Baked Pistachio Kulfi Cheesecake
A creamy baked Pistachio Kulfi Cheesecake. With flavours of cardamom, saffron, and pistachio running through the cheesecake, it's a total love affair for anyone who's grown up with the traditional pistachio kulfi.
Equipment
- 8” spring form pan
- Whisk
- Large roasting tray
Ingredients
Base:
- 200 g digestive biscuits or graham crackers for US readers
- 50 g roasted unsalted pistachios
- 75 g unsalted butter
Cheesecake Filling:
- 560 g cream cheese softened
- 410 g evaporated milk equivalent to 1 tin in the UK
- 250 g sweetened pistachio paste/cream
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- Pinch of saffron
- 50 g cornflour or corn starch for US readers
Cheesecake topping:
- 4 tbsp sweetened pistachio paste/cream
- 20 g roasted unsalted pistachios ground
- Dried rose petals
Instructions
For the base:
- Start by blitzing the biscuits in a food processor, or crushing inside a sealed bag with a rolling pin until finely ground. Then transfer to a mixing bowl
- Repeat with the pistachios, but leave them more coarsely ground. Transfer these to the same bowl
- Melt the butter and add it to the biscuit and pistachio mixture. Mix to combine until it resembles wet sand
- Prepare your baking tin by greasing all over, then lining the sides of the tin with baking paper (this will help for a smooth removal later)
- Place the biscuit mixture into the tin and firmly press down into one even layer. Ensure it is well compacted. Next, place the tin into the freezer for 30 minutes
For the cream cheese filling:
- First pre-heat your oven to 150’C fan or 170’C conventional
- Start by toasting the saffron in a pan on the lowest heat for around 1 minute. Keep the saffron moving to prevent burning. Then transfer aside to cool
- Place the cream cheese, pistachio cream, evaporated milk, vanilla, cardamom and salt into a large bowl. Rub the toasted saffron between your fingertips to grind and add this in too
- Whisk until everything is incorporated and completely smooth. Using an electric whisk makes this easier
- Next sieve in the cornflour (corn starch for US readers) and whisk once again until smooth
- Remove the tin from the freezer after the 30 minutes are complete, and wrap the outside tightly in sheets of foil. I recommend using 5 sheets to entirely cover the outside and to securely seal the tin. Ensure the foil goes up to the top edge of the tin
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the tin, then place the tin into a large roasting/oven tray
- Pour boiling water into the larger tray, taking care to ensure no water goes onto the cheesecake. The water should go up half way of the height of the cheesecake tin. Bake on the middle rack for 60-65 minutes
- Once baked remove from the oven but allow the cheesecake tin to remain in the tray of water for 60 minutes
- Then, remove the cheesecake tin as well as the foil and transfer the tin to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely for a further 3-4 hours. Then place in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or preferably overnight
To decorate:
- Carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and slide onto your plate/board of choice
- Melt the remaining pistachio cream in the microwave in 10s increments until pourable
- Pour this over the top of the cheesecake and smooth over to cover the entire surface
- Add the remaining ground pistachios as well as the dried rose petals
Notes
See blogpost for vegan substitute recommendations