Orange Cheesecake with Candied Kumquats

Tim's family has a kumquat tree in their backyard.  When Tim kindly offered to give me some kumquats, I was immediately on board.  Now what to make!

After some enthusiastic Internet searches, I decided to make this Orange Cheesecake with Candied Kumquats. While my candied kumquats were nowhere near firm enough to make my topping look like the source photo,  I was pretty happy with the end result, and it tasted sensational:

The cheesecake was so creamy, and the candied kumquats added just the right amount of tartness and texture.  I only made half of the cheesecake filling, as I find American style cheesecakes can be just a little too much.

Tempted?  Here is the recipe:

Base

2 cups plain biscuit crumbs (~1 packet Arrowroot biscuits)

1/3 cup brown sugar

100g butter, melted

Filling

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
500g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

Candied kumquats

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
255g kumquats, thinly sliced horizontally, seeds removed

For the candied kumquats:

Mix the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the kumquats, and reduce the heat to simmer until the kumquats are translucent. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and allow the kumquats to cool in the syrup. Strain the kumquats, reserving the syrup. Combine the kumquats and 1/4 cup of the syrup in a small bowl. Return the remaining syrup to the saucepan and boil it until reduced to 1¼ cups.

For the base:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line the base of a 9" springform pan.Combine the biscuit crumbs and brown sugar in a bowl, then pour over the melted butter and mix well. Press the biscuit mixture evenly across the bottom and 1 inch up sides of the springform pan. Bake the base until set and the edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow the base to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Keep the oven on, and wrap the outside of the springform pan tightly with alfoil to stop water from getting into it.

For the filling:

Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar and the orange peel in a small saucepan. Rub with your fingers until the sugar is moist, then add the orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup. Chill the mixture in the fridge until cool.

In the meantime, cube the cream cheese and beat it in a stand mixer with the remaining 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream, flour, and salt and beat until just combined. Beat in the eggs, then fold through the cooled orange juice mixture. Pour the filling into the base, and place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up sides of the pan.

Place the roasting pan into the oven and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the filling is just set.
Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. 

Remove the cheesecake in the springform pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Once cool, place the cheesecake in the fridge to chill overnight.

Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the sides of the springform pan, then unlatch the sides of the pan. Place the cheesecake onto a plate and arrange the candied kumquats on top. Serve drizzled with some kumquat syrup, if desired.