TURKISH DELIGHT CHEESECAKE
SERVES 8. PREP 15 MINS. COOK 1 HR 45 MINS (PLUS CHILLING TIME)
INGREDIENTS
• 24 sheets filo pastry
• 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 40g pistachios, crushed, plus extra to serve
• ¼ cup (60ml) runny honey, plus extra, warmed, to serve
• 750g cream cheese, chopped, and softened
• 250g sour cream, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 500g strawberries, hulled
• 1 tbsp rosewater
• ½ cup (60g) pure icing sugar
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 22cm springform cake pan.
2 Brush 8 filo sheets with butter and stack on top of each other. Scatter the centre of the top layer with pistachios and drizzle with honey. Brush 3 more sheets with butter and stack on top of the pistachio layer, finishing with one plain sheet. Use the base of the prepared pan as a guide to cut a 22cm circle out of the pastry, then press into the base of the pan. Brush 3 more filo sheets with butter, then top with a plain sheet. Cut into 3 long horizontal strips, then press into side of pan to create a pastry case. Repeat with remaining 8 sheets of filo to thicken the outside case. Cover pastry with baking paper and nd fill with baking weights. Place pan on a baking tray and blind bake for 35 minutes or until il sides are golden, then remove the weights and paper, and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the base is golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 3 Reduce oven to 160C. Place cream cheese in a food od processor and whiz until smooth. Add sour cream and nd whiz to combine. Add whole le eggs and yolk, caster sugar and vanilla seeds, reserving the pod. Whiz to combine, combine then pour into the pastry case. Place on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until just set with a gentle wobble in the centre. Turn off the oven and cool coo cake completely complete in the oven, then chill c for 4 hours or until set.
4 When W ready to serve, se preheat oven o to 180C. Place strawberries, rosewater, vanilla pod and icing sugar s on a baking tray tra and toss to coat. coa Roast for 12-15 minutes minu until strawberries strawb are softened and a syrupy. Remove from oven and cool. Remove cake from pan pa and place on a serving platter. Scatter with strawberries and extra pistachios, then pour extra warmed honey over the pastry, to serve.