Citrus Matcha Cheesecake
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 24 oreos
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- Zest of 1 lime
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/3 cup citrus juice - I used about 1/2 of a lime, lemon and orange
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups yogurt
- 1/4 cup matcha green tea
For the chocolate ganache:
- 6 ounces 70% cacao dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions:
For the crust:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and attach the ring before cutting the excess paper. Grease the sides of the pan with cooking spray.
- Use a food processor to crush the oreos until fine.
- Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to combine.
- Press into the bottom of your prepared pan.
- Bake for 7 minutes. Baking the crust first helps prevent a soggy crust. Let the crust cool for a few minutes before filling.
For the cheesecake:
- Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or use a hand mixer. Beat until the cream cheese is smooth. Make sure you are using room temperature cream cheese to prevent lumps forming in the batter.
- Add the sugar and mix until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until combined.
- Add the citrus zest, juice and salt, mixing just until combined.
- Fold in the yogurt and matcha powder just until combined, and the colour is even throughout.
- Pour into the springform pan on top of your baked and cooled crust.
- Fill a roasting pan with about an inch of water. Wrap foil around the outside of the springform pan and place it in the water. Baking in a water bath helps the cheesecake to bake evenly.
- Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce heat to 275 degrees F. and bake for 1 hour.
- Turn off the oven and let cool for an hour. Crack open the oven door and continue to cool for another hour.
- Chill for 2-3 hours or overnight in the fridge before topping with ganache and serving.
For the chocolate ganache:
- Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan just until it is starting to simmer (don't let it boil).
- Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in a heat safe bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
- Stir together until smooth.
- Chill for about an hour until it is solid enough to spread on top of the cheesecake without it running over the edges.