Orange Mascarpone Cheesecake

How stunning is this Orange Mascarpone Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache?! Featuring a crunchy hazelnut graham cracker crust, creamy orange cheesecake filling, and silky smooth chocolate ganache, this recipe is a total showstopper! A must for anyone who loves the combination of chocolate and orange.

My Easy No Bake Orange Cheesecake is literally the work of moments. The only real effort you need to exert is a bit of cookie crushing. You could use a food processor, but there’s something so therapeutic about sealing the cookies in a ziplock bag and bashing the daylights out of them with a rolling pin. Then all you need to do is mix the crumbs with the melted butter, stir them together with a fork and then press them into a loose-bottomed cake pan.

While the crust chills in the fridge, you can get on with making the filling. Simply whip all the remaining ingredients together in an electric mixer and spread them over the chilled crust. After at least an hour – or preferably a bit longer in the fridge – you have dessert!

If you use gluten-free ginger cookies, or another gluten-free cookie such as gluten-free graham crackers or gluten-free shortbread, the recipe can be gluten free.

Orange Mascarpone Cheesecake is easy to dress up. Go elegant with a simple slice of orange or scatter the whole cheesecake with grated dark chocolate and top with sliced strawberries. Serve the cheesecake in small slices as it really is very rich and eat within 24 hours to enjoy at its best.

This easy no bake orange cheesecake is truly delicious. Made with a chocolate biscuit base and topped with a light orangey cheesecake filling it’s so simple to make it’s great dessert for kids and beginner bakers alike to try.

No bake cheesecakes are so simple and can be made ahead of time which makes them the perfect dessert for the holiday season. Or indeed, dinner parties or special occasions at any time of the year.

I’ve based this recipe on my other no bake cheesecakes. It’s a great recipe which, once you’ve perfected it, you can add different flavours and adapt it for different occasions.

But don’t let their simplicity fool you. This orange cheesecake with a hint of chocolate is spectacular enough and tasty enough to share with friends and family.

No bake cheesecakes are a fantastic dessert for kids to get involved in making as there are plenty of simple steps for them to get involved in. In fact, it’s so easy you could almost let your kids take over and make the whole thing themselves.

Making the base is a great job for kids to do. And if you want to get very young children involved in the kitchen then this is the step for them. They can bash all the biscuits to a crumb which is a favourite job of my kid’s or if you have one, get your kids to blitz them in a food processor. Once you have the biscuits and melted butter mixed together it’s a simple case of pressing them into the cake tin to form the base.

The cheesecake filling itself s also very easy to make. For us, we were able to add a whole 250ml carton of mascarpone and a whole 300ml carton of cream so there’s no need to even measure anything out.

Finally, your kids can also help prepare the oranges by zesting and juicing them . If you’ve got a juicer this is also a fun job for younger children.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Wrap the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan with extra wide heavy duty aluminum foil. I recommend doing several diligent layers here to ensure no water creeps through when you place the pan in the water bath. Lightly spray the pan with non-stick spray, then set aside.

Place the hazelnuts in the body of a food processor and pulse until the nuts have been completely pulsed to fine crumbs.

In a large bowl combine the hazelnut crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt. Add in the melted butter and, using a rubber spatula, stir well to combine. Pour crust into the prepared pan. Firmly pat the mixture into the prepared pan, working it from the center and up the sides. 

Bake for 10 minutes.

Place crust on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees (F).

In the body of a large food processor or in a very large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until completely smooth, scraping the bowl as needed. 

Add sugar, vanilla, and orange zest and beat smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. On low speed, add in the eggs and yolks, mixing just until incorporated into the batter.

Add in the orange juice and heavy cream and beat on low speed until evenly combined.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour. Use the spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a few times to ensure everything is evenly combined. Pour filling into the prepared crust and, using a silicone spatula, smooth the top. 

Place the cheesecake pan into a large, deep pan. Fill the pan with 2 and ½- inches of hot water. This is your water bath and will help ensure your cheesecake comes out crack free.

Carefully place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 30 minutes, inside the oven with the door shut. The cheesecake should still be slightly wiggly.

Remove cake from the oven and gently run a knife very around the edge of the cake. Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack and cool completely, then loosely cover the pan with saran wrap and chill for at least 6 hours. Do not remove the pan until completely cooled! 

For the Chocolate Ganache:

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes. Then vigorously whisk the mixture until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the grand marnier. Allow chocolate to sit for 10 minutes, then pour on top of the chilled cheesecake. Let the chocolate set for 20 minutes, then decorate with candied orange slices, slice and serve.

Allow chocolate to sit for 10 minutes, then pour on top of the chilled cheesecake. Let the chocolate set for 20 minutes, then decorate with candied orange slices, slice and serve.