Sometimes you just need something sweet. Something decadently creamy. Something pink. Thankfully, it happens to be blood orange season and what better excuse is there to make a creamy Blood Orange Cheesecake?
Blood Orange Cheesecake
While blood oranges are often recognizable by their blush-stained orange peels, the gradient of red fleshy citrus inside is even more impressive, with colors ranging from bright reddish pink to deep oxblood red. When combining their juice with creamy batters and toppings, you end up with the most gorgeous shades of pale peachy and petal pinks. I find the flavor of blood oranges to be slightly more tart than a traditional orange, which makes it the perfect flavor to balance the creaminess of cheesecake.
Here in Portland, we start seeing blood ranges arrive in stores and farmers markets in the winter months and if we're lucky they carry through to spring. Plenty of time for you to grab a few to whip up a gorgeous and tasty Blood Orange Cheesecake. Make sure to check out my list of 7 Tips For a Perfect Cheesecake Every Time to help you prep for a successful bake.
The Crust
A bad crust can make an otherwise lovely cheesecake disappointing. I find that the classic low-carb mix of almond flour, butter, and sweetener alone is not sufficient for the crust to stay stable once the cheesecake batter is added, even when the crust is well-baked. I like to use finely chopped nuts as my primary ingredient, mixing in a slightly smaller amount of almond flour and butter to bind it all together and allow you to make a firm and compact crust that can stand up to the heavy creaminess of the cheesecake batter. Think about it in terms of a road made of gravel and dirt compared to a road made solely of dirt. Which one will fare better when it rains and which one will become a muddy, soggy mess? The same is true for the crust.
Walnuts are my preferred choice for this crust, but pecans are also a good option if you prefer. I like to sweeten my crust with a small amount of the 1:1 sweetener and add a bit of cinnamon as well because it brings out the flavor of the nuts. I do not generally extend the crust up the sides of the cheesecake, preferring to keep a tightly compacted bottom layer for the cheesecake to rest on instead. If you would prefer to extend the crust up the sides the classic way, I recommend doubling the crust recipe, but note that this will significantly impact the carb count.
Topping Options
I like to finish this Blood Orange Cheesecake with a simple sour cream topping, tinted with natural blood orange juice until it's petal pink and just slightly sweetened to balance out the tartness of the sour cream. Add a few blood orange slices on top and this is perfectly finished in my book. If you prefer a slightly sweeter topping, swapping the sour cream for fresh whipped cream is also lovely.
Alternative Sweeteners and 1:1 swaps
I generally make this Blood Orange Cheesecake low carb, refined sugar-free, and Keto friendly by using a 1:1 alternative sweetener. This simply means that the alternative sweetener has a 1:1 ratio to the amount of traditional sugar you would use in a recipe. I use ⅔ cup of Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (a blend of monkfruit and erythritol) in the batter of this recipe, but this can easily be swapped out for any other 1:1 alternative sweetener. If you're not worried about the extra carbs, you can also use traditional sugar in this, but please note the following:
I find that many traditional cheesecake recipes call for nearly double the amount of sweetener than I like to use in this recipe. I'm not sure if the truth of the matter is that these 1:1 alternative sweeteners are in actuality sweeter than their sugar counterpart and not truthfully 1:1 with sugar, or if it's just my own taste preference. To be fair, I don't have an incredible sweet tooth so it could very well be the latter. However, if I were making this recipe with traditional sugar I would be tempted to increase the amount slightly by an additional ⅓ cup sugar atleast.
A note for special diets
This Blood Orange Cheesecake is grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, low-carb, and Keto friendly. The net carb count per slice (1/12 of the cheesecake) is only 7g.
Print
Blood Orange Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 69 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 49 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This blood orange cheesecake is a creamy low-carb dessert with a cinnamon-walnut crust and a blood orange cream cheese filling.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup almond flour
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp preferred 1:1 sweetener (I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener)
- ½ tsp cinnamon, ground
For the filling:
- 3 (8oz) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅔ cups preferred 1:1 sweetener (I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener)
- ⅓ cup sour cream (full fat), room temperature
- ½ cup fresh blood orange juice, strained and room temperature
- 2 tbsp blood orange zest, room temperature
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
For the topping:
- 1 cup sour cream, full fat
- 1 tbsp fresh blood orange juice, strained
- 2-3 teaspoon preferred 1:1 sweetener (I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener)
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 C).
- Line a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper, if desired. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does make it easier to remove the cheesecake from the pan later. I also like to wrap the outside of the pan in tinfoil, just in case there is a small leak in your pan. Again, this is optional.
- Add all ingredients for the crust directly in the bottom of the springform pan, combining by hand until well-mixed. Press the crust firmly into the bottom of the pan until reasonably even and compact.
