When life hands you feta make a Feta Cheesecake! Feta would not be my first choice for a cheesecake but it surprised me at just how flavorful the cake was. The chocolate did help temper the stronger feta flavor.
I love feta cheese. It is such a flavorful cheese, and I use it on almost every salad I eat, but I was thinking of other applications, what could I do a little outside the box with this wonderful cheese? I kept going back to cheesecake, something kept pulling me towards the unlikely combination of feta and cream cheese, I saw a lot of savory types of feta cheesecakes but hadn’t seen any use as a sweet cheesecake…..sigh There must be a reason, but since I couldn’t think of one, I decided to give it a try.
I knew the cheesecake would not be as sweet as a new york style or even ricotta, the flavor of the feta was just a little too pronounced to let that happen. I knew my cheesecake would need a complement to the tang of the feta, and chocolate seemed to be the answer…….well chocolate is the answer to a lot of questions, but that’s another story! I reached for my semi-sweet chocolate and prepared a ganache for the topping, for the crust I used my favorite digestive biscuits, and threw in a good handful of salted pistachio’s just to add another element into this flavor feast.
The results were not quite as I had planned but all in all, it was a very interesting and tasty cheesecake, the feta lent an interesting element to the filling, and the chocolate complimented the cheese so very well. The crust was a little bit of a letdown but did add yet another dimension to the cake if I make this again my only change would be to sweeten the crust up a bit and instead of pistachios use an unsalted pecan.
All in all the experiment was a success and while it got mixed reviews even the doubters were impressed with the flavors. If you do try this cake, I think you will be pleasantly surprised, especially served with a good cup of coffee or espresso!
If you love cheesecakes your going to love these recipes:
- Authentic Ricotta Cheesecake
- Mascarpone Strawberry Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars with a toffee crust
- Blood Orange Ricotta Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake Bars with Pecan Shortbread Crust
Feta Cheesecake with a Rich Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 8 oz Feta Cheese
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 2 Large Eggs
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Lime Zest finely grated
- Juice of one lime
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 12 Digestive Biscuits
- ½ Cup Salted Pistachio’s (or pecans)
- 4 oz unsalted butter (melted)
- 8 oz semi sweet chocolate chopped
- 4 oz heavy cream
Instructions
- In a food processor add the digestive biscuits and pistachios and process into crumbs for crust
- add melted butter to crust mixture and form into crust in a tart pan, or cheesecake pan.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
- In the bowl of the food processor, add the feta and heavy cream and process, until it begins to get smooth.
- Add in Cream cheese and continue to process
- Add eggs, lime juice, vanilla and lime zest and process until blended.
- Add in flour and sugar and process until all is incorporated and mixture is smooth and creamy*
- Pour mixture into cooled tart shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, keep an eye on the cheesecake, do not let it get too dark or crack.
- While cheesecake is baking prepare the ganache.
- Over a pot of boiling water in a metal bowl add your chopped chocolate and heavy cream, stirring until all the chocolate is melted and is smooth.
- Allow chocolate to cool while cheesecake is cooling down.
- Pour ganache over the cheesecake, using an offset spatula to smooth it into place.
- Use a nice layer of chocolate, it should be about ¼ of an inch thick at the center.
- Place finished cake in refrigerator and allow to set for at least 4 hours or overnight.*
Casise [Bake Your Day]
Awesome post, Chef Dennis! I agree with you about StumbleUpon…great site! And I will try this cheesecake ASAP. Cheesecake is my husband’s favorite and we love feta cheese. The whole thing looks so amazingly decadent!
Carolyn
You are brave for tackling a sweet feta dish. It has such a distinctive tang, I’d be interested to try it.
The foodporn sites are popping up everywhere! Just had another one start following me on stumble, called Chowstalker. Not sure about that one yet. As for stumble, just had a post go WILD on it. Some posts get nothing, others go crazy, and you never can tell what’s going to happen.
Tina@flourtrader
Very creative cheesecake! Feta is an unusual ingredient and I am glad you forged forward on this one. It looks delicious enough to encourage me to start experimenting with Feta.
Also, great information on this post-have a wonderful day.
Jackie
What a creative way to make a dessert! I’ll definitely start baking with feta cheese. Your food photography looks gorgeous.
RavieNomNoms
Chef! I am in love with this!!!! Seriously…I am so intrigued that you used feta, I am wondering what the texture would be like. I am sure it was fabulous! YUM
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love.
Oh my, I would have never thought to put feta in a cheesecake but it sounds like the best idea ever!!! This cheesecake looks rich and delicious!! And thanks for your great advice on social media. As a new blogger, I need all the tips I can get! 🙂
Alyssa
Great post! I’m not big on cheesecakes, but yours looks wonderful! I recently joined food pop but haven’t had much time to try to figure it out. I would love an invite to google +1. And thanks for the heads up on the other “food porn” sites. I haven’t had any luck with food gawker so far, so I’ll be giving those a try. Love the Ask Chef Dennis segments!
Maggie @MaggieCooks
I would love to have a slice of that cheesecake or maybe two! 🙂
Ann
Hi Dennis! I just received an invitation to FoodPop and joined their site. I have NO idea what to do with it, but I’ll stumble my way along! I’d LOVE an invitation to Google Plus One…thanks!
The cheesecake looks fabulous! I think if I make it, I’d probably use 4 oz feta….I like the flavor…but baby steps!
Thanks for the info on the sites – I agree….having received 39 rejections from Foodgawker – it gets a little old!
mangiabella
I love your enthusiasm with this cheesecake….it’s all about experimentation!!! I think the idea of some rich espresso with it sounds divine – and the photos are very alluring. As always, great tips on social media…your a gem!
Christine
Love cheesecake. Your cheesecake looks wonderful. Mouthwatering. I’d like a piece.
That is amazing… blogging community raised over $63k to help Jennifer and her girls. I am so happy to be a part of a wonderful community. Thanks to all.
Baking Serendipity
I can’t ever see getting accustomed to a 4am wake-up call, but this cheesecake would be something wonderful to come home to when the day was over 🙂 I love your creativity…I never would have thought to use feta in a sweet cheesecake, but it looks wonderful! Wishing you a great school year, Chef!
MunatyCooking
Never thought of using feta cheese in a cheesecake but sounds interesting and the cheesecake looks delicious. Will have to give it a try.
I know how frustrating it can get with foodgawker and food porn, everyone in this world will love your pictures except them, they are so picky, but they do bring a good deal of traffic. I love your pictures and recipes 🙂
Kim Bee
Love cheesecake and thrilled to see you thinking outside the box on it. Very inspirational post, sometimes it’s great to let people know it’s okay to experiment. I love pistachios so think I’ll try this in my next cheesecake. I am not a fan of feta though, not sure why. I used to work in a greek restaurant so you think I’d love it. I am going to try out some of your social media suggestions. If I could just figure out how to put buttons on my blog without making my brain bleed. Lol! Great recipe and thanks as always for enlightening us. I really appreciate these posts so much.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time
You know me and cheesecake. I don’t care what the cheese is, I’m in. This looks fantastic. I’ll have to give the chocolate layer to someone else, but I’ll eat the rest! As always, gorgeous and delicious.
Thanks for the tips as well, Chef. I’ve actually asked to have my membership to the major food porn sites removed because I’m just tired of trying to help them make money. Cheers!