Persimmon Cheesecake

How was your Thanksgiving??! Did you eat enough turkey and mashed potatoes? Reuben and I just got back from New Jersey, where we ate bagels almost every morning (omg, why can’t the West Coast make New Jersey bagels?!), feasted on smoked turkey, developed a love of smoked white fish (that’s more on me because he already loved the stuff), and clocked in some family time! The days went by fast. I slept more than I’ve slept in weeks and didn’t cook a thing (except for mochi muffins but I can make those in my sleep)!

Now we’re in a mad dash towards Christmas and I have a whole lot of holiday baking to do! I’m making cupcakes this afternoon and then my first attempt at a dessert dumpling - wish me luck! I have grand ideas for a few holiday cakes and composing cute tins of cookies to mail across the country. Then I realize I only have 3 more weeks until we hop on another plane to Cleveland and I start to freak out a little. Oh gosh, and I’m making dumplings for Pineapple Collaborative’s Product Launch Party! Are you coming?? Would love to see you there!

I’ll make it through. You’ll make it through! Then in January we have Chinese New Year to celebrate! Diet starts February 2020.

I’m kicking off the season of festive baking with this Persimmon Cheesecake! I love a good cheesecake around the holidays! My uncle would always bring over one of those frozen cheesecakes from Costco during Thanksgiving or Christmas and I couldn’t get enough of it. However, it’s hard to beat a homemade cheesecake with a salty pretzel crust and slices of sweet persimmons.

The base cheesecake recipe is actually adapted from Tartine: A Classic Revisted - Creamy Cheesecake Recipe. I attended an event where Elisabeth Pruitt was speaking and she mentioned the cheesecake recipe at least 5 times and I knew I had to make it! It’s definitely doesn’t disappoint! The actual cheesecake is so creamy and luscious. I love the addition of lemon to bright everything and cut through the richness of the cream cheese. I adjusted the portions slightly to fit my 8” springform pan, which results in a tall and sturdy cheesecake.

The recipe originally calls for a gluten free oat cookie crust but I love a good salty pretzel crust! KitchenAid recently sent me a new 7 Cup Food Processor and my whole world has changed. It blends the crunchy pretzels in no time and comes with various blade attachments so I can finally make carrot cake without feeling like my arm is about to fall off!

The addition of thinly sliced persimmons around the edges create a wax paper like effect. It’s so lovely! You can cut the persimmons using a very sharp knife or slice them on your mandoline - watch your fingers! The slices will naturally stick to the sides of the spring form pan. Roll up the remaining slices of persimmon to top your cheesecake. The gently folds and turns of the thinly sliced persimmons look almost like rosettes but without a whole lot of effort. That’s the type of decoration style I’m aaaallllll about these days! It gives you more time to work on your cookie tins and overly ambitious gingerbread house : )

Persimmon Cheesecake

makes 1 8”-9” cheesecake

recipe adapted from Tartine: A Classic Revisted - Creamy Cheesecake Recipe


crust:

2 cups (150g) pretzels
4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter - melted
1 tbsp salt
1 egg white

cheesecake:

3 cups (675g) cream cheese - softened at room temp
1 cup (190g) white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
8oz (240g) creme fraiche or greek yogurt
2 persimmons - thinly sliced and halved

topping:

8oz (240g) creme fraiche or greek yogurt
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the exterior of a 8” or 9” springform pan tightly with aluminum foil.

2. Place pretzels in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground and sandy. Add melted butter, salt, and egg white to the ground pretzels. Pulse a few more times. Add the pretzel crust mixture to the springform pan and press down on the crust with the bottom of a cup to form an even layer. Bake the crust in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and set aside the crust to cool.

3. To make the cheesecake filling, place softened cream cheese in the bowl of standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes, until light and smooth. Add sugar and salt and beat for another 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides every 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and mix for 30 seconds. While mixing on low, add 1 egg, making sure to thoroughly mix between additions and scraping down the sides. Add the creme fraiche or yogurt and mix on low for another minute until the cheesecake filling is smooth and creamy.

4. Line the sides of the springform pan with thinly sliced persimmons. Pour the cheesecake filling into the pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the springform pan in the center of a large roasting pan or large deep baking pan. Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches half way up the springform pan. Place the roasting pan with the cheesecake in the oven and bake for 90 minutes. When done, the cheesecake should be jiggly in the center. Remove the set up from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the roasting pan for 1 hour. Then remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and allow to cool at room temperature for another hour. Remove foil.

6. To make the topping, whisk together creme fraiche, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread the topping over the cheesecake. Cover the cheesecake with foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

7. Run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen. Release the sides of the springform pan, top with thinly sliced persimmons, and serve.

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