 40 minutes until set. The cake should still be a bit wobbling by this point. Leave the cake in the oven with the door open for about 1 hour. After that, you can remove the cake from the tin. I would suggest to leave it to cool completely, so the cheesecake is more firm. I completely understand if you can’t wait that long though 🙂

Note: Make your own cranberry compote by combining 2 cups of cranberries with about 3 tablespoons of water, and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a saucepan. Boil the mixture until it starts to thicken. Don’t let it become mushy, but rather leave some whole cranberries in the compote.

You could serve the cake with the leftover compote. This is best if it’s cooled down, otherwise the cake will collapse.

The cake can be stored in the fridge for about 3 days. Honestly, the longer it has had time to set, the better the cake will taste.