Goat-Cheese Cheesecake

Photo: flickr user dpstyles™

Ingredients

cup cream cheese plus

2 tablespoons cream cheese - (11 oz) room temperature

8 ounces fresh goat cheese room temperature

cup sugar

lengthwise split vanilla bean pulp scraped

cup mascarpone cheese

4 eggs

Preparation

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Wrap the outside of an 8-inch springform pan with foil and set aside.

Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, sugar and vanilla pulp in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the mascarpone and beat until smooth.

Add the eggs and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Strain the mixture into a bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the pan and place it in the center of a larger baking pan. Pour enough very hot water into the baking pan to reach two-thirds of the way up the side of the springform pan. Cover the entire baking dish with foil. Pierce the foil in several places with a knife. Bake the cake for 1 hour, then lift off a corner of the foil to allow the steam to escape. Recover the pan and bake until the cake looks rather wet and is still very slightly jiggly in the center, but the edges are set, 40 to 45 minutes longer.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely before serving. The cake can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.

This recipe yields 8 servings.

Comments: Use the mildest goat cheese you can. Taste a few brands until you find one with a suitably mild, light taste. Avoid an aged cheese, which would be too strong and sharp for this recipe.