| |

Light and Creamy Tamarillo Cheesecake

This baked tamarillo cheesecake is moist, light and creamy. The tamarillo topping lends a tartness to the cheesecake as well as a deep purple colour.

Late autumn and winter is tamarillo time and the search for tamarillo recipes begins! If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some, from the store or your own tree, here is a great tamarillo dessert recipe to use them in!

This is a classic baked cheesecake, featuring tamarillo in the batter as well as in the tangy cheesecake topping.

a cake slice taking a piece of cheesecake

What is a Tamarillo? (aka tree tomatoes)

Tamarillos are also known as tree tomatoes, and just like tomatoes, they are in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. They are a great source of vitamin C, A and E and bring beautiful colour to dishes. They’re great to use in tamarillo dessert recipes. They have a fresh and zesty flavour which is enhanced with the addition of lemon in this cheesecake.

Tamarillos are naturally high in pectin which makes them a great fruit with which to make jams and jellies.

How do you eat a tamarillo?

Tamarillos can be eaten fresh, either peeled or use a spoon to scoop out the tangy middle.

Can you eat tamarillo skin? The skin of a tamarillo is quite tough and bitter so this part is generally not eaten.

Cheesecake ingredients

This recipe uses classic cheesecake ingredients. The amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Cream Cheese. It’s best to use block cream cheese for this recipe. Some spreadable cream cheese is made using a different process than block cream cheese and it will not give as nice a texture to the cheesecake.
  • Yoghurt or Sour Cream – You can use either full-fat greek yoghurt or sour cream.
  • Eggs.
  • Vanilla & Lemon Zest – These are classic cheesecake flavours.
  • Sugar – To add the sweetness.
  • Flour – Just a tiny amount to give some extra stability.
  • Tamarillos – A few in the batter but the majority are in the topping.
  • Plain vanilla biscuits (or graham crackers) & Butter – The biscuits and butter form the cheesecake crust.

Tamarillo topping

The tamarillo jelly topping brings a beautiful colour to the cheesecake as well as a slightly tangy flavour. The ingredients in the topping are very simple – fruit, sugar, acid and a little thickener. They are:

  • Tamarillos
  • Sugar
  • Lemon Juice
  • Corn Starch

Important Notes

There are two things to be aware of when making a cheesecake. Once you know them, you’re set for success!

  1. When mixing the cheesecake batter, it is important that all the ingredients are at room temperature.
  2. Avoid over mixing the batter at any point as this brings excess air into the batter and can cause cracks in the cheesecake.
bird's eye view of a cheesecake

The base

Preheat the oven and begin the cheesecake base. Line a round 20cm/8″ springform cake tin with baking paper. Break up biscuits a bit and place them in a food processor. Blend them until they become fine crumbs. Add in the melted butter and mix until it becomes a clumpy mixture.

Tip the mixture into the cake tin and use a back of a spoon to spread it out. Use a smooth glass or a measuring cup to smooth the crumbs along the base and up the sides of the tin, about 3/4 of the way up.

cookie crumbs and butter being pressed into a circle tin

The filling

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a handheld beater, beat the room temperature cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar and the flour and beat until mixed in. Add in the yoghurt (or sour cream), the vanilla and the lemon zest and beat until just combined.

Lastly add eggs in one at a time, beating for only a few seconds in between each addition. Beat the last egg in until the mixture is just smooth, then stop beating. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and drop pieces of chopped tamarillo on top.

cream cheese being beaten, poured into the cake tin

Baking

This is a baked cheesecake without a water bath. Water baths are used to ensure even baking and to minimise cheesecake cracks but I find a low oven temperature and not over mixing the ingredients can mitigate these problems without the hassle of a water bath. Even if your cheesecake does crack, the tamarillo topping covers them nicely.

Bake the cheesecake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes until the top is slightly puffed and only very lightly browned. There should be a little jiggle to the cheesecake if the pan is gently shaken.

Let the cheesecake cool right down for about an hour in the oven with the door open a crack. The middle of the cheesecake will sink slightly as it cools. When the cheesecake has nearly finished cooling, begin the topping.

