When life hands you feta make a Feta Cheesecake! Feta would not be my first choice for a cheesecake but it surprised me at just how flavorful the cake was. The chocolate did help temper the stronger feta flavor.
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to receive some of the best Feta I have ever had from Euphrates , you may remember my feta stuffed Zucchini Blossoms, they were delicious! Now, of course, I love feta , it is such a flavorful cheese, and I use it on almost every salad I eat, but I was thinking of other applications, what could I do a little outside the box with this wonderful cheese? I kept going back to cheesecake, something kept pulling me towards the unlikely combination of feta and cream cheese, I saw a lot of savory type feta cheesecakes, but hadn’t seen any use as a sweet cheesecake…..sigh There must be a reason, but since I couldn’t think of one, I decided to give it a try.
I knew the cheesecake would not be as sweet as a new york style or even a ricotta, the flavor of the feta was just a little too pronounced to let that happen. I knew my cheesecake would need a complement to the tang of the feta, and chocolate seemed to be the answer…….well chocolate is the answer to a lot of question, but that’s another story! I reached for my semi-sweet chocolate and prepared a ganache for the topping, for the crust I used my favorite digestive biscuits, and threw in a good handful of salted pistachio’s just to add another element into this flavor feast.
The results were not quite as I had planned but all in all, it was a very interesting and tasty cheesecake, the feta lent an interesting element to the filling, and the chocolate complimented the cheese so very well. The crust was a little bit of a letdown but did add yet another dimension to the cake if I make this again my only change would be to sweeten the crust up a bit and instead of pistachios use an unsalted pecan.
All in all the experiment was a success and while it got mixed reviews even the doubters were impressed with the flavors. If you do try this cake, I think you will be pleasantly surprised, especially served with a good cup of coffee or espresso!
- 8 oz . Feta Cheese
- 8 oz . Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 Large Eggs
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp . All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp . finely grated Lime Zest
- Juice of one lime
- 1 Tbsp . Vanilla Extract
- 12 Digestive Biscuits
- 1/2 Cup Salted Pistachio's (or pecans)
- 4 oz unsalted butter (melted)
- 8 oz semi sweet chocolate chopped
- 4 oz heavy cream
- In a food processor add the digestive biscuits and nuts and process into crumbs for crust
- add melted butter to crust mixture and form into crust in a tart pan, or cheesecake pan.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
- In the bowl of the food processor, add the feta and heavy cream and process, until it begins to get smooth.
- Add in Cream cheese and continue to process
- Add eggs, lime juice, vanilla and lime zest and process until blended.
- Add in flour and sugar and process until all is incorporated and mixture is smooth and creamy*
- Pour mixture into cooled tart shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, keep an eye on the cheesecake, do not let it get too dark or crack.
- While cheesecake is baking prepare the ganache.
- Over a pot of boiling water in a metal bowl add your chopped chocolate and heavy cream, stirring until all the chocolate is melted and is smooth.
- Allow chocolate to cool while cheesecake is cooling down.
- Pour ganache over the cheesecake, using an offset spatula to smooth it into place.
- Use a nice layer of chocolate, it should be about 1/4 of an inch thick at the center.
- Place finished cake in refrigerator and allow to set for at least 4 hours or overnight.*
* taste the mixture and if it's not sweet enough add more sugar to your liking. Once baked it will not be as sweet as the raw batter. * If you have time allow cheesecake to set overnight and add the chocolate to the cake the next day, then allow the chocolate to set up in the refrigerator.
You know me and cheesecake. I don’t care what the cheese is, I’m in. This looks fantastic. I’ll have to give the chocolate layer to someone else, but I’ll eat the rest! As always, gorgeous and delicious.
Thanks for the tips as well, Chef. I’ve actually asked to have my membership to the major food porn sites removed because I’m just tired of trying to help them make money. Cheers!
