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Рецепт Pistachio and White Chocolate Cheesecake
by Monte Mathews

Solomon and The Queen of Sheba

as painted by Piero della FrancescaNobody

seems to know why, but February 26th is World Pistachio Day. The day even has its own website: www.worldpistachioday.com

And, as the site points out, it’s

hard to believe that until 1976 pistachios weren't even grown in this country. The nut had been imported since

the 1800s. It was slow-growing in popularity until a man named James W.

Parkinson of Philadelphia invented Pistachio Ice Cream at which point

Pistachios took off. Now, California

alone produces 300 million pounds of Pistachios annually. The pistachio itself is an ancient nut, one

of only two nuts referenced in the bible. The second? The almond. The Queen of Sheba was said to be so mad for

pistachios that she ordered that her country’s entire crop be set

aside just for her. Was it greed or

just good sense? Pistachios are highly

nutritious and have a very long storage life. That makes them a perfect food for

travellers like the Queen who ventured from her home in what is now Yemen to

Jerusalem to meet King Solomon. From the Middle East, they were introduced to

Rome in the 1st Century AD.

Their popularity truly is worldwide.

China consumes almost twice as many pistachios as are eaten in the

US. But we’re hardly pikers: 45,000 tons

of pistachios were eaten here last year.

So let’s celebrate this remarkable nut, whose trees can bear fruit for

up to 200 years. Let’s bake a rich,

decadent cheesecake studded with pistachios over a chocolate graham crust to

celebrate World Pistachio Day.

Matt (L) and Renato (R)We’ve

featured many recipes from Baked, the bakery that got its start in Red Hook,

Brooklyn. Recently Matt Lewis and Renato

Poliafito, the brains and bakers behind Baked opened a commodious new shop in

Tribeca (279 Church St. NY NY 10013 (212) 775-0345. There, in addition to a menu of soups and

savories, you can order spectacular cakes right out of their latest book “Baked

Occasions” (Stewart Tabori Chang 2014).

Or you can, as Andrew did, make one of these glorious confections from

the duo’s excellent recipes. That’s

where this recipe for Pistachio White Chocolate Cheesecake came from. It seems that Matt’s grandmother Boreali was

the Queen of all Cheesecakes and much of what goes into this particular cake

were her cardinal rules for baking cheesecakes.

According to Matt in “Baked Occasions” 'she always added a thin layer of sour

cream to the top of her cheesecakes for two reasons. First, she liked the slight sour note. Second, she told me it was a great way to

cover up any cracks (though Grandma’s cheesecake never cracked.)’ Interestingly she never used a ‘water bath’

in her life. However, Matt invites his

bakers to ‘feel free to place a 9 x 13 inch pan filled with water in the oven

directly below the cheesecake to help prevent cracking’. Note: this is not a bain marie in which the

cake would sit in a water bath.

Andrew's version of the cake

used ground pistachios to

decorate the sour cream toppingThis

is not a thirty minute recipe by a long shot.

For one thing, you need to refrigerate the cake after you’ve baked it

for a full 8 hours. But the wait only increases the anticipation of this

seriously delicious, creamy-rich pistachio-filled cake sitting atop a Chocolate

and Pistachio cookie crust. There’s one

other secret ingredient in this cake: To make the filling look like real

pistachio ice cream, Matt recommends a little food coloring to ‘green’ up the

cake. But if you object to food color,

by all means leave it out. Your cake

will still achieve the pale green color of pistachios. Here is the recipe:

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito’s Recipe for Pistachio White Chocolate

Cheesecake from Baked Occasions

Makes 1 nine inch Cheesecake.

Serves 16

cooled

Green food coloring or gel.

First make the Chocolate Cookie

Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 325

degrees F. Using nonstick cooking spray, lighly coat both the bottom and sides

of a high-sided (2 ½ to 3 inch)

9-inch springform

pan. Line the bottom of the pan with

parchment and lightly spray the parchment.

2. Wrap the outside of the pan in foil

on the off chance that it leaks during baking.

3. In a food processor,

pulse the pistachios until finely ground, about five 5 second pulses.

4. Add the

cookies, sugar and salt and process until the ingredients are coarsely ground,

30 to 40 seconds.

5. Drizzle the melted

butter over the crumbs and pulse until the mixture has the consistency of wet

sand.

6. Transfer the crumb mixture to the

prepared pan and press it into the bottom and up the sides. Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to

create a firm, even crust.

7. Bake the crust for 8

to 10 minutes to set. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now make the Pistachio

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling:

1. Increase the oven

temperature to 500 degrees F. and position a rack in the center of the oven.

2. In a food processor, pulse the

pistachios until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer

fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar and flour.

Beat on medium speed until just combined, being careful not to overbeat. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time,

beating well after each addition. Add

the ground pistachios and cream and mix until incorporated.

4. Pour half the batter into a

bowl. Fold the white chocolate into the

batter in the bowl until combined. Pour

this batter over the top of the chocolate cookie crust, smooth it out and place

the pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. If using, add the green food

coloring, a few drops at a time, to the remaining batter and stir to

incorporate until the desired color is achieved.

5. Pour this batter over the

refrigerated white chocolate batter. Smooth the top.

6. Bake in the middle of the oven

for 10 minutes. Open the oven door for a

few seconds to let out some heat lowering the oven temperature to 350 degrees F

as you do. Close the oven door. Bake until the cheesecake is set around the

outside but still slightly wobbly in the center, 45 minutes to 1 hour, rotating

the pan every 15 minutes.

7. Remove from

the oven and spread the sour cream over the top of the cheesecake in a swirly,

decorative pattern. Return to the oven

until the sour cream browns slightly, about 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat, crack the oven door and

let the cheesecake cool completely in the oven (about 1 hour).

7. Chill the cheesecake, lightly

covered, in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. Loosen the sides of the crust from the pan

with an offset spatula, then remove the spring form sides and serve.

The cheesecake will keep, tightly

covered in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 days.