Mandarin Orange Cheesecake (Valentine's Day Recipes)

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Step 11: Now, the first step is to pour the 1 cup of sugar over your cream cheese, and mix it in with your hand mixer. You'll get the most even distribution if you mix together the cream cheese a bit first, then add the sugar about 1/4 cup at a time. Don't forget to sc**** down your mixer and the sides of the bowl occasionally.

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Step 12:

Now, get the small work bowl with the eggs in it, and
whisk in the sour cream. Again, it makes the going easier
if you add the sour cream slowly, about 1/4 of it at a time.

Once mixed, add the vanilla extract, orange zest, and
OJ concentrate, and whisk to combine.

Now, add this mixture to the cream cheese, break
out the hand mixer again, and mix them together until
the whole thing is smooth (will take a couple minutes of mixing)

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Step 13: Now, get your springform pan out, and pour half of the cheesecake mixture into the pan. Yes, half. Smooth it all out with a spatula, and get out the food coloring. Add three drops of red and five drops of yellow to the remaining mixture, and use the hand mixer to mix it all in.

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Step 14:

It now should have an orange color:

Why not just add the food coloring to the whole thing?
Because this way, when you cut into it, we'll get a

nice two-layer effect, with the top orange and the
bottom white. It's entirely optional, of course,

but it looks really nice.

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Step 15:

Carefully pour the colored mix into the pan, and

spread it evenly over the first half. Place the whole

thing in the oven, and set your timer for 15 minutes.

This is going to take a lot longer than 15 minutes

to bake. But, during the first hour, you'll want to open your
oven door for a few seconds (to let the heat out) every 15 minutes.

This will make the heat "gentler" and reduce your

chances of the top of the cake cracking open.

Adding 1 tbsp of corn starch will help even more.

And if you want to avoid opening the door entirely,
put the pan in a water bath. (This means place it in a large pan

with about 1/2 inch of water in it. This will soften the heat,

and keep the top of the cake moist. Alternately,

you can use a baking stone.) If you're using a springform
pan,only use a water bath if you have lined the bottom with foil,

and have enough extra to fold up along the edges of the pan.

Otherwise, water will leak into your cake through the gaps
in the bottom of the pan!