Ingredients
8¼ oz graham cracker crumbs
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ tsp salt
orange zest, from 1 orange
1 lb cream cheese, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup yogurt
¼ cup milk
orange zest, from 1 orange
orange juice, from 2 oranges
1 tbsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
2 gelatin sheets
1 cup orange juice, or drained liquid from the canned orange segments, just top it up until you reach 1 cup
10 oz mandarin orange segments, (1 can), drained
3 tbsp orange liqueuer
3 tbsp dried orange peels, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp orange jam, or marmalade
Preparation
Combine all your ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whisk until you achieve the texture of wet sand.
Place your crust mixture into a 9-inch springform cake tin until it covers the bottom and slightly the sides of the cake tin.
Set aside in a chilled area and allow to firm up at least an hour.
Bloom your gelatin sheets by submerging them in iced cold water. Set aside for at least 15 minutes or until pliable.
In a stand mixer, add cream cheese, salt, and sugar. Cream until sugar is dissolved completely and mixture turns fluffy roughly 8 to 10 minutes.
While you are creaming your cheese, heat up your orange juice just until simmering. Either in a saucepot or through 10-second bursts in the microwave on medium heat.
Squeeze as much water out of the bloomed gelatin sheets, add into the hot juice and stir until completely melted. If using a sauce pot to heat the juice, ensure that it’s away from the heat before adding the gelatin.
Add vanilla, orange zest, yogurt, and milk into your cheese mixture. Continue creaming.
While the stand mixer is still running, reduce speed to low and slowly drizzle in your gelatin-orange juice mixture. Continue creaming until evenly incorporated.
Pour your cheese mixture onto your crust.
Cover, then transfer to a chilled area and allow to firm up, at least 6 hours and best if overnight.
Dissolve cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of orange juice. Set aside.
In a saucepot, combine remaining orange juice, sugar, and orange marmalade or jam. Bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer, then stir until sugar has dissolved completely, roughly 3 minutes.
Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and simmer to thicken. Stir occasionally, roughly 5 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat, add your liqueur, orange peels, and orange segments. Stir to combine.
Cool down the sauce until ready to serve.
Once the cheesecake has firmed up, portion your cheesecake accordingly.
Spoon over roughly 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the cheesecake, ensuring that it completely covers. Serve.
