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rose berry goat cheese cheesecake

Rose Berry Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Tangy goat cheese, sweet berries and floral rose combine in this spin on a classic. This can be made ahead of time, up to 2 days. The crust can also be made up to 2 days ahead to speed the process. So, don't let the 10 hour prep time scare you - it includes 8 hours resting time. Recipe adapted from Claire Saffitz. Use any fresh and seasonal fruit for the topping, and any jam or liquid sweetener to taste, in place of the rose jam.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 170g (1 sleeve, 9-10 sheets) graham crackers see note below
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 TB demerara or turbinado sugar granulated would work too
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 6 TB (85g) unsalted butter room temperature, cut into 1/2" pieces

Filling

  • 10.5oz (297g) fresh goat cheese (chevre) room temperature
  • 8oz (227g) cream cheese full fat
  • 2/3 cup (130g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped 1-2 tsp vanilla extract works as well
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, or milk I used whole milk
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 TB lemon zest
  • 3 TB fresh lemon juice

Berry Topping

  • 2-3 cups fruit of choice, chopped and pitted if necessary
  • 3-4 TB rose jam, heated to loosen I strained the rose jam, since I didn't want the petals in the fruit mixture; instead of rose jam, use a few tsp of rose water mixed with another jam of choice, or even honey. Warm the jam, strain if desired, and add a few tsp of rose water.

Instructions
 

Make the Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350F with a rack in the center of the oven. If using a cake pan, line the entire interior with aluminum foil or parchment, using either one large sheet or two criss-crossed smaller sheets. Ensure the entire pan interior is covered for easiest removal of the cake later on, and that there is at least 1" of overhang above the pan sides for gripping to remove cake.
  • In a food processor, add the grahams and pulse to break. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to combine, until you have a medium-fine texture that holds together when squeezed.
  • To pat into the pan, start with about 1/2 of the crust crumbs and pat into an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
  • Add the remaining 1/2 of the crust crumbs to the pan along the sides/perimeter of the pan, and press about 1.5" up the sides. The top edge may not be perfect, and that is just fine. Using a small measure cup or flat bottomed glass, press the entire crust evenly into the pan one more time. There should be no holes or gaps.
  • Bake for 13-16 minutes (my oven took 16 minutes), or until the crust is golden. Allow to cool and proceed with the filling. You can put the hot crust pan into the fridge or freezer if you are impatient.

Filling

  • Pre-heat oven to 325F. Keep rack in center of oven.
  • Add cheeses to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or, use a hand mixer, and use a larger bowl). Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium to combine and loosen the cheeses. It is extremely important that the cheeses be room temperature to combine homogenously, and not have lumps or streaks.
  • Add the sugar, vanilla seeds or extract, and lemon zest. Mix on medium until combined, scraping down the bowl one time to get any ingredients on the bottom.
  • Add the milk or heavy cream, and mix until smooth again, scraping down the bowl.
  • Add the eggs and lemon juice and mix on medium-high until the ingredients are incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly mixed. This will take about 3 minutes. The filling will be smooth and everything will be evenly combined.
  • Pour the filling into the cooled crust, until the filling is about 1/8" from the top edge of the crust. Even out the top and release any trapped air bubbles by gently tapping on the counter. If any crust crumbs loosen into the filling, remove with a tip of a knife.

Prepare the Water Bath & Bake

  • Boil a large pot of water, or use an electric kettle to boil about 2 to 2.5 quarts of water. I like to have a pouring spout when making the water bath for easy pouring, so I use my electric kettle. Boiling water in the microwave in a large pyrex measuring cup works as well, but use caution when microwaving water.
  • Place the cheesecake inside of a roasting pan or larger pan that will fit the cheesecake. Place this into the oven, and then gently pour in the boiling water up to 1" to 1.5" up the sides of the pan. Take care when pulling oven racks in and out, as some are a little rough to push/pull, so as to not get water splashed in the cheesecake.
  • Bake the cheesecake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges appear just set and there is still a wobble in the center of the filling. Turn off oven, and partially open the oven door - about 6" or so. Allow the cheesecake to continue to cool in the oven, about 2 hours.
  • Transfer cheesecake to the fridge to finish cooling, at least 2 hours but up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover once cheesecake is completely cool if storing longer than a day in the fridge.
  • To remove the cheesecake, gently pull on the aluminum foil or parchment overhang. I find that putting the cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes firms the cake enough to help get it out easier, and to safely peel off the foil from the bottom without the cake breaking. Or, if using a springform pan, release the pan sides. Transfer to serving platter.

Fruit Topping

  • In a small saucepan, warm the jam (or honey or other sweetener if using). If there are lots of particulates in the jam, you can strain it while warm over the berries.
  • Add a teaspoon of rosewater, and mix until combined. Taste, and adjust rosewater if needed.
  • Scoop berries onto the top of the cheesecake, and arrange as desired.

Notes

Be sure the cheeses and the eggs are at room temperature before starting to mix the filling. Take these out of the fridge a couple of hours before making the recipe, or, if you forgot, place sealed ingredients and whole in-shell eggs in very warm tap water to help speed the warming.
For the graham cracker crust, I found that I only had about 150g in one packet of graham crackers. To get to 170g of cracker material, I processed 20g of rolled oats in my food processor to a medium-fine meal consistency, before adding the remaining ingredients. You can just add another few sheets of graham crackers, but I didn't want to open another package. 
You can also bake this in a 9" springform pan, proceeding as written. I prefer to bake my cheesecakes in a cake pan, since I have always had issues with water leaks no matter how well I wrap the springform pan!
Keyword Berries, Blueberry, Cheese, cheesecake, cherries, cherry, goat cheese, graham cracker, Vanilla, Vanilla Bean