• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Mad about Macarons
  • Recipes
  • French Food Guides
    • All Guides
    • Market Guide (fruit & veg)
    • Best Paris Tea Rooms
    • Food Travel From Paris
    • Paris Pâtisseries & More
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • French Food Guides
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home • Recipes • French Desserts

    Orange Cheesecake with Cinnamon

    Published: Jan 5, 2015 · Modified: May 31, 2023 by Jill Colonna7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A light and creamy baked Orange Cheesecake with cinnamon. Inspired by the cake decor found in Parisian pâtisseries, Mad About Macarons style!

    cheesecake topped with macarons, edible flowers and fruit

    Cake or Cheesecake Toppings in French Patisseries

    I have been gazing at the cover of the latest Fou de Patisserie gourmet magazine. Who can fail to be totally inspired by the way French patisseries dress up cakes with beautiful toppings? I saw one light and creamy cake, topped with seasonal fruits, edible flowers and their petals.

    So why not add some seasonal fruits for winter on top of this orange cheesecake? Cape gooseberries to accent the orange, plus pomegranate seeds - and topped with an edible, winter pansy. Or thinly slice the rest of the orange used for the zest in the recipe, top with fresh raspberries or sliced figs.

    orange cinnamon cheesecake decor close-up

    So I couldn't resist trying one of the recipes from the French pastry chefs' magazine and topping it also with my homemade macarons.  Et voilà: here you have an Orange Cheesecake with cinnamon. It's light, baked and now I want to make it again.

    In my RECIPES TO DO pile, has been the most sumptuous-looking cheesecake on the 7th cover edition of Fou de Pâtisserie magazine: by Chef Jean-François Piège.  He owns Thoumieux: a restaurant, a hotel and brasserie, plus one of my favourite pâtisseries in Paris, Gâteau Thoumieux - at 58 rue Saint Dominique (UPDATE: sadly, since writing this, it no longer exists, closing its doors in 2017).

    Orange Cinnamon cheesecake and macarons

    Orange Cheesecake with Cinnamon

    Chef Piège's ingredients' list was precise with 401g of cream cheese, but I should have taken note in step 2 that you only need 300g total for the base. I used all of it in the recipe which was too much for a 16cm diameter cheesecake mould.  I'd suggest reducing the base by a ⅓ and add a little more butter, just to hold it better together.

    However, the extra base was excellent as a crumble topping - try it on top of this apple desserts such as this tarte tatin!  The cream cheese was divine - I added half the zest of an unwaxed orange, just to give it that extra tang.  He doesn't mention this, but I recommend that your cream cheese filling ingredients are all at room temperature in order to mix well.

    cheesecake topped with macarons and fruit

    cheesecake topped with macarons, edible flowers and fruit

    Orange Cheesecake with Cinnamon

    Jill Colonna
    A light, baked French-style version to the American classic with orange and cinnamon and topped with macarons, cape gooseberries and pomegranate seeds for a winter treat.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 45 minutes mins
    Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 2 hours hrs
    Course Dessert, teatime
    Cuisine American, French
    Servings 6

    Equipment

    • 16cm non-stick metallic round cake tin

    Ingredients
      

    Cinnamon base:

    • 260 g / 9.5oz (2¼ cups) plain flour (all purpose) type 55
    • 175 g / 6oz (¾ cup) butter unsalted
    • 55 g / 2oz (½ cup) icing/powdered sugar
    • 35 g / 1.25oz (2 tbsp) soft brown sugar
    • 1 egg organic
    • 1 g /good pinch salt fleur de sel (Maldon or Celtic sea salt)
    • 1 tablespoon zest of half an orange
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    Cream Cheese:

    • 400 g / 14oz (1¾ cups) Philadelphia cream cheese room temperature
    • 50 g /1.75oz (¼ cup) sugar
    • 55 g / 2oz (¼ cup) whipping / heavy cream
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 eggs organic
    • 1 tablespoon zest of half an orange organic/unwaxed

    Instructions
     

    Cinnamon Cheesecake Base

    • Preheat oven to 160°C fan /180°C/360°F/Gas 4.
      Mix all the ingredients together in a mixer or by hand until it comes together. Spread out roughly on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
      Remove then break up the mix into breadcrumb consistency.
      Press into the cake tin so that it's even. Set aside.
      Turn down the oven to at 110°C fan/130°C/250°F/Gas ½.

    Cheesecake

    • Mix the (at room temperature) Philadelphia cheese with the sugar then gradually add the yolk, eggs and cream together.
    • Pour the cream mix over the base and bake in the cool oven for about an hour. Leave to cool in the fridge and unmould when ready to serve and decorate.

    Notes

    Decorate with fruits of the season - such as orange slices, pomegranate seeds and edible flowers.
    Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as an approximate guide. 
    Keyword baked cheesecake, French cheesecake, orange cheesecake

    More French Desserts

    • ice cream scoop of pink sorbet in a tub
      Rhubarb Sorbet (Sorbet à la rhubarbe)
    • rhubarb cake with almonds
      Rhubarb Cake (Gâteau à la rhubarbe)
    • cup of lemon ice cream with strawberries
      Creamy Lemon Ice Cream (Glace au citron)
    • tray holding slices of toasted French toast or Pain Perdu in a boulangerie in France in front of baguettes
      Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Please leave a comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Made this? Rate this recipe...




