Berry Chèvre Cheesecake Squares with Gluten-Free Pistachio Crust
These cheesecake squares are the perfect way to celebrate!
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 35 minutesminutes
Total: 50 minutesminutes
Servings: 24medium-sized bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
3/4cupshelled pistachios (I used raw ones, but toasted ones are fine, too), plus extra for decorating (optional)
1/2cup+ 2 tablespoons millet flour
1/2cupsweet white rice flour
1/4cupcornstarch
1/3cuporganic blonde cane sugar
1/4teaspoonsalt
1stickunsalted butter, cold, cut into 3/4" chunks(4 ounces)
For the Filling:
6ouncesfresh goat cheese, room temperature
10ouncescream cheese, room temperature
3/4cuporganic blonde cane sugar
2tablespoonssweet white rice flour
seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 small lemon
1/4teaspoonsalt
3eggs, room temperature
1/4cupheavy cream
1cupfresh or frozen raspberries (plus extra for decorating)
1cupfresh or frozen blueberries (plus extra for decorating)
Instructions
Prepare things:
Position a rack in the bottom-center of your oven and preheat to 350º. Line a 9 x 12" rimmed baking pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil cut to fit width-wise, leaving an overhang on each side. (This will help you lift the cake out of the pan after baking, making cutting easier.)
Make the crust:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pistachios, millet flour, rice flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture begins to form large, coarse crumbs, and holds together when squeezed, about 30 seconds. Dump the mixture into the lined pan, and press firmly and evenly with your hands.
Bake the crust until golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently press the crust down with the back of a spoon, or the bottom of a flat measuring cup; this will help it hold together when sliced.
Make the filling:
Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor. Combine the cheeses, sugar, flour, vanilla bean seeds, lemon zest and salt and blend just until smooth, about 5-10 seconds. Add the eggs, process until smooth, then scrape down the bowl. Add the cream and process until smooth. Scrape once more, and blend again if at all lumpy.
Scatter the berries evenly over the cooled crust, and pour the filling over, distributing it evenly. Bake the cheesecake until the center is set, 15-25 minutes. It should wobble like jell-o when you shake it gently, but not be watery or liquid. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until firm and cold.
To slice the bars, use the parchment paper handles to carefully lift the cheesecake out of the pan (it may crack a little bit, but this is not the end of the world.) Place on a large cutting board. Fill a pitcher with hot tap water and have some paper towels handy, or an old (but clean!) dish towel that you don't mind getting stained. With a large, sharp chef's knife dipped in the hot water and wiped completely dry between each cut, cut the cheesecake into 24 squares (or whatever size you like).
Place each square in a standard paper muffin liner if you like, and top with a pistachio, halved raspberry, and a blueberry.
Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four or five days.
Notes
Adapted from my Huckleberry Chèvre Cheesecake Squares which were adapted from Williams Sonoma Baking.These bars take about 1 1/2 hours total to assemble and bake, plus an additional 4 hours to cool and chill. They are excellent the day of and after baking, when the crust is still crisp, but keep well for up to 4 or 5 days in the fridge.These will be extra delicious if made with high-quality cream cheese and fresh goat's cheese; I prefer Sierra Nevada cheeses, which are free from gums and stabilizers. To quickly warm your cheeses and eggs to room temperature (essential to achieving non-lumpy cheesecake), place a towel on top of your preheating oven. Scoop the cheeses into a metal bowl, and the eggs (cracked or not) in another bowl. Place the bowls on the towel while you make your crust. Rotate occasionally, and remove when they reach room temperature to the touch.The bars are easily made in a food processor. Lacking one, you can chop the nuts finely by hand, and mix both the crust and filling in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or by hand in a large bowl.For a more pronounced goat cheesy flavor, substitute another 2 - 4 ounces of chevre for an equal amount of cream cheese.For thicker bars, bake the cake in a 9" square pan and increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.Nutritional values are based on one of twenty four squares.