Here’s a deconstructed cheesecake which celebrates Greek flavours. A simple and elegant way to serve cheesecake as a dessert for a dinner party.
At least a few hours before or even the night before, strain 500g of Greek-style yoghurt. Place in a piece of cheesecloth or fine linen, tie together and hang over a bowl or sink, allowing the liquid to drain.
For the figs trim the hard stem from 16 whole dried figs and place them in a saucepan. Cover with 2 cups of hot water and leave to soak for 1 hour. Add ½ a cup of ouzo, 1 cinnamon stick and a large strip of orange zest. Bring to boil over high heat then reduce to medium and cook until the figs are plump and soft. Remove from the stove and allow to cool.
For the crumb preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Combine ½ a cup of oats, ½ a cup of almond meal, ½ a cup of walnuts, ⅓ of a cup of dark brown brown sugar, 4 tablespoons of butter and (if using unsalted butter) ¼ of a teaspoon of fine grain sea salt. Process everything in a food processor until you have a medium crumb. Spread onto a baking tray and bake until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
For the cheesecake blend 250g of cream cheese, 1 cup of the strained yoghurt, ¾ of a cup of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch sea salt. The consistency should be firm enough to pipe.
To assemble, place 2 tablespoons of crumb into the bottom of each glass. Pipe in the cheesecake mixture then top with some figs, either whole or in segments.
michelle picker cooks 