Add a little tang to traditional cheesecake with a lemon infusion and homemade cranberry sauce. 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the crust, mix together the graham crackers, butter and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 10 minutes, and cool. 

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

For the cheesecake, combine cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla extract and salt in an electric mixer. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs 1 at a time, completely incorporating before adding the next. When all the eggs have been added, pour batter into the springform pan.

Bake until the cheesecake rises slightly, is light golden brown on top and is still slightly wobbly in the center, 45–55 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and cool on the counter for 1 hour. Transfer to the refrigerator until completely cool, 2–3 hours more. 

While the cheesecake is cooling, combine all of the ingredients for the cranberry sauce in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the cranberries have broken down and the sauce begins to thicken, 30–40 minutes. Puree and strain the cranberry sauce and chill. 

For neat slices of cheesecake, use a clean knife dipped in hot water before each slice. Serve with chilled cranberry sauce.