CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE PIE

A GORGEOUS HOLIDAY PIE WITH A SILKY CHEESECAKE BASE COVERED IN A SMOOTH CRANBERRY CURD.

SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE | QUANTITY: 1 9” PIE

LISTS

GROCERY LIST:

Homemade Pie Dough (ingredients below) or Store-bought Pie Dough
- 1 stick | Unsalted Butter
- 1 ¼ cups | All-purpose Flour (plus more for rolling out pie dough, about ¼ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons | Unsalted Butter
5 large | Eggs
8 ounces | Cream Cheese
1 ¼ cups | Granulated Sugar
⅛ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
8 ounces | Fresh Cranberries
1 large | Lemon

KITCHENWARE:

9-inch Round Pie Dish
Food Processor
Large Baking Dish & Large Mixing Bowl
Measuring Spoons & Cups, Rolling Pin, Whisk & Sieve (fine mesh strainer)

PREP

Helpful tips!

If you’re making the homemade pie dough, make the night before.
Let butter (for curd only), eggs and cream cheese come to room temperature by leaving out for about 1 hour*.
After parbake, make sure you remove the pie weights or dried beans and parchment paper once it is cool enough to handle. Leaving for extended time will create moisture and sogginess.
The faux water bath will help ensure the cheesecake pie bakes evenly, doesn’t make the pie crust soggy and prevents the cheesecake from cracking. Leaving the cheesecake in the oven with the door propped open for 1 hour will allow the cheesecake to slowly drop temperature and further prevent cracking.

*Dependent on the temperature of your home

BAKE

HOMEMADE PIE DOUGH:

1 ¼ cups | All-purpose Flour
¼ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
1 stick | Unsalted Butter (cold)
3 tablespoons | Water (iced)

CHEESECAKE FILLING:

8 ounces | Cream Cheese (room temperature)
⅓ cup | Granulated Sugar
2 large | Eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon | Lemon Juice

CRANBERRY CURD:

7 ounces | Fresh Cranberries
½ cup | Granulated Sugar
2 tablespoons | Water
2 large | Eggs (room temperature)
1 large | Egg Yolk (room temperature)
¼ cup | Granulated Sugar
¼ cup | Fresh Lemon Juice
⅛ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons | Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

TOPPING:

Handful | Fresh Cranberries
1-2 tablespoons | Granulated Sugar

Start here if making homemade pie dough:

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Cube cold butter into ½-inch pieces and toss in flour mixture. Use your hands to smash the butter into the flour mixture until butter is in flat, flakey pieces.
Create a well in the center of the mixture and add cold water. Use your hands to mix until combined and dough can form a solid ball. If necessary, add additional tablespoons of water as needed ensuring that dough never becomes sticky.
Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and store in fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Start here once homemade dough has rested or using store-bought dough:

Remove dough from fridge. Lightly flour surface and roll out dough into a circle that fits your 9-inch round pie pan, about a 12-inch diameter. Make sure to rotate and flip your dough and re-flour your surface and rolling pin to avoid sticking. Use rolling pin to roll up dough and transfer to pie pan. Cut off overhanging crust, generously prick bottom and sides with fork and crimp edges to create desired pattern or use scraps to create decorations. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425° F and place rack in lower ⅓ of the oven. Once pie dough has chilled, cut a square of parchment paper, about 11x11-inches. Place over pie and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Parbake pie for 15-18 minutes until crust is a light golden brown. Remove and allow to come to room temperature. Remove pie weights or dried beans and parchment paper.
Once parbaked pie crust is cooled, preheat oven to 325° F. Fill a large baking dish with about 1-2 -inches of water and place on the bottom rack of the oven with another rack just above the water bath.
Make cheesecake filling by blending cream cheese and sugar using a food processor until completely smooth and there are no lumps. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice and blend until combined. Filling will be very runny. Pour into pie crust, place pie on the rack just above the water bath and bake for 40-45 minutes until cheesecake is set and barely jiggles but is not loose. Turn off oven, prop open oven door and leave pie in the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven, let come to room temperature and place in fridge.
Once pie is in fridge, make cranberry curd by washing and drying cranberries. Add cranberries, sugar and water into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook while periodically stirring until cranberries have popped open and mixture is thick, about 10-15 minutes. Pour cranberry mixture into food processor and allow to cool down, about 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, blend until completely smooth. Pour smooth cranberry mixture back into medium saucepan and add eggs, egg yolk, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Whisk together until smooth and then slowly bring to a simmer over medium-low heat until thick, about 10 minutes. Once thickened, remove from heat and strain through a sieve using a rubber spatula to push smooth curd through sieve. Let smooth curd come to room temperature.
Once curd is at room temperature, pour over chilled cheesecake, spreading evenly. Return to fridge for at least 2 hours.
Make topping by washing fresh, raw cranberries, leaving slightly damp. Toss in sugar and add on top of pie for decorations.
Enjoy chilled and store leftovers in airtight container in fridge.