Persimmon cheesecake with pomegranate

A delicious, gently orange-flavoured cheesecake topped with persimmon mousse and pomegranate. This persimmon cheesecake is the first recipe using this fruit on Moje Wypieki! Persimmons are in season now and aren’t particularly expensive, so let’s make the most of them. The sad news, however, is that in our climate it’s difficult to find very ripe persimmons in shops – they should be as soft as ripe tomatoes, deep orange in colour, with delicate skin that gives slightly when pressed with a finger… I imagine the cheesecake would be even better with fruit at that stage of ripeness! You can speed up the ripening process at home by placing the persimmons in a sealed container together with an overripe apple or banana (one that already has brown spots), and then forgetting about them for a while… I used the ripest kaki I could find in the shop, and the cheesecake turned out wonderfully. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients for the base:

• 250 g milk chocolate-coated digestive biscuits
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 80 g butter, melted

Place the biscuits, cocoa powder and butter in a food processor and blitz until the biscuits are finely crushed and the mixture has the consistency of wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, place the biscuits in a sturdy bag (such as a resealable bag) and crush them thoroughly with a rolling pin. Finally, mix with the melted butter and cocoa powder.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Tip the biscuit mixture into the tin, then level it and press it firmly over the base and halfway up the sides (the cheesecake is quite low). Chill in the fridge while you prepare the cheesecake mixture.

Ingredients for the cheesecake mixture:

• 500 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, ground three times
• 250 ml double cream
• 3 large eggs
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• 8 g vanillin sugar
• 1 tsp orange extract (or flavouring)
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 3 tbsp plain flour

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place all the cheesecake ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix just until combined, or stir together with a hand whisk; do not mix for too long, as you don’t want to incorporate unnecessary air into the mixture. An aerated cheesecake will rise considerably during baking and then collapse. We don’t want that – the cheesecake should remain perfectly level after baking.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base and bake in a bain-marie* at 160°C for approximately 45 minutes. The entire surface of the cheesecake should be set and firm to the touch. If necessary, extend the baking time slightly. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then refrigerate for several hours.

Ingredients for the persimmon mousse:

• 2 persimmons, very ripe (Hachiya variety)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• juice of half an orange
• 1 tsp potato starch

Peel the persimmons, cut into pieces and blend to a purée. Place in a small saucepan with the sugar and orange juice and bring to the boil. Cook for a few minutes until the mousse thickens slightly (the excess water should evaporate, as when making jam). Mix the potato starch with a small amount of water (about 2 tbsp), add to the mousse, stir, bring back to the boil, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Additionally, for decoration:

• 1 persimmon, Hachiya variety
• seeds from half a pomegranate

Spread the persimmon mousse over the chilled cheesecake (it can still be warm) and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the peeled and sliced persimmon on top of the mousse, overlapping the slices slightly. Sprinkle the cheesecake with the pomegranate seeds.

* The cheesecake is baked in a bain-marie: this involves placing the cheesecake tin inside a larger tin or ovenproof dish, then pouring in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the tin containing the cheesecake mixture. The cheesecake is baked surrounded by steam, creating a very humid environment. This allows it to bake evenly throughout, including in the centre, prevents it from cracking and helps it retain a perfectly creamy texture.

Enjoy!