Tahina, chocolate and pistachio cheesecake recipe

Details

• Cuisine: Middle Eastern
• Recipe Type: Cheesecake
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Serves: 12

Step-by-step

1. Grease and line a circular 20–24cm (8–9.5in) springform tin with some baking parchment.
2. Whizz the biscuits and pistachios in a food processor until the biscuits have become crumbs and the pistachios are finely chopped.
3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat.
4. Tip the crushed biscuits into the pan, stir together, then tip everything into the prepared tin. Level it with the back of a spoon and chill.
5. Now prepare the marbled topping. Break up the chocolate and put in a large, heatproof bowl. Add the butter, 100ml (3.4fl oz) of the cream, the honey and tahina.
6. Place over a pan of just-simmering water and leave for 5–10 minutes until the chocolate and butter have melted. Take a spoon and very gently stir everything together.
7. Meanwhile, put the rest of the cream, the icing sugar, orange zest, mascarpone, vanilla extract and cream cheese in a large bowl. Fold them together.
8. Take the melted chocolate mixture and drizzle it over the cream mixture, folding everything together until you have a marbled mixture.
9. Spoon into the chilled cake tin, level the top and chill for 4 hours until set.
10. Loosen the tin and take off the paper around the edge. Slide a large fish slice under the cheesecake to loosen it and put it on a serving plate.
11. Scatter the pistachio nuts, halva and toasted sesame seeds over the top and serve.

This recipe is from Feasts From the Middle East, by Comptoir Libanais founder Tony Kitous (published by HQ, £20, out 8 March 2018).