Love cheesecake and thrilled to see you thinking outside the box on it. Very inspirational post, sometimes it’s great to let people know it’s okay to experiment. I love pistachios so think I’ll try this in my next cheesecake. I am not a fan of feta though, not sure why. I used to work in a greek restaurant so you think I’d love it. I am going to try out some of your social media suggestions. If I could just figure out how to put buttons on my blog without making my brain bleed. Lol! Great recipe and thanks as always for enlightening us. I really appreciate these posts so much.
Never thought of using feta cheese in a cheesecake but sounds interesting and the cheesecake looks delicious. Will have to give it a try.
I know how frustrating it can get with foodgawker and food porn, everyone in this world will love your pictures except them, they are so picky, but they do bring a good deal of traffic. I love your pictures and recipes 🙂
I can’t ever see getting accustomed to a 4am wake-up call, but this cheesecake would be something wonderful to come home to when the day was over 🙂 I love your creativity…I never would have thought to use feta in a sweet cheesecake, but it looks wonderful! Wishing you a great school year, Chef!
Love cheesecake. Your cheesecake looks wonderful. Mouthwatering. I’d like a piece.
That is amazing… blogging community raised over $63k to help Jennifer and her girls. I am so happy to be a part of a wonderful community. Thanks to all.
I love your enthusiasm with this cheesecake….it’s all about experimentation!!! I think the idea of some rich espresso with it sounds divine – and the photos are very alluring. As always, great tips on social media…your a gem!
Hi Dennis! I just received an invitation to FoodPop and joined their site. I have NO idea what to do with it, but I’ll stumble my way along! I’d LOVE an invitation to Google Plus One…thanks!
The cheesecake looks fabulous! I think if I make it, I’d probably use 4 oz feta….I like the flavor…but baby steps!
Thanks for the info on the sites – I agree….having received 39 rejections from Foodgawker – it gets a little old!
I would love to have a slice of that cheesecake or maybe two! 🙂
Great post! I’m not big on cheesecakes, but yours looks wonderful! I recently joined food pop but haven’t had much time to try to figure it out. I would love an invite to google +1. And thanks for the heads up on the other “food porn” sites. I haven’t had any luck with food gawker so far, so I’ll be giving those a try. Love the Ask Chef Dennis segments!
Oh my, I would have never thought to put feta in a cheesecake but it sounds like the best idea ever!!! This cheesecake looks rich and delicious!! And thanks for your great advice on social media. As a new blogger, I need all the tips I can get! 🙂
Chef! I am in love with this!!!! Seriously…I am so intrigued that you used feta, I am wondering what the texture would be like. I am sure it was fabulous! YUM
What a creative way to make a dessert! I’ll definitely start baking with feta cheese. Your food photography looks gorgeous.
Very creative cheesecake! Feta is an unusual ingredient and I am glad you forged forward on this one. It looks delicious enough to encourage me to start experimenting with Feta.
Also, great information on this post-have a wonderful day.
You are brave for tackling a sweet feta dish. It has such a distinctive tang, I’d be interested to try it.
The foodporn sites are popping up everywhere! Just had another one start following me on stumble, called Chowstalker. Not sure about that one yet. As for stumble, just had a post go WILD on it. Some posts get nothing, others go crazy, and you never can tell what’s going to happen.
Awesome post, Chef Dennis! I agree with you about StumbleUpon…great site! And I will try this cheesecake ASAP. Cheesecake is my husband’s favorite and we love feta cheese. The whole thing looks so amazingly decadent!
Now that looks awesomely rich and full of flavor!
Interesting experiment 🙂
Feta cheesecake – wow! That’s incredible, Chef Dennis! Your creativity really is something 🙂 I have to agree that chocolate really is the answer to a lot of problems 😉 Bummer about the crust, but now you have an excuse to make it again!
Thanks for the great blogging and social media tips! I know I need to step up my game 🙂
This cheesecake looks so delicious. My husband loves cheese of any kind, so I have to make this one for him.
