Intriguing to say the least, the flavor combination of this Honey Goat Cheese Cheesecake is nothing short of spectacular. Will you dare try it?
If you take a quick look at my recipe index, it won’t take you long to figure out that I’ve a real big thing for cheesecake.
In fact, I think I could very well run a blog that would be entirely dedicated to cheesecakes. I don’t think that I’d have much of a hard time coming up with a different cheesecake recipe every week for the next 5 or 6 years… Then maaaaybe I’d start running out of ideas.
Maybe.
One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do to celebrate my fervid love for everything cheesecake was to play with different kinds of cheeses and include them in the elaboration of my recipes. Great classics such as Brie and Camembert would be obvious avenues to explore, of course, but I like to challenge my imagination a little bit more than that by testing out something like a cendré of some kind, a St-André or even a Reblochon, perhaps … I even dream of eventually creating some sort of blue cheese or Gorgonzola cheesecake .
It goes without saying that goat cheese has been really high on my list of “want to try cheeses” and so I finally took the plunge and went ahead and created this Blackberry Honey Goat Cheese Cheesecake.
OMG! All I can say is test subject number one has been a complete and utter success. This was definitely one of my favorite cheesecakes of all times. Intriguing to say the least, the flavor combination of this masterpiece is nothing short of spectacular.
The distinctive tangy, tart, and slightly “goaty” aroma of the goat cheese really confers exceptional aromatic and earthy notes to the overall flavor of the cake, and it also pairs to the absolute perfection with the lightly floral sweetness of the honey. As for the blackberries, they add just the right amount of juicy freshness to the whole equation.
And can you say creamy? Seriously, the word doesn’t even start to cover it…. dreamy would be more like it.
In all honestly, this is more than just a cheesecake. This is a heavenly experience that demands to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest!
I’m telling you, I’m now wanting to play even more with goat cheese – I find it has the perfect texture and flavor profile to create the most amazing cheesecakes.
I’m getting luscious visions of a thyme lavender infused goat cheese cheesecake, with beautiful specks of purple and green throughout its batter.
Oh! The beauty! But that’s for another time. For now, you totally need to experience this one…
Think you’re ready for this?
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS & PICTURES
TO MAKE THE CRUST
Before you even get started with the crust, preheat your oven to 350°F and bring about 4 cups of water to the boil; you’ll be using it later to make a bain-marie for your cake.
Then, line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper. To do that, remove the ring and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Fold the excess paper back under the plate and, while holding it in place with one hand, put the ring back in its position with the other hand. Bring the excess paper back from under the pan but do not cut it off.
Now to make the crust: combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl.
Mix until well combined and press firmly at the bottom and about 3/4 of the way up the side of the prepared pan.
The way I like to do this is I start by distributing the mixture loosely around the pan with a flat bottomed glass, until I get fairly equal amounts and thicknesses everywhere.
Once everything has been well dispersed, I start pressing the crust firmly into place, starting with the bottom, but without forgetting the sides. You need to really compress these crumbs, otherwise the crust will fall apart as soon as you slice into it.
And if you want the top edge to look nice and clean like this, simply press down on it lightly with your fingers while you push the crust firmly against the walls of the pan with the glass.
Once the crust is pressed and shaped to your liking, place the pan over a piece of aluminum foil and fold the foil over the pan so the exterior is completely covered; this will prevent water from eventually getting into the pan.
Now place this rig into a roasting pan and set aside.
TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE FILLING
That part is extremely easy! Simply combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, honey, heavy cream, vanilla seeds, salt, ginger and cardamom in the bowl of your food processor.
I like to use fresh vanilla seeds because I’m a huge fan of the cute little black specks that they disperse throughout the batter, but if you didn’t have any on hand, you could very well use a good quality vanilla extract, instead.
Now process the ingredients until you get a super smooth ant creamy mixture that’s completely free of lumps, which should take about 3 minutes.
You might want to stop the motor to scrape the sides once or twice to make sure every last bit gets incorporated.
Now add the eggs and cornstarch and resume processing until well combined, about 30 seconds.
Again, stop the motor, scrape the sides well and beat for another 10 seconds.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the reserved crust.
As you can see, it’s a fairly thin batter but don’t worry: it will set into the creamiest, dreamiest cheese filling you’ll have ever eaten.
Remember the water you boiled before? Time to go get that.
Delicately pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan so it goes up about 3/4 of the way up the side. Now place that rig onto the middle rack of your oven and bake your cake for 25 minutes at 350°F. Then, decrease the temperature to 250°F and continue baking your cake for a further 65 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the center appears set.
Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Leave the cake in the oven, undisturbed, for about 1 hour, or until cool enough to be handled with your bare hands, and then slide it out of the oven.