- Bake crust for 10-14 minutes. I like to check the crust after the first 10 minutes, and them continue to bake in 2-minute increments until the crust begins to brown slightly.
- Cool on the countertop and reserve to the side for later.
For the filling:
- Once the ingredients have come to room temperature, combine cream cheese, 1:1 sweetener, sour cream, blood orange juice, blood orange zest, and salt until just combined. You may do this completely by hand or use a food processor, stand mixer, or hand mixer on the lowest setting. Be careful not to overbeat the mixture. You do not want to add excess air to the filling.
- Add eggs in last, one at a time until combined. Again, only mix until combined adequately, but no further.
- Pour filling into your pan with the cooled crust.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then turn oven off. Continue to bake an additional 10 minutes with the door closed and the oven off.
- Once the final 10 minutes is up, prop the oven door open slightly to vent some air. Allow the cheesecake to remain in the oven for an additional 30 minutes while the oven cools.
- Remove the cheesecake from oven and allow to cool to room temperature completely before adding the topping.
For the topping:
- Mix the sour cream, blood orange juice, and 1:1 sweetener by hand until well-combined and even in color.
- Spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
- Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to eat.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of recipe)
- Calories: 444
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 269 mg
- Fat: 40 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 144 mg
Sean@Diversivore says
I don't think I could ever get tired of blood oranges. Or cheesecake for that matter. I know blood oranges have become a bit overdone in some circles but nuts to that - they've got such a great combination of sweet and tart, and that bright berry-like flavour that comes through is perfect for something rich like cheesecake. This looks pretty gorgeous too, which certainly doesn't hurt. Love your choices for the crust too - I think a lot of recipes go to the Graham wafer base to quickly, and it's nice to see something with a different flavour profile. Great stuff!
Dana says
This is such a great idea for a cheesecake! Blood oranges have such a wonderful flavor. The sweetness and the tartness would cut through the richness of the cheesecake so perfectly. Sometimes cheesecake is a bit too much for me when it's just sweet on sweet. But the citrus notes here make one heck of a difference. This is such a smart recipe! And beautiful! <3
Julie Menghini says
Blood orange is such a striking fruit and I just love the way it tinted your cheesecake. I love the nut baked crust that you used. It would definitely hold up and be delicious too!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy says
Blood oranges are my favourite. Love the sound of this citrus cheesecake. It looks beautiful. I know this would be a hit with the guests at any dinner party.
Catherine @ To & Fro Fam says
Could this cheesecake get any prettier?! The answer is no: It is SO DREAMY!
Jo says
That's really interesting. Honestly I never thought of making cheesecake with blood orange. It looks terrific
Natalie says
I'm in love in blood oranges. Especially this time of year. And cheesecakes are my weakness. Putting these two together in one recipe is amazing idea. I'm so glad I ran into this recipe. I definitely will make this cake for weekend.
Julie says
This is so pretty, and I love that you topped it with sour cream instead of the classic whipped cream.
Lorie says
Agree 100% with you on the crust. It can literally ruin a cheesecake. Blood oranges and cheesecake sound like a perfect combo to me!
Tammy says
This is absolutely gorgeous! What a beautiful cake <33 Cheesecake is my weakness...wishing I could grab a slice of this right now 😀
Karyl Henry says
I love blood oranges, but have such a hard time finding them where I live. This cheesecake looks so simple yet delicious. I'm going to have to give it a try for sure
Michelle says
I always need something sweet! This is just the best-looking cheesecake I've seen in a long time! I love the idea of using blood oranges in it too, definitely going to make this one x
Jennifer says
The best cheesecake ever!!! SOOO GOOD!
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
That light pink is so pretty! Like you, I find blood oranges a bit more tart than regular oranges but their color is so beautiful. Never used those sweeteners, there's always a first time.
Linda says
This cheesecake looks absolutely gorgeous! Love the vibrant color and almond crust. And I love reading your cheesecake post, very informative.
Veena Azmanov says
There is nothing wrong about this recipe, everything seems healthy and delicious. I'm glad I came across this recipe, definitely a must try for a cheesecake lover like me
Dominique | Perchance to Cook says
I have a major crush on this recipe. I love the idea of adding blood orange to a cheesecake. It sounds just divine and even a bit romantic. I can not wait to try this!
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen says
What a beautiful looking cake! We still have blood oranges here, so must make the most of them before they disappear!!
Heather says
Oh I'm such a sucker for a good cheesecake. Love the idea of using blood oranges. Such a beautiful fruit especially in the doldrums of winter! Going to have pick some up at the grocery store and try this.
Anna says
I just love blood orange anything! This cheesecake looks so delicious and so creamy! Would be a perfect dessert for any family or friends gathering!