Pistachio Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 400 g digestive biscuits
- 100 g butter, melted
- 800 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 100 g golden caster sugar or white caster sugar
- 250 g pistachio butter
- 50 g cornflour
- 250 ml whipping cream
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish
- pistachio cream spread
- pistachio, ground
- pistachio silvers
Instructions
To make crust
- Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Grease the sides and base of 8 inch springform pan with butter and line the base with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse the cookies into crumbs. In a small bowl mix the crumbs and melted butter. Pour the mixture into the base of the pan, and evenly spread. Bake for 10 minutes, and let to cool. Reduce the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
For the topping
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar and combine with a spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated – making sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
- Sift in the cornflour and stir through, then add the pistachio paste, the whipping cream, vanilla and lemon zest and mix again to combine.
- Pour the mixture on top of the chilled biscuit base, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approximately 60 to 70 mins – or until the top no longer looks wet and shiny and the centre jiggles just a bit when you gently shake the tin.
- Turn off the oven, prop open the door with a wooden spoon and leave the cheesecake to cool inside for an hour to prevent cracking, then cool completely on a wire rack before covering the tin with foil and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight.
- Release the springform tin to unmould and slide carefully onto a plate, sliding the parchment paper from under the base before serving.
- Garnish the cheesecake with pistachio cream paste, crushed pistachio and pistachio slivers.