This no bake feijoa cheesecake is fresh, creamy, tangy and absolutely delicious! It's so good you'll be making it on repeat all feijoa season.
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Feijoas, sometimes also called pineapple guavas, are one of the things my kiwi husband misses most from New Zealand. In New Zealand feijoas are planted everywhere. A single tree or bush can produce masses of fruit during feijoa season, anywhere from March to May in the southern hemisphere, depending on the variety.
One of my husband's other great loves in life is cheesecake. So when we were lucky to be given a huge bag of feijoas and I went on a big feijoa recipe kick it made sense to come up with delicious cheesecake, along with a feijoa crumble, feijoa cake and of course feijoa ice cream 🙂
Ingredients
Feijoas: you can use fresh or frozen feijoa pulp for this recipe. You will need one and a half cups of flesh or about 300gms in total.
In New Zealand feijoas are of course readily available. A lot of people have trees or a given fruit by friends and family. Outside New Zealand feijoas are sometimes available to order on line or you could try putting a call out to local buy/sell/swap groups. You can also use frozen feijoa pulp for a year round treat.
Lemons: some fresh lemon helps boost the natural tang of the feijoas in this no bake cheesecake. You could also use limes instead.
Cream cheese: full fat cream cheese is best for this recipe for that classic creamy cheesecake taste. If you use light cream cheese it may not set properly.
Cream: I use thickened cream which as a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream which is similar.
Sugar: a little sugar helps balance the tang of the feijoas. I used white sugar in this recipe to let the feijoa flavor shine.
Gelatin: a little bit of gelatin helps this no bake cheesecake set. Without it the amount of liquid is likely to prevent the cheesecake from setting properly and you would end up with cheesecake soup! Gelatin can vary in its strength depending on the brand, see the note the recipe card for a guide on how to check you have the right amount.
Digestive biscuits: are a type of sweet whole meal cookie sold in Australia. If you can't get digestives you can use the same amount of Graham crackers or Graham cracker crumbs.
Butter: because butter makes most things taste better. In this recipe it binds and sets the base.
How to make feijoa cheesecake
NB to get the lovely high on this cake I used a slightly smaller 7 inch by 2 & ½ inch spring form cake tin (18cm x 6.5cm). You can use a wider cake tin if that's what you have, but your cake will be flatter.
To make the cheesecake base
Grease and line your cheesecake pan. Break the biscuits into fine crumbs, either by breaking up and blitzing in a food processor. Or if you don't have one you can put them in a plastic bag on a chopping board, cover with a tea towel and carefully bash with a rolling pin.
Melt the butter in a microwave in or in a pan on the stove top. Add the butter to the crumbs and mix well. Tip into prepared cake tin. Press down firmly with the back of a spoon and chill for at least one hour, and up to twenty four hours before filling.
Hot tip: do not skip chilling the base. If its to hot when you add the filling it can make the filing weep, resulting in a soggy cheesecake base. If you are pressed for time on the day you can make the base the day before and store it in the fridge until you have time to make the filling.
To make the cheesecake filling
First make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. This could take thirty minutes or more, depending on where you are.
Zest the lemon and put the zest aside to decorate the cheesecake with once set. Cut the lemon in half and juice the lemon. Put any left over juice aside to decorate the cheesecake with the following day. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until just combined and smooth.
Cut the feijoas in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh. You will need one and a half cups of firmly packed flesh or 300gms. Blitz the feijoa flesh in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh. You should have about one cup of strained feijoa pulp.
Add the feijoa pulp to the cream cheese mix and mix well.
Hot tip:
How to fix lumpy cheesecake batter
You can blitz the batter at this point with a stick/immersion blender to help remove the lumps from the cheesecake batter. You can also do this briefly after you have added the cream and gelatin mix.
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In a separate bowl microwave proof bowl add the room temperature water and sprinkle over the gelatin to bloom for five minutes.
While the gelatin is blooming put your cream in a separate and whip until soft peaks form. Once the gelatin has bloomed, melt it by microwaving it for about ten to fifteen seconds. Mix well to ensure all the gelatin is mixed in and dissolved.
Temper the gelatin by adding a couple of spoonful's of the whipped cream and mix well. Add the tempered gelatin to the whipped cream by pouring it in slowly in batches while whipping the cream, ensuring its mixed well between each addition.
Add the cream to the rest of the cheesecake base. The cheesecake batter should be nice and smooth and this point. If there is too much temperature differentiation between your ingredients the gelatin can set too quickly, resulting in lumpy cheesecake batter. You can briefly blitz the cheesecake batter with a stick/immersion blender again at this point until the batter is nice and smooth. So not over blend or you will curdle and over-whip your batter.
