The folks over at POM Wonderful spent $34 million in medical research just so they could tout how healthy their tangy pomegranate juice is with no added sugars, preservatives or colors, gluten-free and loaded with potassium.
And what do I do with it?
Leave it to me to take something so healthy good-for-you and turn it into something so sinfully delicious and artery-clogging by turning it into a rich and creamy cheesecake slathered with a gorgeous ruby red pomegranate glaze that just begs to be dived into.
Seriously....look at that. Couldn't you just swim in that pool of pomegranate?
The cheesecake is the most excellent one from last year's Daring Bakers challenge and the glaze is a very simple combination that is also perfect for serving over vanilla ice cream. It will thicken up after it cools, so plan to either thin it with a bit of warm water or additional juice or just nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.
It ain't healthy, but it sure is good!
If you'd like other Pom Wonderful recipe ideas, visit these links:
Pomegranate Gelato
Pomegranate Glazed Cornish Hens
Pomegranate Martini
Cheesecake with Pomegranate Glaze:
crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup
3 large eggs
1 cup
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake
glaze:
2 cups of Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice
3 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, top with pomegranate glaze and serve.
To prepare the glaze:
In a medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch with the sugar. Slowly stir in the pomegranate juice and mix well. Cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken and darkens to a deep wine color, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool. The sauce may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. When ready to use, thin to desired consistency with water or additional pomegranate juice.
