Pomegranate Cheesecake Recipes

POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Using a food processor, grind up the shortbread, almonds and ground cardamom into fine crumbs.
• Pour into a bowl, drizzle with melted butter and toss together with a fork until they are evenly blended.
• Press this mixture firmly into the bottom and partly up the sides of a ten inch springform pan, and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for fifteen minutes. (Bake for ten minutes if you have a convection oven.).
• Remove from oven and cool completely.
• Turn oven down to 300 degrees, and place a roasting pan or baking pan full of water into the bottom rack. (This creates a moist environment in the oven and helps keep the top of the cheesecake from drying out and cracking or becoming rubbery.).
• Beat together the cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended and light and fluffy on high speed. Beat for two minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat for another thirty seconds.
• Whisk together eggs and egg yolks and add to mixture with the pomegranate juice concentrate or pomegranate molasses. Beat on medium speed for about one minute to combine thoroughly. Scrape down bowl and beat for thirty more seconds.
• Pour filling into pan, and place on the center oven rack. Bake for one hour and fifteen minutes (50 minutes if you have a convection oven) until the cake appears golden and set. A tester inserted into the center should come out looking dry.
• Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for eight hours.
• To serve, remove from refrigerator and wipe down the outside of the springform pan with a towel dampened with very hot water. Dip a table knife or icing spatula in hot water, wipe it dry and run it around the interior edge of the pan, loosening the sides of the cake. Unlock the spring, and remove the side of the pan.
• Blend together the juice concentrate and pomegranate spread with a whisk. Pour over the top of the cake, making certain to drizzle some of it artfully over the sides in decorative rivulets.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake thickly with pomegranate seeds, until it resembles a geode encrusted with garnet crystals.
• Serve on plates upon which pools of the pomegranate syrup have been poured, if desired.

POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Prep: 50 minutes.
• Bake: 1 hour, 25 minutes.
• Cool: 2 hours.
• Chill: 4 hours.
• Prepare Pomegranate Sauce.
• Preheat oven to 350°F In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add 1 egg; beat well. Beat in 1 1/4 cups flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate one portion.
• Spread unrefrigerated dough half on bottom of ungreased 10-inch springform pan with sides removed, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto sides to a height of 1 3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula to spread dough.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F For filling, in an extra large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the remaining flour on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, the lemon peel, and 3/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds.
• Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven.
• Stir together remaining sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.
• Remove cheesecake and Pomegranate Sauce from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce.
• *TIP* Spoon sour cream mixture on the puffed edges, then carefully spread toward the center.
• EACH SERVING WITH SAUCE: 490 cal, 33 g fat (20 g sat. fat), 143 mg chol, 246 mg sodium, 42 g carbo, 8 g pro. Daily Values: 24% vit. A, 6% vit. C, 9% calcium. 10% iron.
• Pomegranate Sauce (start to finish: 18 min).
• In a saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling. Reduce heat, boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (10-12 minutes. Stir together brown sugar and cornstarch; add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving. Use to top Pomegranate Cheesecake.
• EACH SERVING: 33 cal, 3 mg sodium, 8 g carbo. Daill values: 5% vit. C, 1% iron.