Goat’s cheese cake with figs and honey

Name: Goat’s cheese cake with figs and honey
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Greek
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; 240 gm plain flour; 200 gm butter, coarsely chopped; 80 gm ground almonds; 40 gm (¼ cup) pure icing sugar; 1 egg yolk

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

Feb 26, 2010 1:05am

By Lisa Featherby

Serves 10
20 mins preparation
1 hr 20 mins cooking plus resting, cooling

Goat’s cheese cake with figs and honey

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.