Tamarillo jelly

To make the tamarillo jelly topping, in a saucepan over low-medium heat, combine the chopped tamarillo, lemon juice and sugar. Cook the tamarillo for around 4-5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and they are softening. In a bowl, mix the water and corn starch to create a slurry. Add this mixture to the tamarillos and bring it to a boil. Keep whisking as the mixture bubbles and thickens. Once thick, remove it from the heat.

Scoop the mixture over the cheesecake and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it out carefully.

chilling

Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Before serving, remove the cold cheesecake from the pan by gently running a knife along the edges and removing the springform ring and sliding the cheesecake off the baking paper at the bottom.

a slice of tamarillo cheesecake

Serving

When slicing the cheesecake, use a large and sharp knife and clean it in between each cut to ensure smooth slices. The cheesecake is best made a day in advance so there is enough time to chill it. Once baked it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

The cheesecake can also be frozen for up to three months.

a slice of tree tomato cheesecake

More dessert ideas

Looking for another creamy dessert? Try this creamy lemon mousse tart.

a cake slice taking a piece of cheesecake

Creamy Tamarillo Cheesecake

Yield: 20cm/8inch cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Additional Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 7 hours 40 minutes

This baked tamarillo cheesecake is moist, light and creamy. The tamarillo topping lends a tartness to the cheesecake as well as a deep purple colour.

Ingredients

Biscuit Base

  • 200g plain vanilla biscuits or graham crackers
  • 100g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

  • 450g block cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 165g white sugar
  • 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
  • 125g full-fat greek yoghurt or sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 100g tamarillo, peeled and chopped

Tamarillo Topping

  • 400g tamarillo, peeled and chopped
  • 50g white sugar
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F regular oven or 140°C/284°F fan-bake and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
  2. Line the bottom of a round 20cm/8" springform cake tin with baking paper. Place the springform edge around the base and clip it together, allowing the paper edge to overhang slightly.
  3. Break up biscuits a bit and place them in a food processor. Blend them until they become fine crumbs. Add in the melted butter and mix until it becomes a clumpy mixture.
  4. Tip the mixture into the lined cake tin and use a the back of a spoon to spread it out. Use a smooth glass or a measuring cup to smooth the crumbs along the base and up the sides of the tin, about ¾ of the way up.
  5. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a handheld beater, beat the room temperature cream cheese for until just smooth. Add in the sugar and the flour and beat until combined. Add in the yoghurt (or sour cream), the vanilla and the lemon zest and beat until just combined.
  6. Lastly add eggs in one at a time, beating for only a few seconds in between each addition. Beat the last egg in until the mixture is just smooth, then stop beating. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and drop pieces of chopped tamarillo on top.
  7. Bake the cheesecake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes until the top is slightly puffed and only very lightly browned. There should a little jiggle to the cheesecake if the pan is gently shaken. Don't worry if there are cracks in the top - the tamarillo topping will cover them.
  8. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool right down for about an hour in the oven with the door open a crack. When the cheesecake has nearly finished cooling, begin the topping.
  9. In a saucepan over low-medium heat, combine the chopped tamarillo, lemon juice and sugar. Cook the tamarillo for around 4-5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and they are softening. In a bowl, mix the water and corn starch to create a slurry. Add this mixture to the tamarillos and bring it to a boil.
  10. Keep whisking as the mixture bubbles and thickens. Once thick, remove it from the heat. Spoon the mixture onto the cheesecake and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it out carefully.
  11. Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Before serving, remove the cold cheesecake from the pan by gently running a knife along the edges and removing the springform ring and sliding the cheesecake off the baking paper at the bottom.

Notes

When slicing the cheesecake, use a large and sharp knife and clean it in between each cut to ensure smooth slices. The cheesecake is best made a day in advance so there is enough time to chill it. Once baked it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

The cheesecake can also be frozen for up to three months.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 217mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 0gSugar: 27gProtein: 6g

 

Sharing is caring!

Similar Posts

2 Comments

  1. To clarify, do the quantities mean 400g of whole fruit that is then peeled, or fruit that, when peeled, weighs 400g?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *