A creamy baked pistachio cheesecake with a rich pistachio flavour and a delicate sour cream topping. Until now, you could find a recipe on the blog for a pistachio cheesecake made entirely from scratch. Since pistachio paste (pistachio butter) has become much more widely available, I decided to make the process easier without sacrificing any of the flavour or quality of the cheesecake. The result is absolutely delicious and tastes particularly wonderful with fresh raspberries.
*Pistachio paste (or pistachio butter) is made from 100% ground pistachios with no additional ingredients. It has the consistency of natural nut butter and a wonderfully intense pistachio aroma. It differs from pistachio cream, which is sweetened, contains other ingredients (including sugar) and has a texture similar to chocolate spread. A good-quality pistachio paste gives this cheesecake its beautiful pistachio flavour.
Ingredients for the crust:
- 250 g digestive or oat biscuits
- 80 g butter, melted
Place the biscuits and melted butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, place the biscuits in a sturdy zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin before mixing with the melted butter.
Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the base and halfway up the sides of the tin.
Bake at 175°C for approximately 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly while preparing the filling.
Wrap the outside of the tin twice with aluminium foil, as the cheesecake will be baked in a water bath.**
Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:
- 750 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese (twaróg), finely ground three times
- 200 g pistachio paste*
- 100 g sour cream
- 50 ml double cream
- 3 large eggs
- 250 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pistachio flavouring or almond extract
- 1 tablespoon potato starch (or cornflour)
All ingredients should be at room temperature.
Place all of the filling ingredients into the bowl of a mixer. Mix just until combined, or whisk together by hand. Do not overmix, as incorporating too much air will cause the cheesecake to rise excessively and then collapse. We want the finished cheesecake to remain perfectly level. Pour the filling over the prepared crust and smooth the surface.
Bake at 170°C in a water bath**, preferably without fan assistance, for approximately 55–60 minutes. The surface should be fully set and firm to the touch. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, gently spread the sour cream topping over the surface (recipe below) and bake for a further 10 minutes. Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar, then chill in the refrigerator for approximately 12 hours.
Ingredients for sour cream topping:
- 250 ml crème fraîche or thick sour cream
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix all the ingredients together until smooth.
To finish:
- chopped or ground pistachios, for decoration
Decorate the chilled cheesecake with pistachios and keep refrigerated until serving.
**Water bath method: Place the cheesecake tin inside a larger baking tin or roasting dish and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin. Baking in a humid environment ensures even baking, prevents cracks and produces an exceptionally creamy texture.
Enjoy!
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