Pistachios have been getting a lot of attention lately. Thanks to Dubai Chocolate, everyone has been looking for pistachio cream, which is one of the main ingredients in the viral chocolate recipe. There is much more you can do with pistachios, of course. The best example is our delicious No-Bake Pistachio Almond Cheesecake. The little green nuts are the stars here, but they get support from some good (old) almonds. A dynamic duo, you could say! ;P
Nobody could escape the Dubai trend sometime ago, we assume. We did something ourselves, though we did not copy the chocolate bars as they are, but developed a praline version. Our Dubai Chocolate Pralines were gobbled up in no time when we put them on the plates. If those little treats weren’t so labor-intensive to produce, we would have immediately made another batch. The demand was high… but to be honest, it remained a one-time production. No second edition. ;P
Anyway. If this cheesecake had some roasted Kadayif on top or somewhere else added, we could theoretically have sold this cake as a Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake. Except that the chocolate here is white and not dark. ;P But since that trend is now over, it’s just a cheesecake with pistachios and almonds. Plain and simple.
As you can probably see in the pictures, the pistachios have been used for the cheesecake filling and on top of for the decoration. The almonds are incorporated into the base and give the cake a little additional crunch. If you ever made a no-bake cheesecake with a cookie base, you might have noticed that the base often gets a bit soggy. The cheesecake mixture releases moisture, and the cookie base on the bottom sucks that right up. To keep some crunch/texture, you can add chopped nuts – that can be any type of nut, not just almonds…
Otherwise, the cheesecake is quite easy to prepare. If you ever made a no-bake cheesecake, this will be easy for you. In case you hate working with gelatin, you can switch to agar-agar. Just so you know. No need to stick to the recipe 100%. ;P
Maybe a few words about the pistachio paste we used. We made the pistachio paste/butter in a blender using shelled pistachios. Thanks to the Dubai Chocolate trend, you can get pistachio cream now in many supermarkets – but please don’t use those products for this cheesecake here. Those pistachio creams/spreads are often loaded with sugar and other ingredients. If you want to save yourself the trouble of making pistachio paste at home from pistachio nuts, you can look for pistachio butter* in stores – no cream or spread. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly cheap. So buying shelled pistachios* and mixing them yourself, is still the best way to go… and cheaper. ;P
Anyway. In case you got a few pistachios left over, you could consider using them to make another sweet treat. How about some Pistachio Baklava, for example. Sweet as sugar and (unfortunately) really delicious! If you’re not afraid of some extra color, you can also check out our Pistachio & Pandan Madeleines. They are made with pistachios, but the more intense green color comes from Pandan extract. We love them – great flavors and they also look fun. ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the base:
5.3 oz. (150g) butter shortbread biscuits
1.8 oz. (50g) almonds, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50g) butter, melted
For the pistachio paste:
7 oz. (200g) pistachios (without shells)
3-4 tbsp. water, plus more if necessary
For the filling:
6 sheets of gelatin
32 oz. (900g) cream cheese, at room temperature
5.3 oz. (150g) pistachio paste
3-4 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. (200g) heavy cream, whipped
For the decoration:
4.6 oz. (130g) white chocolate, roughly chopped
2.1 oz. (60g) heavy cream
2-3 tbsp. pistachio paste
a few chopped pistachios to decorate
Für den Boden:
150g Butterkekse
50g Mandeln, fein gehackt
50g Butter, geschmolzen
Für die Pistazienpaste:
200g Pistazien (ohne Schale)
3-4 EL Wasser, plus ggf. mehr
Für die Füllung:
6 Blätter Gelatine
900g Frischkäse, Zimmertemperatur
150g Pistazienpaste
3-4 EL Zucker
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
200g Schlagsahne, aufgeschlagen
Für die Dekoration:
130g weiße Schokolade, grob gehackt
60ml Schlagsahne
2-3 EL Pistazienpaste
einige gehackte Pistazien für die Deko
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Crush the cookies until you get fine crumbs. Finely chop the almonds. Mix everything with the melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch baking tin* with loose bottom and press down to create an even layer.
2. Add the shelled pistachios together with a bit of water to a blender and blitz to create a smooth paste. This process takes a few minutes. I recommend giving the blender short breaks from time to time so it does not overheat.
3. Let the gelatin leaves soak in cold water for about 5-7 minutes. Mix the cream cheese, pistachio paste, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
4. Gently squeeze out the gelatin, add it to a small saucepan and heat up on the stove until melted. Remove from the heat, add 2-3 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture and mix well. Return this mixture to the large bowl and stir in.
5. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add to the large bowl and fold in. Pour the cream cheese filling on the prepared cookie base and spread evenly. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
6. Add the chopped white chocolate, heavy cream, and pistachio paste to a microwave-safe bowl and heat up in the microwave until the chocolate has melted. Stir to get a smooth chocolate sauce – make sure it is not too hot. Let cool down a bit, then pour over the cheesecake and spread evenly. Place in the fridge for another 1-2 hours.