Pour the cheesecake batter over the chilled base and smooth down the top. Chill in fridge overnight or for at least eight, preferably twelve hours to allow the cheesecake to set properly.
Once set carefully open your spring form tin. If the baking paper is sticking you may need to use a butter knife to carefully unstick the paper from the tin, otherwise it can catch. Use a large sharp knife to slip between the cheesecake base and the baking paper on the bottom, then carefully transfer to a plate.
Slice some fresh feijoa coins. Dip them briefly on each side in the leftover lemon juice to stop them going brown. Place the feijoa disk around the edge of the cheesecake. Sprinkle the lemon zest in the center and you're done!
How to serve
To serve this pretty cake put the kettle on to make a cuppa, pop the cake onto a place, slice and enjoy! Perfect for morning or afternoon tea or when you want something fresh and delicious.
How long is cheesecake good for in the fridge?
This no bake cheesecake will store well covered in the fridge for up to five days, however after the first day or two the fresh feijoa disks on top may start to dry out a bit.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Feijoa cheesecake
Equipment
- Spring form cake tin, 7" x 2.5" (18cm x 6.5cm)
- Electric hand beaters or stand mixer
- Stick/immersion blender with chopping bowl attachment or food processor
Ingredients
Cheesecake base
- 2 & ⅓ cups (250gms) digestive biscuits
- 1 stick (115gms) butter
- extra butter to grease tin
Cheesecake filling
- 2 x 8 ounce tubs (450gms total) full fat cream cheese
- ¾ cup (165gms) white sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeeze lemon juice
- 1 and ½ cups (300gms) feijoa pulp
- 3 tablespoons (45mls) room temperature water
- 1 & ½ tablespoons (7.5gms) gelatin powder
- 1 cup (250mls) thickened cream
Optional decorations
- zest from one to two lemons
- 2 - 3 freshly sliced feijoas
- a splash lemon juice
Instructions
Cheesecake base
- Line the base and sides of a spring form tin with baking paper.
- Break up the biscuits and blitz briefly in a food processor to bread into crumbs. Alternatively you can put them into a plastic bag, cover with a tea towel and gentle hit with a rolling pin.
- Melt the butter by cubing, adding to a microwave proof bowl and microwave for a minute or two.
- Pour the melted butter into the biscuits crumbs and mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
- Pour into lined spring form tin and press down at the bottom to form the base.
- Chill in fridge for at least one hour and up to overnight.
Cheesecake filling
- NB Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.
- Zest the lemon and put the zest side to decorate the cheesecake with. Juice the lemon.
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice together.
- Cut the feijoas in half length ways and scoop out the flesh. You will need one and a half cups of tightly packed feijoa flesh, or 300gms.
- Blitz the feijoa flesh in a food processor or chopping bowl of a stick/immersion blender until smooth. Strain the feijoa pulp through a fine sieve. You should have one cup in total.
- Add the strained feijoa pulp to the cream cheese mix and blend well. You can blitz the mix briefly with a stick/immersion blender to get it extra smooth.
- Put the water in a microwave proof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the water and allow to bloom for five minutes.
- While the gelatin is blooming, in a separate bowl whip the cream with an electric hand held beaters or stand mixer until peaks just start to form.
- Once the gelatin has bloomed microwave for about ten to fifteen seconds, or until has just melted. Whisk to ensure all the gelatin has melted and mixed in properly.
- Add a couple of spoons of cream to the gelatin and mix it well to temper it. Slowly add the tempered gelatin to the whipped cream while beating, ensuring all the gelatin is well mixed in.
- Quickly add the cream mix to the rest of the cheesecake mix and blend well. You can use as stick/immersion blender again here to help make sure there are not lumps and its well blended, but do not over mix or it will curdle.
- Pour the cheesecake mix onto the chilled base and smooth down. Chill in the fridge for at least eight hours, preferably over night.
- Once set remove the cake from the pan by undoing the outside. If the baking paper is stuck to the tin you may need to carefully ease it off with a butter knife. Use a large knife by putting it between the bottom of the cheesecake and the baking paper, then carefully lift it onto a plate.
- To decorate cut some fresh feijoas into thick coins. Briefly dip each side into some lemon juice and arrange on the cheesecake. Sprinkle on reserved lemon zest and you're done!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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Feijoa cheesecake on a plate.
Shawn
Gave this recipe a go, and found it so easy .. plus the end result tasted amazing!! Another great way to make use of feijoas.
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Shawn, the picture of your cake looked great! I'm so glad you and your family loved it 🙂
Silvia
Absolutely loved this cheesecake. Such a delicate taste. Perfect dessert it was light and the lemon zest makes it perfect. Thanks for this great recipe.
Sarah Brooks
You're very welcome Silvia, I'm so glad you loved it. The photo of your cake looked amazing!
Silvia
Yes definitely 5 stars