Spiced Orange and Fig Cheesecake

This cheesecake was made possible by the addition of a food processor to our appliance family. Thankyou, B,B&B returns, gift certificates and coupon for facilitating this acquisition.

The first thing you should know about this cheesecake, is that when a woman tasted it at the restaurant, she immediately inquired how she could buy a whole cheesecake to give to a friend. I made her the cheesecake, and she requested yet another for the near future. It's that unusual, and that good.

This is why:

The spices are just right for fall, it's not too sweet, there are several textures to contend with, and you feel cool eating figs and liking it.

The cheesecake layer isn't super thick, the finished cake ends up being about half cheesecake, half figs and crust, so next time (I've made this three times so far), I might increase the cheesecake mixture, just to see what happens.

The Recipe:

The Directions:

First, mist a spring form pan with oil. Get out your food processor and blend brazil nuts and vanilla wafers until fine. (I used pecans, still very good). While the processor is running, add the melted butter and run until combined. Press this mixture into the bottom of your pan and refrigerate for 30 min to let the butter harden.

Next, process the figs until finely chopped.

Put the chopped figs in a pot with the OJ and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until most of the OF is absorbed. If there is too much liquid, it will bubble over to the top of the cheesecake, marring it's pretty face.

Add the cheesecake mixture and bake at 325...the recipe says 1 and 1/4 hours, but I rarely make it past an hour.

The final product has the tendency to look like a cheese pizza, so I think a dusting of powdered sugar goes a long way to help the aesthetic of the thing.