Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake
Pistachios and raspberries come together to create one heck of a delicious cheesecake! This Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake features a rich and decadently creamy pistachio infused cheesecake that sits on top of a sweet graham cracker crust. A homemade raspberry syrup is poured over the cooled cheesecake to create a nutty, fruity, and Persian-inspired cheesecake!
How to make the Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake
1. Make the crust: Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to a bowl, then whisk to combine. Pour in the melted butter and toss with your hands until everything is well coated and resembles wet sand.
2. Bake and cool the crust: Grease a spring form pan with baking spray, then press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan. I like to use a flat bottomed glass or measuring cup to really compact the crust down. Place the crust into the oven to bake for 10 minutes, then allow the crust to cool to room temperature before adding the filling.
3. Beat cream cheese: Add the softened cream cheese to the stand mixer or large bowl and beat on low until the cream cheese looks creamy and smooth – about 3 or so minutes
4. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla: Add the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to the cream cheese, and beat on low until everything is well-combined, smooth, and creamy looking.
5. Add eggs: Add the eggs and egg yolks in, one at a time, incorporating each one fully before adding the next one! This just ensures even mixing and no streaks of egg throughout!
6. Add cream, sour cream, pistachio paste and cornstarch: After all the eggs have been incorporated, add in the heavy cream, sour cream, and pistachio paste then beat again on low until everything looks smooth, well-combined, and uniform. Add cornstarch, then beat on low until cornstarch is combined completely.
7. Bake: Take 2 pieces of tin foil and wrap them around the base of the spring form pan. Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Place the cheesecake into a large roasting pan, then pour boiling water into the roasting pan, ensuring that the water comes about halfway up the cheesecake pan. Place into the oven to bake!
8. Cool cheesecake: After the cheesecake has baked, allow the Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake to cool in a cracked oven for about an hour. This reduces the amount of cracking. After an hour, let the cheesecake come down to room temperature on the counter, then cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to cool and set overnight.
8. Top with raspberry sauce and fresh raspberries: After the cheesecake has fully cooled and set in the fridge, remove it from the spring form pan, and pour the cooled raspberry sauce on top and then garnish with fresh rasperries!
SOFTENED CREAM CHEESE IS ESSENTIAL
It is crucial that the cream cheese is well softened for this Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake recipe. What does softened cream cheese mean? Well it means that the cream cheese needs to be extremely soft! Do not use cream cheese straight out of the fridge! I personally like to pull my cream cheese out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for several hours until it is very soft in texture and at room temperature throughout.
If you’ve forgotten to pull the cream cheese out on time, cut the blocks up into cubes then place them into the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the cream cheese is very soft and creamy (but not hot).
So why do you need softened cream cheese for a cheesecake? Softened cream cheese is easier to mix, making for a more uniform cheesecake! Cold cream cheese tends to be lumpier, meaning that you will most likely be left with chunks of unmixed cream cheese in your raspberry pistachio cheesecake!
WHAT IS PISTACHIO PASTE
Pistachio paste or butter is to pistachios what peanut butter is to peanuts! Basically pistachios that have been ground up into a paste. Some pistachio pastes are sweetened with sugar, flavored with essences or extracts, and thinned out with water and oil, while others are made from pure pistachios. While you can definitely make your own pistachio paste at home, for the amount you need in this recipe, it probably makes more sense to just buy a jar of it. I used this specific pistachio paste, but this one and this one look great as well!
How to make the Raspberry Sauce
1. Cook down raspberries and sugar: Add the raspberries and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat, then cook them down until the raspberries have begun to soften and liquify. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce to remove any seeds and pulp: Pour the sauce over a fine mesh sieve, discarding any seeds and pulp, then return the juice back to the saucepan.
3. Reduce the sauce: Return the sauce to medium heat, then reduce the sauce until syrupy, but still liquid and not jammy. This will take about an additional 10 minutes.
Get the Recipe: Raspbery Pistachio Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ¾ cups (230g) Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1/4 cup (50g) White Sugar
- 1/2 cup (114g) Unsalted Butter,, melted
Pistachio Cheesecake
- 32 oz (1000g) Cream Cheese,, well softened (4 blocks of cream cheese)
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) White Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vanilla
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 3 Large Eggs,, at room temperature
- 2 Large Egg Yolks,, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (172g) Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup (120g) Pistachio Paste
- 6 tbsp (90g) Full Fat Sour Cream
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
Raspberry Sauce
- 10.5 oz (300g) Frozen Raspberries,, thawed
- 9 tbsp (113g) White Sugar
- Fresh Raspberries,, for garnish
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour the melted butter into the bowl, then mix with a fork, or your hands, until the butter is well dispersed and the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Grease a 9” or 10” springform pan, then add the crust into pan and press it down evenly into the bottom. Use a flat bottom measuring cup to really compact the crust down. Place the crust into the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Pistachio Cheesecake
- Turn the oven down to 325°F. Prepare the cooled springform pan (with the crust) by wrapping the bottom of the pan with 2 sheets of tinfoil, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer, add the soft cream cheese and beat on low until it looks soft and creamy – about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat on low until very creamy – 3-4 minutes. While still beating on low, add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, ensuring that each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next, ensuring that you are also scraping at the bowl as necessary.
- Add the heavy cream, pistachio paste, and sour cream, then beat on low until the cheesecake filling looks creamy, smooth, and uniform. Finally, add in cornstarch then beat on low one last time on low until the corn starch is well-combined.
- Pour the filling over top of the cooled crust in the springform pan, then place the cheesecake into a large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan so that it reaches about halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Place into the oven to bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. When the cheesecake is done it should still be a little jiggly in the centre.
- When done, lightly crack the oven open to allow the cheesecake to slowly cool for about an hour and a half. After an hour and a half, remove the cheesecake from the oven and water-bath and place onto the counter to cool to room temperature. Once at room temperature, wrap with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
Raspberry Sauce
- Add the raspberries and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat, then cook them down until the raspberries have softened and liquified. About 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, and, and pour the sauce over a fine mesh sieve, discarding any seeds and pulp, then return the juice back to the saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the sauce until syrupy, but still liquid and not jammy – about 10 minutes.
- Place the sauce in a heat-proof bowl, cover with plastic, then place into the fridge to fully cool.
- When ready to serve, pour the cooled raspberry sauce over the cooled cheesecake, then garnish with fresh raspberries.
