Goat’s cheese cake with figs and honey

Australian Gourmet Traveller Greek dessert recipe for goat’s cheese cake with figs and honey.

Serves 10

Prep

20M

Cook

1H 20M

Total

1H 40M

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This recipe is based on the popular little free-form cheesecakes found in Santorini called melitinia. This version is more along the lines of a regular cheesecake, but with the addition of goat’s curd. The base is made with a pastry similar to that used for kourabiedes, the famous Greek almond shortbread. A drizzle of honey is essential, so use a good, flavourful Greek honey such as Attiki.

Ingredients

500 gm cream cheese, at room temperature

250 gm goat’s curd, at room temperature

75 gm softened butter

4 eggs

110 gm (½ cup) raw caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon, finely grated rind only

6 black figs, cut into wedges

To serve: honey and chopped pistachios

Almond pastry

240 gm plain flour

200 gm butter, coarsely chopped

80 gm ground almonds

40 gm (¼ cup) pure icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Method

Main

1.For almond pastry, process flour, butter, almonds and icing sugar until fine crumbs form, add yolk and 20ml cold water and pulse to just bring dough together. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until dough comes together, press into the base of a 23cm-diameter springform pan lined with baking paper and refrigerate until rested and firm (2 hours).

2.Preheat oven to 175C. Bake base until light golden and cooked through (30-40 minutes).

3.Meanwhile, beat cheeses, butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla and rind in an electric mixer until combined and smooth. Pour over pastry and bake until set (30-40 minutes), cool to room temperature (2 hours), then top with figs and pistachios and serve drizzled with honey. Cake is best made on day of serving.

Recipe / styling by Lisa Featherby

Ingredients

Method

Main

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