Thanks for your tips on the social media. You are a wealth of knowledge for all of us:)
The cheesecake looks divine! The part I like least about blogging is keeping up with all the latest and greatest in social networking. But like the dishes, it must be done. I’d rather do the cooking and eating:) I’m with you about Stumble Upon. I was on vacation this summer without a post in weeks and something happened that made my hits explode. After some research, I found it came from Stumble Upon. Needles to say I’ve added the link you mentioned and signed up to Stumble Upon myself. I’m still trying to figure it all out though. Thanks for the social networking info!!
I have died and gone to heaven, Dennis! This is beautiful!
I subscribed to your old site via Google Reader and kept wondering where a new post was from you. So now I see this awesome new site! Wow! It looks amazing! Very nicely done. The cheesecake looks sooo interesting. I love your use of different cheeses. Great photos and info, as always..
I love creative cheesecakes like this. I’ve made a savory feta, but never a sweet feta. I appreciate the rich sweetness of a classic New York style, or ricotta, but I also really appreciate the creativity and diverse flavor with the feta and chocolate. Good work, looks lovely!
I love the ganache on the cheesecake! Great post on social media. Thanks
I love feta and all I get to do with it is marinade it and add it to salads. Being a lover of cheesecake, too, this caught my interest. The chocolate topping is to die for.
Rejection sucks but these sites know they bring traffic. Glad there’s new ones. Once again, thanks for all the info, Chef.
Your crativity never ceases to amaze me . . . never would have thought of this. Great experiment.
I would never have thought to use feta this way, but I an intrigued! I too love feta in every salad.. but once I went to Greece I was spoiled and now I am more picky with my feta. Maybe thats a good thing though!!
Great post.
The recipe looks gorgeous, but I really appreciate your sense of trying to enhance the food blogger community. It’s great advice and much appreciated!
I am new to liking cheesecake at all, so I am not sure I am up to feta cheesecake yet (I am not a fan of cheese pretty much across the board). But it looks gorgeous, and I love the risk! I need to spend time on Stumble Upon. I put the button on my site, but that is IT! I need to figure out more!
This sounds down right ridiculous, how good…tangy..rich…like fudgy goat cheese brownies but more complex. I’m definitely making this.
Feta in cheesecake!? Who would have thought!! I like that you went through the different social media sites. I have been hearing about stumble upon lately but am still confused as to what it is, so I’ll have to do some research. Also, how exactly does google+ work?
Thanks!
It’s been so long since I’ve had a good cheesecake! Must be soooo good with the feta!!!
I can’t believe you get rejections from the top food porn sites…your photos are so good. For example, that cheesecake makes me want to dive in and I don’t even like cheesecake!
As usual, I agree and appreciate the comments under “Ask Chef Dennis”. Keep ’em coming!
Ok. I am stil not so sure about the feta cheesecake to be honest because I just cannot imagine how it would taste in a sweet recipe. But Kudos for pulling something like this off, very daring and it takes some courage! Maybe I just need to try it myself. 😉
And the ask dennis section is great! I really appreciate your suggestions. 🙂
Cheers,
Tobias
I imagined that it would be very interesting and daring using feta in cheesecake, but I guess sweet and salty would work together. It sure looks very appealing and tempting..love the photos.
Also I am so happy that ‘bloggers without borders’ raised money for Jennie..it is such a great and supportive community around us.
Love that you used feta, so different & daring! I bet it’s great with the chocolate ganache! I’m going to have to try it out in my next cheesecake 🙂
Feta & chocolate…oh, the salty with the sweet. Sounds crazy good.
I’m a huge fan of cheesecake, but have never attempted to make it with feta! I bet the saltiness of that cheese pairs really well with the chocolate! And thanks for the many wonderful tips about all the social media available to food bloggers. It’s really very helpful, especially for new bloggers like me! And I don’t mean this the way it’s going to sound…..but I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering the rejections of the major food porn sites! It can be so frustrating at times! Great post, Chef….thanks so much!
Hi… after a long vacation I’m back visiting your blog .. beautiful cake that you’ve done … I love … I invite you to see my paella … bssMARIMI
A recipe worth trying for sure.
Now you have me curious about Stumble Upon. I am a bit dumb when it comes to Twitter protocols an I am usually fairly tech savvy I have to make more of an effort to learn #FF etc.
