This is egg and dairy rich, so is well suited to breaking a Lenten fast, and the filo is reminiscent of an Easter nest.
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Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4 along with a flat baking sheet. Unfold the filo sheets and cut in ½ so you are left with a set of squares. Line a 20cm round, springform cake tin with 4 squares of overlapping pastry, letting a 2cm excess of pastry fold over the rim. Dab and paint with melted butter and repeat twice more. Repeat with the remaining 2 sheets and brush again.
Bake on the hot baking sheet for 7 minutes, so the pastry is bronzing. Use a pastry brush to paint the inside of the nest with a little of the beaten egg. Bake for 6 minutes more. Remove and reduce the oven to 140ºC, gas mark 1.
Using a stand mixer, or a large bowl and electric hand mixer, beat together the sugar and soft cheese until slack. Beat in the crème fraîche until fully incorporated. With the mixer still running at medium pace, add the eggs in 3 glugs, each time ensuring the liquids are fully combined before adding another. Scrape down the bowl if needed. Sprinkle in the cornflour, then the vanilla and honey. Beat for 1 minute more, then pour this custardy mixture into the filo nest.
Carefully slide it into the middle of the oven and then bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn the oven off when the mixture is taut and no longer liquid, but has a little wobble across the surface when gently shaken. Cool in the oven for 1-2 hours. The cheesecake may crack a little, but don’t panic
5 Once the cheesecake is close to room temperature, use kitchen scissors to trim excess shards of filo carefully away from the cake tin (sprinkled with icing sugar or honey, these make a good chef’s snack), and release the spring. Transfer to a serving platter when fully cool, and do so carefully. This keeps well overnight in the fridge, but remove before eating, and be aware the pastry may not be quite as crisp as when first made.
At some point during baking or cooling, use a food processor to pulse the pistachios and salt to a coarse rubble (stop before more than 25% is a dust). To serve, use the dustiest pistachio to fill any cracks, then spoon the rubble over the top to cover the entire surface with a layer of bright green. Drizzle each slice with a little extra honey.
Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe
Energy | 2,388kJ/ 573kcals |
|---|---|
Fat | 37g |
Saturated Fat | 20g |
Carbohydrates | 47g |
Sugars | 24g |
Fibre | 1.8g |
Protein | 13g |
Salt | 1.1g |
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