    1. Parisbreakfast

      January 09, 2015 at 12:31 pm

      Soooo beautiful Jill.
      I have never been in his shop...just gazed in the vitrine.
      Now I can come here and gaze forever.

      Reply
    2. Thomasina

      January 07, 2015 at 1:04 am

      I'm so glad that cheesecake was on your list - this is something I've never made (dare I say I've used a packet mix!) so thanks for that Jill.

      Reply
    3. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

      January 06, 2015 at 1:44 am

      A most stunning dessert. You two, together in the same room? Be still my heart. I'd love to be a fly on that wall. 🙂

      Reply
    4. Norma

      January 05, 2015 at 10:42 pm

      This sounds delicious and I'd love to try it, but I have a question regarding the biscuit base. What do you mean by "65 butter 2"? And would "single cream" be the same as half and half in the states? My family loves a good cheesecake and I'm really anxious to try this recipe, but feel I need the info above clarified first so I make sure I do it correctly. Thanks for your assistance and for sharing this recipe.

      Reply
      • Jill

        January 05, 2015 at 10:51 pm

        Hi Norma - to be honest, I'm just following his recipe and it doesn't give all the details (that's how many chefs do it, right? That way we just head to their restaurants/boutiques...) but half and half will be fine. For the 65g (sorry, typo without the "g" but corrected now) butter, it's referred to as butter 2, as it's used in the same recipe for the base but at different stages as in step 1. Hope this helps.

        Reply
    5. Jamie

      January 05, 2015 at 8:10 pm

      Jill, this is absolutely gorgeous! Gorgeous! I would love to taste it! I love this magazine and have bought a couple issues but haven't tried any yet. Now I have to seeing as how they obviously work. I am so excited for 2015 because I know that we will finally meet! I hope we get the time to bake together! Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year and une très très belle année 2015!

      Reply
      • Jill

        January 05, 2015 at 10:52 pm

        Well that sounds like a wonderful double whammy if we can even bake together. Already I'm excited, Jamie. 2015 has a lovely ring to it - especially with the opening of your hotel in Chinon. Thanks for the shares, too. Cheers! xo

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl
    BIENVENUE!

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

    Recent recipes

    • 3 bowls of pea soup with fresh peas and pods
      French Pea Soup (Potage Saint-Germain)
    • dish of layered roasted vegetables in Provence
      Roasted Summer Vegetables (Tian de Légumes)
    • gratin dish of berries in a creme brulee cream
      Berry Gratin - A Light Crème Brûlée
    • bowl of bright red rhubarb compote
      Rhubarb Compote (Compote de Rhubarbe)
    Palets Bretons French Biscuits

    SEASONAL

    Spring Recipes

    It’s spring in Jill’s French kitchen – get her collection of free recipes to celebrate French printemps…

    Spring recipes
    glass dish of chocolate mousse with cherries

    POPULAR

    French Desserts

    From Crème Caramel (flan), rice pudding, dark chocolate mousse (no cream) to crêpes, clafoutis and tarts – enjoy making our family’s favourite desserts, all with reduced sugar.

    French Desserts

    square brown pancake folded like an envelope with egg yolk in the middle surrounded with a little ham and cheese and side salad

    CLASSIC FRENCH DISHES

    Savoury Pancakes

    We all love the classic French pancakes (crêpes). Let's go savoury with buckwheat galettes with all the typical fillings. Also gluten free, they're just one of our many favourite family classics.

    Classic French Dishes
    pink macaron cookie with ruffled feet

    LOCAL GUIDES

    Best Macarons in Paris

    Looking for top quality Parisian macarons and going mad which ones to choose? I have you covered with my TOP 20 list of the best in Paris.
    As a local for 30 years with 2 macaron recipe books, I’ve tasted a lot to help you!

    Top 20 Macarons
    blue recipe book cover for Mad About Macarons

    BESTSELLER

    Mad About Macarons

    Scared to make the first move to make macarons? Jill shares all the tips and step-by-step instructions in her bestselling recipe book.
    It has inspired many now-professional macaron bakers since 2010!

    Get the book
    pink cover of patisserie recipe book Teatime in Paris by Jill Colonna

    EASY FRENCH PASTRY RECIPES

    Teatime in Paris

    Even more macarons and easy French pastry recipes. Each step-by-step recipe visits many best bakeries for an armchair walk around the City of Light.
    A must for all budding bakers and Paris-loving Francophiles.

    Get the book
    Paris map Mad About Macarons

    BIENVENUE

    Newsletter From Paris

    Stay connected with the free monthly newsletter from France.
    With seasonal recipes, tips and more spilling the tea from Paris.

    Sign Me Up

    Footer

    Jill Colonna logo Mad About Macarons
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Twitter
    • Recipes
    • About
    • French Food Guides
    • FAQ
    Contact
    Newsletter

    Copyright © 2010-2023 Jill Colonna

    Terms and privacy