Burnt Honey and Yogurt Cheesecake with Vanilla, Orange, and Pistachios
For this yogurt cheesecake, I was directly inspired by the dreamy, uplifting flavors used by cooks from Sicily to Lebanon and beyond. You can mix this cake completely by hand, but a quick buzz with an immersion blender emulsifies the eggs, giving it an impossibly silky texture. A culinary torch is helpful for the final step.
Ingredients
RUST
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup finely ground pistachios
- 7 tablespoons butter cut in small cubes and chilled
FILLING
- 4 cups full-fat Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- Zest of 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
TO FINISH
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 orange segmented
- 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios
Instructions
- ►CRUST: Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly spray a 9” springform pan with non-stick cooking spray and line bottom with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and pistachios in a mixing bowl. Add butter and mix by hand, pinching butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Gently press into prepared pan in an even layer, allowing it to come up the sides about one-half inch. Chill for 20 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly brown and crisp. Cool completely at room temperature.
- ►FILLING: Reduce oven to 300°. Combine yogurt, sugar, honey, vanilla bean seeds, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Add eggs one at a time, whisking to incorporate. Buzz mixture for about 15 seconds with an immersion blender; it will become silky smooth. Wrap bottom of pan in foil and set it on a sheet pan with a rim. Pour filling evenly into crust, and place pan in oven. Pour about an inch of hot water into pan. Bake 1 hour and 40 minutes; cake should be set, yet slightly wobbly. Cool at room temperature in pan before transferring to the refrigerator to chill completely.
- ►TO SERVE: Release latch on springform pan and remove ring. Drizzle with honey and top with orange slices. Quickly brulée top of cake, using either a culinary blow torch or your oven broiler, keeping a close eye on the cake so it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle with pistachios.
