Chocolate and Pistachio Dubai Cheesecake

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Pistachio Paste. It is an essential ingredient with no real substitute. If you don’t have a store-bought version (ideally, it should contain only pistachios, sugar syrup, and vegetable oil), you can easily make it yourself. Simply blend lightly roasted pistachios with a sugar syrup until smooth.
  To make 250g of paste (you’ll have some leftover) you’ll need 150g shelled pistachios, 30ml refined vegetable oil, 60g sugar, 20ml water.
  The color of your finished cheesecake will depend on the color of your paste – it can be bright or pale. If your paste isn’t as vibrant as mine, feel free to add a little green food coloring (optional).
• Kataifi Dough. Look for this in the frozen food section of your grocery store. While some people make this dough from scratch, I don’t have a tested recipe for it. Another option is to use phyllo dough, but you’ll need to cut it into very thin strands – just keep in mind the final result won’t be quite the same.
• Cream Cheese. Any cream cheese similar to Philadelphia will work perfectly here. However, be sure to check its consistency before preparing the filling. If your cheese is very soft, you can adjust the balance between the cheese and cream to get the right texture – just add more cheese and a little less cream.
• Cream. You need a heavy cream with at least 30% fat content. Save the 20% cream for sauces – it’s too thin for this recipe. You can also substitute the cream with sour cream, but make sure it has a minimum fat content of 25%.
• Eggs. Use medium-sized eggs, which weigh approximately 50-55g once they’re out of the shell.
• Sugar. It’s best to use superfine (or caster) sugar. If your sugar crystals are too large, you can easily grind them in a coffee grinder or simply use powdered sugar instead.
• Crust. Oreos are the perfect choice for the crust because their texture holds up beautifully even after baking the cheesecake. Unlike traditional graham crackers, which are used in most other cheesecake recipes, Oreos will give you a much richer and satisfyingly crunchy texture.
• Gelatin. I use sheet gelatin for this recipe. You don’t need to measure the water for soaking – the sheets will absorb exactly what they need, and you can simply drain the rest. If you’re using powdered or granulated gelatin, the ratio is 1 part gelatin to 6 parts water (for example, 10g of gelatin needs 60g of cold water).
• Chocolate. Both the ganache and the chocolate mousse are designed for chocolate with a cocoa content of about 50-60%. This will give you the most balanced flavor. I don’t recommend using milk chocolate, as it will make the dessert far too sweet.

Let’s start cooking!

Make the pistachio cheesecake.

Separate the Oreos and remove the cream filling. You should end up with 150 grams of cookies.

Place the Oreos in a food processor and grind them into crumbs. Alternatively, you can put the cookies in a thick bag and roll them with a rolling pin.

Melt the butter and pour it into the crumbs. Mix well. Spread the mixture and press it into the bottom of a springform pan.

Bake in a preheated 170°C (340°F) oven for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C (300°F).

While the crust is baking, prepare the pistachio filling.

Combine the cream cheese and sugar, mixing until smooth.

Add the pistachio paste.

Mix again.

Then, add the heavy cream and eggs, and mix until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the pan with the baked crust and spread it evenly. I recommend tapping the pan on the table to remove any air bubbles from the filling.

Place the pan in the oven and bake at 150°C (300°F) for about 45 minutes. Place a container of boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven.

After 45 minutes, check the cheesecake. When you tap the side of the pan, only the center should wobble. If it is ready, leave it in the slightly open, turned-off oven for an hour. Then, remove it and let it cool to room temperature on the countertop. Finally, carefully run a thin knife between the side of the pan and the cheesecake, and then put it in the refrigerator.

Make the crispy pistachio layer.

Use a knife or scissors to cut the dough into shorter strands.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the dough and fry it, stirring and turning constantly, until it is golden brown.

Transfer the dough to a bowl, and add the pistachio paste.

Mix well. The easiest way to do this is with gloved hands.

Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator, remove it from the pan, and transfer it to a serving dish. Wrap a sheet of acetate cake collar around the perimeter and place the cake ring.

Spread the crunchy mixture over the pistachio cheesecake and smooth it out. Gently press down, being careful not to crush the cheesecake.

Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator.

Make the chocolate mousse.

Soak the gelatin in cold water.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Combine the cream cheese and condensed milk, beating until smooth. While beating, add the melted chocolate, which should no longer be hot, to the mixture.

Melt the gelatin in a saucepan.

Add a spoonful of the cheese mixture to the gelatin and stir. Add a couple more spoonfuls and stir again. This is necessary to gradually balance the temperature difference between the gelatin and the cheese mixture.

Next, add the gelatin mixture to the rest of the cheese mixture and stir.

Whip the cream to medium peaks.

Using a spatula, carefully combine the whipped cream with the cream cheese mixture.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the pistachio layer.

Place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight. The minimum stabilization time is 6 hours.

Make the ganache.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces with a knife. If you have chocolate chips, this step is not necessary. Place the chocolate in a bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir with a whisk until smooth.

Pour the ganache over the cheesecake as a top layer and spread it evenly. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Refrigerate the cheesecake for half an hour to allow the ganache to set.

Cut the finished cheesecake into portions after removing the acetate film. Serve and enjoy!

Bon appétit!

This Chocolate and Pistachio Dubai Cheesecake recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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