This Pistachio Cheesecake is super creamy and nutty and uses Pisti pistachio cream from Costco to keep it simple!
The colour reminds me or Spring - I guess it is the pastel tones! You can make this any time of year.
Add a few more crushed nuts and a drizzle of super easy pistachio cream for a fancy presentation.
Ingredients
This recipe uses common ingredients for the most part. The one 'specialty' item is the Pisti from Costco. It is on the shelf where the peanut and almond butters are found.
If you can't find it refer to the recipe card for a way to make your own Pistachio cream.
- Graham crumbs
- sugar
- butter
- cream cheese
- whipping cream
- eggs
- Pistachio cream (Pisti or make your own)
- crushed pistachio nuts
Equipment
- 9 "Springform pan
- baking pan large enough for the Springform pan to sit in
- tin foil
Besides the regual kitchen tool like a mixer or blender the springform pan is needed to be able to tranfer the cheesecake to a serving plate.
The baking pan will serve as a water bath to keep the cheesecake moist and reduce the chance of the top cracking. The tin foil is to ensure no water seeps into the pan during baking.
Do you have to bake it in a waterbath? No, not really you risk that your top will have a large crack gap in the center. If you plan to plate it with the pistachio cream garnish you could probably get away with just baking it in the springform pan.
Chef's Tips
- Most of the steps are pretty straightforward as baking goes. What you want to watch for is if the pistachio cream goes grainy when you are mixing it with cream. The pistachio cream (Pisti in this case) is very stiff right out of the jar. I tried microwaving it very gently and it helped but the second time I did it, I must have overdone it and the Pisti turned very grainy. I was kind of freaking out... but I added a bit of whipping cream a bit at a time and mixed it in gently. Then it smoothed out again. So...I don't recommend microwaving the Pisti to soften it. Just work with a fork or stick blender but be careful not to overblend it.
- If you can't find Pisti it is possible to make your own pistachio cream. I have not made it from scratch but you can check out homemade pistachio cream here.
Storage
This cheesecake is so versatile. You can make it a day ahead and keep well covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.
You can also freeze it, tightly sealed up to 3 months. (They always say 3 months... but it is not like it is suddenly going to go bad at 3 months a day!) The risk of freezing longer is developing freezer burn which shouldn't happen if it is well wrapped, sealed.)
The Pistachio Cream Garnish is best made just before or a few hours before serving. Leftovers will keep a day or 2 in the fridge but it gets flatter the longer it is stored.
Looking for other things to make now that you have that jar of Pisti?
Check out the easy Pistachio Cream Crumb Cake below or how about Pistachio Ice Cream?
Pistachio Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9 " Spring form pan
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups graham wafer crumbs
- 2 ½ tablespoon sugar
- 5 Tbsps butter (melted)
Filling
- 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup crushed pistachios
- 3 Tbsps whipping cream
- ⅓ cup pistachio cream (such as Pisti) See Note 1
Pistachio Cream Garnish
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup pistachio cream (such as Pisti) See Note 1
- ½ cup crushed pistachios
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Spray the bottom of 9" springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap the bottom of the pan with tin foil that goes and inch or so up the sides. Fill a deep baking pan, large enough to hold the spirngform pan, with 1" of water.
- Combine the graham crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl. Using a fork, press the crumbs firmly and evenly around the bottom of the springform pan. Bake the crust 10 minutes and then remove from the oven. Set crust aside to cool while you make the filling.
Filling
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium low in a bowl until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and nuts and beat until well incorporated.
- Pour the filling in to the springform pan.
- With a stick blender or fork, stir the 3 Tbsps whipping cream in to the ⅓ cup pistachio cream until they are evenly mixed. It should be thick but pourable. See Note 2.
- Starting at the center of the filling, drizzle the pistachio cream gently in smaller, then wider circles toward the outer edge. Stop a couple of inches from the outer edge of the pan. Take a toothpick or small knife tip and gently swirl the pisachio cream in to the cheesecake.
- Set the springform pan into the waterbath pan. Bake 45-50 minutes until the edges turn golden and start to pull away from the edge. The center of the cheesecake will be a bit soft but should not be runny.
- Remove the pan from the water bath and allow the the cheesecake to cool. Refrigerate at lease 4 hours. This can be made a day ahead and stored air tight in the fridge if you like.
- When ready to serve, whip the 1 cup whipping cream to soft peaks. Add the ½ cup pistachio cream and mix gently until it is just incorporated. Do not overmix. If the mixture goes grainy, add more whipping cream a bit at a time until it smooths out again.
- To serve, add a piece of cheesecake to serving plate, drizzle with the Pistachio Cream Garnish and sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top.
- Cheesecake will keep well in the fridge for 3 days, tightly sealed. Cheesecake can be frozen up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge the day before you plan to serve it.
E.M.
so where's the recipe for the Pistachio Cheesecake? All I see here is coconut lime cheesecake.
So disappointed, as I was wanting to use the Pisti cream and this sounded good
thewineloverskitchen
Sorry E.M Perhaps it was a momentary issue? The recipe displays properly in the post for me.