Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake

The Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake came about in the form of a challenge from Matt.  He happens to love the orange creamsicle ice cream pops so the cheesecake challenge really wasn't that far out of left field.  The problem I had the first round or two was that the swirl of orange wasn't packing enough of a punch.  It looked pretty but the cake was really more cream cheesey than orange.  Several iterations later, I finally found a way to pack the orange punch I wanted into the whole cheesecake while still providing the orange swirl that lets everyone know this cheesecake is special.  You will notice the Grand Marnier in the recipe below.  I happen to love cooking with this orange flavored liqueur so you will see it fairly often if you stick around.  It by no means makes or breaks this cheesecake so feel free to leave it out and just add additional orange juice in its place.    You will also notice I use less flour in this recipe than in my basic cheesecake.  I have found the thickening provided from the orange jello when used with the usual 1/4 cup of flour, makes the cake too dry.  





INGREDIENTS:

1/2 a bag of Nilla Wafers, crushed

3 tablespoons butter, melted

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup of Grand Marnier (if you don't want to use this just add another 1/4 cup of OJ)

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon orange extract

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour

1 packet Orange Jello

DIRECTIONS:

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

2.  Mix Nilla wafer crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.  Bake for 10 minutes to let crust set.  Remove from oven and let cool while preparing the cheesecake batter.  

3.  In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Blend in milk, orange juice, and Grand Marnier. Mix in sour cream, orange extract and flour until smooth.

4. Pour approximately 1.5 cups of cheesecake mixture in to a small bowl.  Add in orange jello packet and mix well. 

5.  Add half of the regular cheesecake batter to the springform pan.  Pour half of the "orange" cheesecake batter in to the pan and break up with a butter knife.

6.  Add remaining regular cheesecake batter to the pan.  Pour remaining "orange" cheesecake batter in to the pan and swirl with the butter knife.  

7.  Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours;  Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Notes:  

1.  Make sure that the cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs are all at room temperature when you start. 

2.  Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil in case anything leaks out of the cracks.

3.  Place springform pan in to water bath for baking to help prevent cracking.