An ex-pastry chef shares her goat cheese cheesecake recipe after taking part in the Daring Bakers April Challenge. It’s served with honey and instantly made me think of a Roquefort and Sauterne pairing. YUM.
Cake and Commerce‘s Vanilla Bean Goat Cheese Cheesecake:
Yield: 7″ cheesecake
Crust
* 1 C Graham Cracker Crumbs (want to make your own graham crackers? here’s my recipe)
* 1 oz Coconut Oil
* 1 T Rapadura
Combine all ingredients. Into a prepared pan (see below) place mixture. Press down on crust and push some to the side and up the edge.
Bake in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes and allow to cool.
Cheesecake Filling
* 12 oz goat cheese
* 5 oz Agave Syrup
* 1/2 Vanilla bean, split and scraped
* 3 oz Egg Whites (about 3)
* 1/2 C Buttermilk (can be replaced with goat’s milk)
* 1/2 C Milk** (can be replaced with goat’s milk)
* 1/2 t Vanilla
Preheat oven to 275 F. If using convection, set oven to 235 F.
Line a 6″ or 7″” round baking pan (or springform pan) with parchment. Cut a long strip for the sides and a circle for the bottom. If you are using a springform pan, wrap the bottom with plastic wrap then cover with aluminum foil. Prepare and bake crust and allow to cool. I use a ring or a regular cake pan – I’ve gotten pretty good at flipping cheesecakes out of pans, but unless you have experience with it or aren’t afraid of failure, I wouldn’t do it.
Scrape out vanilla from vanilla pod with the blunt end of a knife and scrape into bowl of stand mixer.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine vanilla bean, goat cheese and agave syrup and mix with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in egg whites and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the buttermilk. Add in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix until combined.
Pour the batter into the pan that you have prepared with a crust. Place pan on sheet pan and place on center rack in oven. Pour about 4 C of hot water into pan – either just off the boil or instant hot.
Bake until set – 1.5-2 hours. The cake won’t be jiggly at all, and that’s fine. For slightly less set cake, pull from oven when still a little jiggly like Jello. The fat from the crust may have seeped out a bit – also okay. Allow to cool completely before moving from baking sheet. I like to refrigerate my cheesecake overnight, and when I am ready to depan it, I warm the bottom of the pan with hot water and then depan it to make sure it comes out cleanly. Make sure when you place it in your refrigerator i is in your original pan or a cake circle or another perfectly flat surface or it will break when you move it.
Serve with local raw honey or the topping of your choice.
**To make the cake a little more sour, replace milk with buttermilk
Recipe and photo via Cake and Commerce.
Now, if only I was better at making desserts. I can only manage the gelatin cream cheese version set in the refrigerator at best—also known as the “French Cheesecake”, which incidentally, is what made Sara Lee famous.
