If You Make One Thing This Week...Turkish Rose, Pistachio and Berry Cheesecake...

For a long time, I have been toying with the idea of a cheesecake with Turkish flavours. I finally got around to making it this week. I had originally planned on placing the cheesecake on a biscuit base, but decided to try a pate sucree base instead and I am so glad that I did! It turned out really well...

For the tart base you will need:
300 grams Cake Flour
100 grams Icing Sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tablespoon Ground Almonds
Pinch of Salt
150 grams Butter, diced into 2cm cubes and well chilled
2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten
Iced Water, if required

Sift the flour. Add to the bowl of a food processor. Add the icing sugar, ground almonds and salt.
Pulse for a second to combine. Add the butter and pulse till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse till the mixture just comes together. Add water if required.
Form pastry into a ball, wrap well and refrigerate for one hour. Remove dough from the fridge and roll out to a 4 mm thickness. Line the tart pan with the pastry. Chill well for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prick the base with a fork and line with baking paper. Fill with baking beans and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, till done. Remove the baking paper and beans and return to oven till golden, about 10 - 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Note: the pastry can be made the day before.

For the cheese cake:
450 grams Cream Cheese
25 grams Cake Flour
150 grams Castor Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 Eggs
125 grams Creme Fraiche
1 1/2 teaspoons Rose Water
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Grease a 20 cm spring form tin and line the base with a circle of baking paper. Grease the baking paper as well. Wrap the outside of the tin in a double layer of heavy duty foil. Wrap well, making
sure that no water can get in. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
Place the cream cheese, flour, castor sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until well combined. Add the eggs and beat in well. Add the Creme Fraiche and beat until well combined. Pour
into the prepared tin and place in a roasting tin. Fill with boiling water to come halfway up the sides
of the tin and carefully place in the oven. Bake for 45 -50 minutes. Note that the edges of the cheesecake will be firm but the middle should still have a slight jiggle to it. Remove from the oven and take out of the water bath and place cheese cake back into the oven. Turn the oven off and leave the cheese cake inside until completely cold. Remove from the oven, wrap the cheesecake well
and freeze until solid.

To assemble:
250 grams Creme Fraiche
50 grams Pistachios, toasted and finely chopped
Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Edible Flowers, Macarons and Turkish Delight, to decorate.

Whisk the Creme Fraiche until creamy. Spread a thin layer over the base of the tart. Sprinkle with the pistachios. Remove cheesecake from the freezer and unwrap. Spread the remaining Creme Fraiche over the top and side of the cheesecake and place in the centre of the tart base. Decorate as desired.