Fig and cinnamon cheesecake

Fig and cinnamon cheesecake is an exceptional dessert and one of the best cheesecakes I’ve had in a long time. Which is rather surprising, considering I’m not particularly fond of dried figs ;). The combination of nuts, figs, cinnamon, orange and creamy cheese is simply outstanding. This cheesecake is wonderfully aromatic, deeply flavourful and almost festive in character. I melted with delight over every single slice. I’m very curious whether you’ll feel the same way. I highly recommend it, and if you’re sceptical – give it a try!

Ingredients for the crust:

• 80 g Brazil nuts or almonds
• 125 g butter biscuits (such as petit beurre) or digestive biscuits
• 80 g butter, melted

Place the nuts, biscuits and melted butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, crush the biscuits in a sturdy zip-top bag with a rolling pin, finely chop the nuts and combine everything with the melted butter.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the base of the tin.

Bake at 175°C for about 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Ingredients for the fig filling:

• 250 g dried figs
• 250 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg

Finely chop the figs. Place them in a saucepan with the orange juice and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Leave to cool, then spread evenly over the baked crust.

Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:

• 600 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, ground three times
• 500 g mascarpone
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 150 g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the mascarpone and curd cheese, alternating between them and mixing until combined. Add the orange zest and mix again. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the cheese mixture. Spread the cheesecake filling over the fig layer and smooth the surface.

Bake at 160°C for about 65–75 minutes. Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar, then remove and cool completely, preferably overnight.

This cheesecake does not need to be stored in the refrigerator. Before serving, dust with icing sugar and decorate with fresh figs and nuts.

For decoration:

• fresh figs
• walnuts or pecans
• icing sugar

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food To Love.