Hi Guys! Today we have cheesecake for you….but not any kind of cheesecake; one made with goat cheese and Greek yogurt! I’m not going to lie, I’m not the biggest cheesecake fan. I started making cheesecakes when I was younger because it’s my sister’s favorite dessert and she was always requesting it for her birthday. (and if you know my sister, you know she’s just like me, not a sweets person)
Anyway, I got really used to making one cracked and deflated cheesecake after another, wondering how places like the Cheesecake Factory got their cheesecakes so tall and perfect every time. Did they use some sort of special springform pan?As far as I was concerned, the springform pan was the most heinous tool in the kitchen. I get it..you can release the sides of the pan from the cake with ease…but what about the bottom? You’re pretty much stuck serving your cheesecake with the bottom of the pan still attached. (this became a bigger issue for me once I became a food stylist…clients don’t normally like to photograph cheesecakes with a big shiny piece of metal stuck to the bottom) Also, if you have one teeny tiny hold in your pain in the ass aluminum wrap contraption you’ve basically signed up for a waterlogged dessert.
Anyway, this brings me to today’s recipe and what I believe to be the most valuable piece of info I took away from culinary school. NO SPRINGFORM PAN NEEDED. For realz. Once my instructors helped me to see the light, I went home, threw all my springform pans away and set out to buy cake pans in all sizes. Really, all you need is a good quality cake pan, patience and a xanax (j/k on the last one). The cake board method I’ve explained in the instructions below is perhaps the best way to bake and release a perfect cheesecake. You don’t have to worry about weird, invisible foil tears that will prevent your cheesecake from rising perfectly, crack-free, nor do you have to worry about serving your cheesecake with a disc of pan still attached! A couple things that are important to this process is patience (the cheesecake really needs to be chilled thoroughly before being inverted to ensure you don’t have a big mess on your hands) and fearlessness (you really need to be confident in your flipping and tapping to ensure success!) Worse comes to worse, you make a bit of a mess and you’re still left with delicious cake! One last thing, please don’t over bake this sucker. You really want the center to wobble for a second of two before pulling it from the oven so you know you’ll have a super creamy cheesecake, which is the best!
This recipe and especially process might seem a little intimidating, but it’s really not! I promise!…and if you’re totally comfortable around your springform pan like I never was, go for it! Enjoy! xx, Jenny
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Goat Cheese and Yogurt Cheesecake
Makes 1 8” cake
Ingredients:
crust:
1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (18-22 vanilla wafers)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
filling:
20 ounces goat cheese, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3cup superfine sugar (granulated is fine)
8 ounces (nonfat) Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons buttermilk, optional
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
garnish:
honey
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚.F<
2. In a mixing bowl, combine crumbs and butter and stir until fully incorporated.
3. Line an 8” cake pan with parchment paper and very lightly grease pan. Add crust mixture and press evenly into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
4. Place goat cheese, cream cheese and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined (you can also use a stand mixer).
5. Scrape down sides of bowl an add yogurt until just combined. With motor running add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and beat until no lumps remain.
6. Pour filling over crust and smooth top (filling should reach the top of the pan).
7. Carefully place mixture into a roasting pan and place in the oven. Carefully pour warm/hot water into the side of the roasting pan until the water reaches halfway up the side of the cake pan.
8. Bake cheesecake for 45 to 55 minutes r until center is still slightly wobbly.
9. Remove from oven and water bath and allow cheesecake to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the pan to ensure cheesecake doesn’t stick to sides when removing from pan.
10. Allow cheesecake to cool for an hour. Place cheesecake in the refrigerator and allow to chill for at least 6 hours.
11. Once cheesecake has completely chilled, run a knife along the edge again.
12. With a platter ready, place a clean cake board over the top of the cheesecake and pan and quickly invert it onto the cake board. Tap the bottom of the pan to ensure nothing is sticking. Remove pan and replace with a platter before quickly, but carefully turning the cheesecake onto the platter and removing the cake board from the surface. (the removal process should take no more than 30 seconds)
13. Drizzle the top with honey, slice and serve.
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Love the no springform pan approach! And these flavor combinations!
you might try laying a towl in the water bath, it keeps all the water from sloshing when you remove from the oven …. cuz water bath burns are no fun :}
Cheesecake is one of my favorite sweets. I can not way to try this one too.
Thanks for posting ^^
This looks just fabulous!! I love making cheesecakes, but I was never able to enjoy them since they are always soo rich. This is definitely a must try for me!! Thank you for posting!!
My fiancee is a big cheese cake guy. He’ll be immediately suspicious of the goat cheese so I’m totally going to have him taste it and then have him guess what makes it taste so good!
I’ve been wanting a really great recipe with goat cheese…this looks amazing! Love the fact you have Greek yogurt in it!
My husband dislikes goat cheese. So, I’m constantly looking for recipes that use goat cheese in hopes to change his husband mind. This one just might be the one! And, if not? Well, more for me! It’s a win, win!
Sorry to sound dumb, but what is a cake board? You state in your recipe to invert the cheesecake onto a cake board…I don’t know what that is…
Thank you! :)
uso sempre il formaggio di capra per le cheese cake, nient eformaggio confezionato, solo frschissimo e ovviamente yogurt greco. impossibile rinunciarvi. :)))
OMG just a few gluten free graham cracker crumbs and I will be in cheese cake heaven.
I am not really a cheesecake person, but I love goat cheese and greek yogurt! Plus, you method is just genius! I cannot wait to try it!!
A handy trick for using springform pans is to flip the bottom over, line with baking paper and use it that way. It means no awful edge and you can slide your cake off with ease.
I am the biggest fan of cheesecake since I had my first piece in a small bakery in USA. Gosh, it was delicious. Polish cheesecake are not as good. Great recipe and I like an adddition of a greek yogurt.
This is absolutely gorgeous!!
Aaaaand death just became me.
Y-U-M.
Sounds awesome! Now to find some time to actually make this dessert.
I’m a fan of goat cheese with just about everything, so this HAS to be good!! I don’t particularly mind springform pans, but I do like using the parchment method for most cakes, so I might have to try it with cheesecake the next time I make one!
So when you line the pan, you just cut out an 8 inch circle for the bottom?
Yes!
This looks absolutely delicious. Love all the ingredients. I’ve never actually ever tried *baking* a cheesecake. This side of the pond, we tend make ours without egg and just chill to set the filling. This one looks like one to start with for baking. Wish I could just reach into the computer and help myself to a slice right now though… :)
Oh my gato. I love cheesecake and this sounds amaaazing! I’m not a fan of springfoam pans so I’m so excited to try this recipe and method out…thank you so much for sharing!
I’ve made cheesecake with goat cheese and greek yogurt separately but not together, love this!
I’ve been looking for a good goat cheese cheesecake recipe for a while now. This once looks so delicious and I bet buttermilk totally amps up the tang factor. Love it!
Making this this weekend! It looks amazing! Question – Do you need the vanilla wafer crust because of the tartness of the goat cheese and yogurt or would a traditional homemade graham cracker crust work? Thanks!
Either is fine!
I just cannot see how this recipe wouldn’t be awesome… I am drooling over here!. Love the photo’s as always!
Your cheese cake is lovely. SO suited to people who are not a fan of the over rich new york styles. I also find that if you use a food processor it helps keep air form being beaten in to the mix; thus no rise= no cracks.
Thanks for the tips!