Vegetarian 
Market Produce
Clementine Oranges
A light and creamy baked Orange Cheesecake with cinnamon. Inspired by the cake decor found in Parisian pâtisseries, Mad About Macarons style!
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.
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 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 1/3 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.
Orange Cheesecake with Cinnamon
Servings : 6
Description
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.
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 tbsp zest of half an orange
- 1 tsp 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 tbsp 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.
Soooo beautiful Jill.
I have never been in his shop…just gazed in the vitrine.
Now I can come here and gaze forever.
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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.
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!
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