Cranberry Crown Cheesecake

I made this cake a week ago Thursday.  My friend, Linda, took it to the Interfaith Community Services (my favorite charity) staff Christmas party, and I understand that it was well received.  I left the ladyfingers a bit too long, so they really wrapped around the filing.  After I’d delivered the cake, I wished that I’d piped whipped cream along the overhang.

I had to make the ladyfingers twice.  I couldn’t understand why the first batch was so flat when they came out of the oven – then I remembered that I hadn’t added the flour.  I toyed with the idea of late night store run to buy ladyfingers, but decided making a second batch would be faster.

After two batches of ladyfingers, the cheesecake itself was a snap to put together – a little cream cheese and a lot of sour cream.  Linda did save me a slice of the cake, but we didn’t see each other until Monday, so I can only describe the four-day old version of the cake.  The ladyfingers played a lovely supporting role, other than visually, they were barely noticeable, contributing little to the texture and flavor.  The filing was very cheesy considering that the cheese to sour cream ratio was 2:3.  The texture was not as creamy as I had hoped for, but I suspect that it was because of the age.

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don’t post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group’s baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted join in.

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.