This recipe is the combination of two thing I love at this time of year, Christmas Cake and Baked Cheesecake. Despite the business of the festive season I had a crazy idea of combing my two cake loves into one amazing cake and set about developing the recipe.
Christmas Cake Cheesecake recipe was born.
The short version of this post is that if you love the taste of traditional fruit cakes or fruit mince pie and love baked cheesecake, then you must try this recipe.
Warning: it's addictive.
It's so addictive that I wanted all my friends to enjoy the taste experience, so I'm sharing the recipe with you.
Christmas Cheesecake
For those who like a good backstory, this festive love match came about while I was planning what to have as a sweet course for my Christmas lunch. I tossed up between traditional Christmas cake (as puddings are not my thing) and my all-time favourite baked cheesecake.
Its December and I was ready for boiled fruit cake as it was one of my triggers to feeling like Christmas was finally here.
During most of my childhood Christmas was spent with my grandparents in the Riverland in SA. During Christmas, Nanna always had a boiled fruit cake on a glass cake stand and we children were allowed a piece after our evening meal as a special treat.
My recipe, for Boiled Fruit Cake, is perfect for those who are not long-range planners ( AKA Me) and need Christmas cake today to take to a gathering. Fruity, with a good hint of booze (for me, it has to be sherry, but you can add the tipple of your choice. It's a light and more cake-like than dark solid traditional fruit.
However if full-on fruit cake is what you want, and you still need a cake today, then my Traditional four-ingredient Fruit Cake, which is easy to bake and vegan-friendly, with no butter and eggs, is an excellent alternative as it can be made at the last minute and tastes terrific.
On the other hand, I was craving the cool, creamy, smooth, slightly tanging softness of a classic baked cheesecake with lashings of fresh cream. Perfect on a hot summer's day.
I'd created a just4Me size version of baked cheesecake ages ago. Well, about three recipes, actually. I make them for myself and sometimes share them with friends. But somehow, they never get to be photographed, so sadly I've never shared them on my site.
Sorry as a just t4Me cheesecake is so quick to make and so comforting.
Back to the festive love story. What to make for dessert at Christmas lunch? I thought - Why not make both cakes? Would it be too much food?
I thought, why not combine the two? So I tried it. And it is amazing!
Christmas Cake Cheese Cake was everything my heart was looking for.
The fruity, sweet, boozy taste of Christmas fruits and the creamy, tangy softness of baked cheesecake are all encased in a walnut crumb. No hard impossible-to-cut biscuit base.
With a nut crumb instead of biscuit base it is gluten-free and with less sugar than other options and quick to make. Either oven baked or steamed, this is my new comfort memory of Christmas festivities. (I have eaten more than three in the last few weeks, with a bit of help from my friends.)
In my test bakes I used store-bought fruit mince with the addition of my favourite sherry, Pedro Ximinez.
Christmas Cake Cheesecake
A festive treat that is a mix of the flavour of a traditional fruit cake inside the creaminess of a baked cheesecake. Size for small households in a 15 cm cake. Serve with brandy-flavoured whipped cream for an extra festive taste.
In a small bowl, mix the fruit mince with sherry and set aside. This step can be done well in advance but at a minimum of about 15 minutes before use.
Preheat oven to 180 C non-fan. (160 C fan)
Grease the cake tin and add crushed walnuts. Shake the cake tin to coat all sides evenly.
Let any excess of the nuts settle on the bottom
In a food processor or large bowl, beat cream cheese, crème Fraiche and sugar for several minutes till evenly combined.
Add eggs and beat again for serval minutes till smooth, creamy consistency.
Add cornflour and beat again till well combined – several minutes.
Pour into the prepared tin, then pour the fruit mince mix, spreading it evenly around the cake tin as you pour. Use a knife to mix the fruit mince mixture gently through the cheesecake batter. The fruit mixture will settle to the bottom during baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Check at 40 minutes. The cake should have a slight wobble in the middle.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin, then chill in the fridge for several hours.
Serve with thickened cream.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 2
- Yield: 6 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Modern Australian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Filling
200 g (half a jar) of store-brought fruit mince – I use Robinson’s
1 tbsp Sherry
Lining for tin
30 g walnuts finely crushed
Oil or butter for greasing
Cheesecake
250 g cream cheese
130 g crème fraiche or thick pouring cream
80 g sugar
2 eggs
10 g cornflour
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix the fruit mince with sherry and set aside. This step can be done well in advance but at a minimum of about 15 minutes before use.
Preheat oven to 180 C non-fan. (160 C fan)
Grease the cake tin and add crushed walnuts. Shake the cake tin to coat all sides evenly.
Let any excess of the nuts settle on the bottom.
In a food processor or large bowl, beat cream cheese, crème Fraiche and sugar for several minutes till evenly combined.
Add eggs and beat again for serval minutes till smooth, creamy consistency.
Add cornflour and beat again till well combined – several minutes.
Pour into the prepared tin, then pour the fruit mince mix, spreading it evenly around the cake tin as you pour. Use a knife to gently mix the fruit mince mixture through the cheesecake batter. The fruit mixture will settle to the bottom during baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Check at 40 minutes. The cake should have a slight wobble in the middle.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin, then chill in the fridge for several hours.
Serve with thickened cream.
Notes
This recipe makes one 15 cm round cheesecake. You need to use a deep springform cake tin and ensure that your cake tin does not leak. If unsure, line the tin with baking paper rather than do the nut crumb. Or use a solid tin and nut crumb, chill the baked cake for several hours before turning it onto a plate and then flipping it on the serving plate.
Keywords: boiled fruit cake , cheesecake Christmas baking
Please try it and let me know what you think.
Happy Festive baking!