Pomegranate Cheesecake

Certainly! The pomegranate cheesecake is an elegant and colorful dessert that combines the creaminess of the cheese with the freshness of pomegranate. Here is a recipe for making a pomegranate cheesecake, with an Italian twist in case you can’t find Philadelphia cheese, you could use a creamy cheese like Mascarpone.

Ingredients

For the base:

• 200 g of dry biscuits (like Digestive)
• 100 g of melted butter

For the filling:

• 500 g of creamy cheese (like Philadelphia or Mascarpone)
• 120 g of icing sugar
• 200 ml of fresh cream for whipping
• Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 10 g of gelatin sheets (fish glue) or 2 teaspoons of gelatin powder

For the pomegranate jelly:

• 250 ml of pomegranate juice (from about 2 pomegranates)
• 40 g of sugar
• 5 g of gelatin sheets or 1 teaspoon of gelatin powder

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the base: finely chop the biscuits and mix them with the melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a springform pan previously lined with parchment paper. Put in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.

2. For the filling, hydrate the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. In the meantime, work the creamy cheese with the icing sugar until you have a smooth and homogenous mixture.

3. Whip the cream with the vanilla seeds until it is firm and gently fold into the cheese mixture.

4. Slightly heat the lemon juice and dissolve the well-squeezed gelatin in it. Incorporate it into the cheese and cream mixture.

5. Pour the filling over the biscuit base and let it rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

6. For the pomegranate jelly, hydrate more gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Heat a portion of the pomegranate juice with the sugar, then dissolve the squeezed gelatin in it. Combine with the rest of the juice.

7. Let the jelly cool slightly, then pour it over the now-set cheesecake. Store in the fridge until completely firm, preferably overnight.

8. Serve the pomegranate cheesecake decorated with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Curiosity

The cheesecake is a dessert of Anglo-Saxon origin, but it has found various interpretations in many countries around the world, including Italy. The use of Mascarpone instead of more neutral cheeses is a common variation here to give a richer and more characteristic flavor. The pomegranate, on the other hand, is an ancient fruit, a symbol of abundance and fertility in many cultures, which with its beauty gives a touch of elegance and unique flavor to the dessert.