I’m genuinely SO excited to hit ‘publish’ on this Old Fashioned cocktail cheesecake recipe!
This one has been in the works for a long time. I won't lie; it was a little hard to stay patient with the process sometimes! But I also knew I really didn’t want to publish it until it really felt balanced and well-taste-tasted. And hitting that balance took a few rounds of testing. Story below! (Or hit the 'Jump to Recipe' button above to cut straight to the recipe card!) 😉
What didn’t work the first few rounds:
Orange zest in the cheesecake layer.
It sounded good when the idea crossed my mind. But in real life? The orange zest texture - even though it was really small pieces - reminded me of coconut. Which was super weird for this flavor profile! (The fix: Nixed that idea and moved the zest to the crust. SO much better!)
Too much strong bourbon / whiskey.
One initial test had a crust that we all liked, but taste results were mixed on the cheesecake layer. I'd used Woodford Reserve bourbon - a good 6 ounces of it - and not everyone was a fan. A few of my taste testers (guys in their early 20s, for reference) - thought it was great. Most everyone else thought the bitter taste of the whisky was 'butting heads' with the cream cheese. (The fix: switching to a milder Jack Daniels Tennessee honey bourbon - this one was much better-reviewed among my tasters. But see the recipe notes if you prefer a stronger one!)
Undissolved gelatin - and then too much gelatin! Smh.
I also learned a big lesson about using gelatin to thicken - rather than Jello pudding mix like I usually use. I didn’t get the gelatin completely dissolved in the juice before I added it round 1 - big mistake. That will really mess up your cheesecake texture! 'Granular' isn’t a cheesecake texture anyone prefers. Yick.
Honestly, things got a little worse before they got better. The next round was marred by what turned out to be too much gelatin once it was all dissolved completely. That cheesecake was almost a cross between a cheesecake and a springform pan full of Jell-O. Not the business! (The fix - only 2 packs of gelatin, and heat the orange juice a bit to make sure it all dissolves!)
Topping with a blended 'cherry gelee' layer.
I also tried a cherry-gelee-sort-of-topping with blended Amarena cherries, orange juice, and gelatin - round 1 didn’t set enough and was kind of a semi-set semi-runny gel on top of the cheesecake. (Being the stubborn person I am, I tried piping whipped cream over the top of it anyway - and it ran right off the sides. That was every bit the full-blown-disaster of a mess it sounds like, lol. ) The ‘gelee’ - which I’d pictured being smooth and deep cherry-colored - was also odd-colored and not very smooth. The next round set fine…but it was still a bit chunky from the cherries that didn’t puree down well and just odd-textured. (The fix - I ended up just ditching that entire idea, lol. I topped the outside edge with whole Amarena cherries and the cheesecake slices with a drizzle of cherry syrup. MUCH better in everyone’s opinion!)
The fixes and tweaks that DID work -
- Orange zest in the crust (instead of the cheesecake layer)
- Switching to a milder bourbon - though see the ‘notes’ section if you want to use a stronger bourbon like Woodford Reserve!
- Watch the gelatin amount closely - and heat the orange juice a bit to make sure it all dissolves!
- Decorate to your liking - but I highly recommend whole cherries + a drizzle of syrup over a cherry puree. 😉
I also delivered some cheesecake slices to 3 taste-testers that are long-time die-hard fans of the Old Fashioned cocktail.
Couple of reviews below! 🙂
“Oh my gosh - that cheesecake was one of the most incredible desserts we have ever eaten! You should be so proud of yourself; because it was insanely good.”
“I would never have guessed two of my favorite things could be combined like that. So good!”
“Yer cheesecake - light, delicate, and delicious! Thank you!”
(Of note - if you really like stronger or more oaky drinks and would rather use those liqueurs in your cheesecake - absolutely go for it! I had a few taste testers that really enjoyed the one I made with Woodford Reserve. I might back the amount down just a bit though, maybe to ½ cup or so - and increase the orange juice by a ¼ cup. A full ¾ cup of the stronger-flavored liqueur made for a pretty strong flavor that overpowered everything else. But hey, if that’s what you like, go for it!)
One more quick serving note!
Drizzling the Amarena cherry sauce over the cheesecake was WORLDS better than the cherry puree I'd tried a couple times to make. But take note it's fairly thin and will run off and puddle on the plates pretty quickly, so I'd save the drizzling until right before serving. Just an FYI!
Okay! On to the recipe!
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Don't forget to pin this recipe for later! 🙂
Old Fashioned Cocktail Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9- or 10-inch springform pan (I used a 10-inch pan)
- Piping bag (optional)
- Microplaner (optional)
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (60 regular or 90 mini cookies - 180g or about 6.5 ounces)
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest I used 2 oranges total; one for the crust/cheesecake and 1 for curls to decorate. (Save the zested orange to juice for the cheesecake layer.)
- 6 Tablespoons Butter (melted)
Cheesecake Filling:
- 24 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 packets gelatin powder Dissolve completely into the orange juice + bourbon. (2 Knox gelatin packets measured to about 5 teaspoons for me.)
- ¼ cup orange juice (I juiced the orange I zested for the crust)
- ¾ cup bourbon or whiskey of your choice (I used a milder Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey bourbon - you could use a stronger whiskey like Woodford Reserve but please see the notes first!)
- 1 Tablespoon Amarena cherry syrup
- ¼ teaspoon orange aromatic bitters (I used Angostura)
- 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream (to whip; makes about 4 ½ cups whipped; reserve some to decorate)
Cherry Topping and Garnish:
- ½ cup reserved whipped cream (see above)
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar (or to taste)
- 16-20 Amarena cherries in heavy syrup - reserve syrup to drizzle over cheesecake slices
- Zest of 1 orange - strips or microplaned
Instructions
Instructions - crust
- Crush vanilla wafers - I like to use the blender for this part - and transfer to a bowl. Add brown sugar, orange zest, and melted butter, and mix well. (I saved the zested orange to juice for the cheesecake layer.) Transfer to springform pan and press down.
- (Optional - bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes if you like a crunchier crust. Fine to skip this step if it’s just too hot to turn the oven on!)
Instructions - cheesecake layer
- Beat cream cheese; add brown sugar and beat until evenly mixed.
- Combine orange juice with whiskey, and sprinkle gelatin over the mixture. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to soften, then microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until gelatin is completely dissolved. (This only took about 30 seconds in my microwave - the mixture should be a bit warm but not hot. Allow to cool if hot to the touch; too much heat in the mixture can deflate the whipped cream later on.) Once the gelatin is completely dissolved, add the orange juice/whiskey/gelatin mixture in a slow steady stream, beating until it’s completely incorporated. Beat in cherry syrup and bitters, and set aside.
- Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. (The mixture will be fairly thick. Mix until well-combined and uniform in color and consistency, but don’t overmix.) Pour over the crust and smooth. Refrigerate until well-set; at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
Decorating
- Combine reserved 1/2 cup of whipped cream with powdered sugar (or to taste). Transfer to piping bag. Pipe whipped cream in small swirls around the outer border of the cheesecake, and top each one with a cherry.
- With a citrus zester or channel tool, slice orange zest strips and twist them into curls, arranging between whipped cream swirls. I put 1 zest curl about every 2 swirls; between every one felt like a bit too much.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Drizzle reserved cherry juice over cheesecake slices just prior to serving - and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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