When the cheesecake is completely cooled, run a thin spatula or knife around the rim and refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
GARNISH
When the cake is completely chilled, run a spatula or knife around the edge just to be sure that nothing stuck to the pan.
Then, carefully free the cake from the pan and place it on a cake plate or stand.
All that’s left to do now is pour about 1/2 cup of liquid honey over the cake and let it spread for a few seconds – of course, you can help it a little, if you don’t feel like waiting.
I know I’m not the patient type, so I assisted a little bit, with the help of a small rubber spatula.
Now mound a bunch of beautiful fresh blackberries right in the middle of the cake, hit it with a little bit more honey, why not?
Garnish with a few mint leaves and serve!
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (315g | 11oz) graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup (100g | 3.5oz) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g | 4oz) butter, melted
- 600g soft unripened goat cheese
- 1- (227g | 8oz) package full fat cream cheese
- 1- 500ml container 14% fat sour cream
- 3/4 cup (150g | 5.25oz) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid honey
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
- the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 tsp salt (I use Himalayan salt)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- 5 large eggs
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid honey
- About 1 cup fresh blackberries
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and bring about 4 cups of water to the boil; you'll be using it later to make a bain-marie for your cake.
- Line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper. To do that, remove the ring and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Fold the excess paper back under the plate and, while holding it in place with one hand, put the ring back in its position with the other hand. Bring the excess paper back from under the pan but do not cut it off.
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined and press firmly at the bottom and about 3/4 of the way up the side of the prepared pan.
- Place the pan over a piece of aluminum foil and fold the foil over the pan so the exterior is completely covered; this will prevent water from getting into the pan. Now place this rig into a broiler pan and set aside.
- Combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, honey, heavy cream, vanilla seeds, salt, ginger and cardamom in the bowl of your food processor. Process until the mixture is super smooth and creamy and completely lump free, about 3 minutes. Stop the motor to scrape the sides once or twice to make sure every last bit gets incorporated.
- Add the eggs and cornstarch and resume processing until well combined, about 30 seconds.
- Stop the motor, scrape the sides well and beat for 10 seconds.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the reserved crust, then delicately pour enough boiling water into the broiler pan so it goes up about 3/4 of the way up the side of the broiler pan. Place that rig onto the middle rack of your oven and bake your cake for 25 minutes at 350°F. Then, decrease the temperature to 250°F and continue baking your cake for a further 65 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the center appears set.
- Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Leave the cake in the oven, undisturbed, for about 1 hour, or until cool enough to be handled with your bare hands, and then slide it out of the oven.
- When the cheesecake is completely cooled, run a thin spatula or knife around the rim and refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- When the cake is completely chilled, run a spatula or knife around the edge; carefully free it from the pan and place it on a cake plate or stand.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of liquid honey over the cake, let it spread for a few seconds (you can help it a little) and then garnish with the blackberries and mint leaves
- Serve chilled.
crazyask.com says
“Just made this for dinner tonight, so good! I had some trouble finding some of the ingredients so I substituted tahini and a red curry paste for the miso, also did shrimp instead of tofu (for pleasure of My fiancé haha) but I have to say to definitely make the soft boiled egg! It was the cherry on top ????????
Evil Twin says
Euh… are you absolutely certain about that red curry paste? Somehow, I don’t think that it would such be a good match. Or the soft boiled egg, for that matter… 😉
Alison says
????????????
Ogi the Yogi says
Hi! I really want to try this recipe, just wondering if you could explain the use of cornstarch in this cheesecake recipe. I never usually make cheesecakes with cornstarch in them. Thank you.
Evil Twin says
It acts as a binding agent and helps in preventing cracks. The starch molecules get in between the egg proteins, preventing them from over-coagulating. No over-coagulating, no cracks!!
Ogi the Yogi says
I had a feeling that was the case. This is my first cheesecake using cornstarch. I know that it also affects the texture of the cheesecake. I added 2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead of 3. I also added 454grams of sour cream, I had no way of measuring 500 ml. The cheesecake is currently setting in the fridge, I baked it late last night. Very excited to try it. I will let you know how it turned out. Like you said no crack.
Evil Twin says
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it. It’s probably one of my faves, out of all the cheesecakes that I’ve created! Hope you end up liking it just as much!
Gerry says
I made one this weekend. OMG! So good! I like the way your evil twin thinks! One question, why so much crust? I actually only used 8 oz., of graham crackers, sort of borrowing from one of your other cheesecake recipes.
Evil Twin says
I dunno, I have a thing for crust I guess. I like it just as much as I do the cake, so I’m all for thick crusts! (I’m the same when it comes to pizza…)
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?