7. Remove the cake from the baking tin and place on a serving plate. Decorate with chopped pistachios to your liking.
1. Die Kekse zu feinen Bröseln verarbeiten, die Mandeln fein hacken und dann alles mit der geschmolzenen Butter vermischen. Die Mischung in eine 23cm Backform mit Hebeboden* füllen und zu einer glatten Schicht zusammendrücken.
2. Die geschälten Pistazien mit ein wenig Wasser in einen Mixer geben und zu einer Paste pürieren. Dieser Vorgang dauert einige Minuten – es ist hier ratsam, dem Mixer immer wieder kurze Pausen zu gönnen, damit er nicht überhitzt. Durch das Mixen werden die Nüsse erst die Textur von grobem Mehl haben, das immer kompakter wird, bis irgendwann eine grüne Paste entsteht. Ab einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt setzt sich auch etwas Öl von den Nüssen ab, was aber absolut in Ordnung ist. Zur Seite stellen.
3. Als Nächstes die Gelatine für die Füllung für etwa 5-7 Minuten in kaltem Wasser quellen lassen. Frischkäse, Pistazienpaste, Zucker und Vanille Extrakt in einer großen Schüssel verrühren. Sollten noch größere Pistazienstücke sichtbar sein, kann man auch kurz mit einem Stabmixer alles durchmixen.
4. Die Gelatine leicht ausdrücken, in einen kleinen Topf geben und vorsichtig erwärmen, bis sie komplett geschmolzen ist. Vom Herd ziehen und 2-3 Esslöffel der Frischkäsemasse dazugeben und gut verrühren. Diese Mischung in die große Schüssel zurückgeben und gut unterrühren. Als Nächstes die Sahne steif schlagen und vorsichtig unter die Masse ziehen. Die Masse vorsichtig in die vorbereitete Form füllen und auf dem Keksboden verteilen. Die Masse glatt streichen und für mindestens 4-5 Stunden oder über Nacht in den Kühlschrank stellen.
5. Die gehackte Schokolade mit der Sahne und der Pistazienpaste in eine Schüssel geben und vorsichtig in der Mikrowelle erwärmen – immer nur 10-15 Sekunden auf mittlerer Stufe und dann umrühren. Weiße Schokolade sollte nicht zu heiß werden. Diesen Vorgang so lange wiederholen, bis eine glatte Schokoladensoße entstanden ist. Sollten in der Soße noch große Pistazienstücke zu sehen sein, kann man auch hier mit einem Stabmixer alles noch einmal kurz durchmixen. Die Schokoladensoße auf dem Kuchen verteilen und noch einmal 1-2 Stunden in den Kühlschrank stellen.
6. Den Kuchen vorsichtig aus der Form lösen und auf eine Servierplatte setzen. Nach Belieben mit gehackten Pistazien dekorieren und servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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No-Bake Pistachio Almond Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 00:45
- Cook Time: 07:00
- Total Time: 08:00
- Yield: 1
- Category: Cheesecake
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A delicious and refreshing (no-bake) cheesecake with loads of pistachios and almonds. The perfect sweet treat – not only in summer! ;)
Ingredients
For the base:
5.3 oz. (150g) butter shortbread biscuits
1.8 oz. (50g) almonds, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50g) butter, melted
For the pistachio paste:
7 oz. (200g) pistachios (without shells)
3-4 tbsp. water, plus more if necessary
For the filling:
6 sheets of gelatin
32 oz. (900g) cream cheese, at room temperature
5.3 oz. (150g) pistachio paste
3-4 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. (200g) heavy cream, whipped
For the decoration:
4.6 oz. (130g) white chocolate, roughly chopped
2.1 oz. (60g) heavy cream
2-3 tbsp. pistachio paste
a few chopped pistachios to decorate
Instructions
1. Crush the cookies until you get fine crumbs. Finely chop the almonds. Mix everything with the melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch baking tin* with loose bottom and press down to create an even layer.
2. Add the shelled pistachios together with a bit of water to a blender and blitz to create a smooth paste. This process takes a few minutes. I recommend giving the blender short breaks from time to time so it does not overheat.
3. Let the gelatin leaves soak in cold water for about 5-7 minutes. Mix the cream cheese, pistachio paste, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
4. Gently squeeze out the gelatin, add it to a small saucepan and heat up on the stove until melted. Remove from the heat, add 2-3 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture and mix well. Return this mixture to the large bowl and stir in.
5. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add to the large bowl and fold in. Pour the cream cheese filling on the prepared cookie base and spread evenly. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
6. Add the chopped white chocolate, heavy cream, and pistachio paste to a microwave-safe bowl and heat up in the microwave until the chocolate has melted. Stir to get a smooth chocolate sauce – make sure it is not too hot. Let cool down a bit, then pour over the cheesecake and spread evenly. Place in the fridge for another 1-2 hours.
7. Remove the cake from the baking tin and place on a serving plate. Decorate with chopped pistachios to your liking.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
