ROOTS & WINGS

26. Pistachio Lime Cheese Cake

You know, one of my BIGGEST problems in letting go especially cookbooks, is that I always leaf through them once more before I make a decision... which usually my stomach makes for me then.

This happened to me with Barbara Bryant & Georgeanne Brennan's Pistachio, and not only because this is the cover dish.

Hey! *indignant pout* Be glad that my stomach does the thinking for me, otherwise you woulda missed this fresh, juicy cake which is just perfect for a summer birthday / picnic / party!

Granted, it takes forever to make it – sorry, NO shortcuts, except you want MURKS! – but, duuuuude, the result!

You're in for a meditative cake making – and will-building – session in the kitchen?

That makes the Ol' Woman happy. So off to the kitchen!




Serves: 9 squares

Prep Time: 3+ hrs PLUS: cooling off time (probably – like in MY case – overnight

Degree of Difficulty: DON'T. BLOODY. HASTE. Otherwise? EASY.




WE NEED


CRUST


81 gr / 3 oz. pistachio meal That's coarsely blitzed whole pistachios.
75 gr / 2 2/3 oz. sugar
95 gr / 3 1/3 oz. flour
55 gr / 2 oz. butter





FILLING


4 / 5 large / middle-sized eggs
2 limes
230 gr (1 cup) natural sour cream UN-sweetened/-flavored, or otherwise ruined
1/2 tsp (pure) vanilla extract Or 1/2 pck = 4 gr = 1/7 oz. vanilla sugar which I used.
100 gr / 3.5 oz. sugar
30 gr / 1 oz. / 2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp sea salt

450 gr / 16 oz. plain cream cheese NOT fat-reduced The Industry substitutes the removed fat with sugar (in the US probably worse stuff) ALSO: the recipe says half of this amount => Neufchâtel (a French) cheese, but I didn't find it when I went shopping. JFYI.




TOPPING


120-150 gr / 4.25-5,25 oz. natural sour cream See
3 thin lime slices
70 gr / 2.5 oz. pistachios chopped

HINT: I didn't slice the lime – which is put on top of the topping as decoration, BUT: I grated the 3rd lime, and mixed the zest and – tsp-wise! – some juice into the sour cream. Tastes fresher



20 cm / 8 in brownie tin




WE DO

1. Line the brownie tin with two perpendicular layers alu foil, allowing 5 cm / 2 in on all sides. (Peel and) Blitz the pistachios coarsely. Cut the butter into 1 cm / 1/2 in chunks. Probably put it back in the fridge while scaling, etc. the other ingredients as it must be REALLY cold, and not half-molten



2. For the CRUST, whisk together the pistachio meal, sugar + flour until well-combined. Scatter the butter on top and, either using a pastry blender or your finger(tip)s – what I did –, work the butter in until the mix is crumbly. Then gather it into a tight ball. Put the ball into (the middle of) the baking dish and, with the/your heel of your hand / fingers, firmly + evenly press the dough onto its bottom.

3. For the FILLING, set a mixing bowl and a large jug side by side. Separate the eggs, yolks into the bowl, whites into the jug.


Grate the zest from 2 limes – or all 3, when you can live without fancy decoration but want the cake to be fresher – and squeeze 2 tbsp juice into the bowl with the yolks. OR: press out ALL limes, and gather the juice in a glass


Add sour cream, vanilla-/sugar, flour + salt and beat the mix on medium speed with an electric mixer / Kitchen Aid until smooth. Then add cream(/Neufchâtel) cheese – a few tbsp at a time, like 4-6x – and beat until smooth. If you like, add lime juice, MAX. 2/3 of the glass's content, and that tsp-wise. The dough shall not be too liquid


Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F.


Thoroughly clean the beaters and beat the egg whites until stiff. Then fold them – in about four portions – into the "main batter" with a spatula. Pour / Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and lift and gently tap it on the work surface so the filling settles. If needed, use a rubber spatula to smooth its surface.



4. BAKE the cake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the baking dish, and a toothpick comes out of the center almost clean, about 1 hr.Since every oven is different this can take longer / shorter

Then turn off the oven, and crack its door open, leaving the cake to cool for another hour. Then transfer the cake – yet in the tin! – on a wire rack and let cool completely. Then grab the bottom layer of alu foil, lift the cake out of the dish onto a working surface.




5. For the TOPPING, chop the pistachios.

If you DO use the 3rd lime as decoration, just spoon the sour cream onto the cake and evenly spread it with the (rubber) spatula. Cut 3 lime slices into thirds and put one on each square, and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.

If you DON'T – see above – whisk the zest of the third lime into the sour cream, and then – tsp by tsp; SLOW so it does NOT become too liquid – the lime juice. Then top the cake and sprinkle with the pistachios.



6. To SERVE, first fill a tall glass – a long-bladed knife shall fit in it! – with hot water. Dip the knife into the water, dry it, and cut the cake into 9 equal squares. Rinse + dry the knife after each cut – otherwise there might be a smeary "surprise"

With an offset spatula, transfer the cake on a platter, and


GUTEN HUNGER!