Candied Fruit Cheesecake

Ingredients

• ½ pound assorted candied fruits such as are sold for fruitcakes
• 2 tablespoons Bourbon or brandy
• 2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Butter for greasing cake pan
• ⅓ cup graham cracker crumbs

12 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. If candied fruits are not already cut into small pieces, use knife to cut them into pieces about 1/4 inch in diameter. Put pieces of mixed fruit into small bowl and add Bourbon. Stir to blend. Set aside.
3. Cheesecake batter may be made in bowl of food processor or electric mixer. If processor is used, it must have 12-cup capacity; otherwise it should be done in two steps using half the ingredients at a time. Place cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla into container or bowl of food processor or mixer. Blend thoroughly.
4. Add candied fruits with their liquid. If processor is being used, pulse mixture briefly. Do this only enough to blend fruit pieces without grinding them. Or blend them in electric mixer.
5. Generously butter bottom and sides of cake pan measuring 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep. Do not use spring-form pan.
6. Sprinkle pan inside with graham cracker crumbs and shake to coat bottom and sides. Shake out excess.
7. Pour and scrape batter into prepared pan. Set pan inside a larger pan and pour boiling water around cake pan to depth of about 1 inch. Do not let edge of cheesecake pan touch sides of larger pan. Place pans thus arranged in oven and bake 2 hours. Turn off oven heat and let cake remain in oven one hour longer.
8. Remove cake from water bath and place on a rack. Let stand two hours.
9. Place a round cake plate over cake and carefully turn both upside down to unmold the cake. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

5 hours 15 minutes