Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 200 ml soured cream
• 150 ml double cream
• 200 g caster sugar
• 100 g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
• 200 g butter
• 50 g kataifi pastry, toasted
• 50 g pistachio, shelled
• pistachio, for decoration
• 100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 200 g digestive biscuits
• 800 g full-fat soft cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• extra kataifi pastry, for decoration

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Grease a 23cm springform tin with butter and line the sides with baking paper.
2. Blitz the digestives and shelled pistachios in a food processor to fine crumbs, then tip into a bowl with the toasted kataifi and melted butter. Mix until it looks like damp sand and clumps when pressed.
3. Press firmly into the base of the tin in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges smell nutty and toasted, then set aside to cool completely.
4. Rinse the processor. Add the soft cheese, pistachio crème, caster sugar, vanilla, flour, eggs and soured cream. Blend until completely smooth and silky, scraping down once or twice — about 1 minute.
5. Drop the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Sit the cooled tin on a baking sheet to catch any drips, then pour the filling over the base and gently jiggle to settle.
6. Bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes. The edges should be set with a faint wobble in the very centre — it will firm up as it cools.
7. Switch the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside, door fully closed, for 1 hour. This slow cool prevents cracks.
8. Crack the oven door open and leave for another hour, then transfer to the worktop for a final hour at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
9. For the ganache, warm the double cream in a microwave-safe jug for 30–45 seconds until just steaming — don't let it boil.
10. Tip the chopped dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot cream and leave for 2 minutes. Stir slowly from the centre outwards until you have a thick, glossy, mirror-smooth ganache.
11. Pour the ganache over the chilled cheesecake and tilt gently to coax it to the edges.
12. Scatter generously with extra toasted kataifi and chopped pistachios. Slice with a hot, dry knife.