Chef.. that is a lovely feta cheesecake you have there !. I want a slice…can? I have never tried cheesecake using feta cheese 🙂 thanks for sharing the recipe . Whoa…BWB have collected $63K for Jennifer and her gals…thanks all the generous ppl out there for donating generously…yea…food bloggers are great people. We should help one another in times of need 🙂
I got rejected so many times by foodgawker that I have not submitted any to them for the last one year. Shall look into knapkins and kitchen artistry 🙂 Thanks Chef for the social media tips and have a nice day !,
Elin
Your blogs are always so helpful and informative and of course the cheesecake looks delicous! Thanks.
Suzi
I don’t know how your photos could possibly be rejected, Dennis! I think you could start a new career as a food photographer! Your feta cheesecake is drop-dead gorgeous! 😉
Dennis… another wonderful post. I’ve been so out of touch lately, I really need to catch up and return to the blog world. Vacations are over for a few weeks (my husband just surprised me with a trip to Rome in late Oct!!) and I need to focus on the blog a bit. You alway shave so much information. I’ve just past your series on to a friend who is working to grow her blog. Thank you for all you have done for our community!!
We finally have the heat that I’ve been jealous of you having all summer… now I kind of wish it would cool off!! 😉
I love your take on cheesecake here Dennis! That chocolate ganache topping seals the deal for me. And I had no idea they had raised that much for Jennie! What an amazing group of bloggers this community has.
Dennis my stomach is growling, immediately after seeing this scrumptious cheesecake!
You know I’m dessert-crazy 🙂 Kudos for that recipe!
Totally with you about social media presence – everywhere if it is possible but managing the time wisely.
Klout is more a ranking automatic system that allow persons to see how influencer are over others, depending of the social sites that they interact.
Sorry to hear about the rejections on those photo-sites (usual in my case too), so I stopped and started using other social sites (really social) because the other food-pic-sites are just places to put photos, not social.
Foodies enjoy a lot Stumbleupon, so the traffic and persons you can contact there, is much better 🙂
Talking about SU, stumbled!
Cheers,
Gera
I have a stumbled upon account and have no IDEA how to use it. I’ve been asking around and no one’s been able to tell me. Thanks for the jumping off point.
Great Social Media advice. Knapkins is a great site. Christine is very nice and contacted me herself (made me feel kinda special) 🙂 I’ll check out some of the other ones you mentioned.
Isn’t it great when someone who runs a site personally reaches out to you! Christine is a gem!
I have so much feta in the fridge that’s been there for days, and I finally know what to do with it now!
I’ve thought about pursuing a culinary career. I think the thought lasted… a few seconds. Number one reason?
I’m a night owl – 4 am? Definitely can’t do it! Much respect for you.
Thank you, let me know if you make it!
A feta cheesecake definitely sounds interesting and it’s something I’ve never seen before. It looks amazing and I love your gorgeous presentation. Also, thank you very much for the helpful tips on the social media and food porn sites. They were extremely helpful to me.
I absolutely love the idea of swapping in a variety of cheeses in classic cheesecake. Ricotta used to be my go-to favorite, but I think this one just might oust it from the top spot. Thanks so much for sharing!
Chef, this cheesecake left me speechless! And as always, thanks for the help!
Hi
A hiatus of four-five months and instead of disappearing am back. I had to trawl you in google…your site has a complete revamp! cool and so neat.
I haven’t logged in to foodbuzz in tha past six months and I dont know if they’ve whisked me away! Am scared to look up. The option of not having a delete all button after filtering the friends request quite bogs me down.
So how you been and your four ams? Read the post from top to bottom. Houz your health and houz your lady?
Can you believe it, I haven’t tasted feta! So can’t really say how much you’ve pushed the bar on this…
I made this for a luncheon and it was a big hit. I saved a piece for my boyfriend. He even liked it. He went on and on about how good it was. He dislikes feta cheese very much. He never guessed.
thanks for letting me know Johanna and happy to hear that you enjoyed the cheesecake!