Goat Cheese Cake

Recipe courtesy of Emily Luchetti



                              


Our daughter graduated from college this past weekend! Woo hoo!! Way to go Ash!

To celebrate we had a family barbecue and lucked out to have the most beautiful weather.  Zucchini tart for appetizer was served along with tri-tip, portobello burgers, Mexican chopped salad and for dessert a wonderful goat cheese cake topped with fresh fruit. Emily Luchetti was kind enough to share her recipe with me - Thank you Emily!!

I have several of Ms. Luchetti's books and love her recipes for their simplicity, full flavor, and in my opinion, spectacular desserts.

Don't pass this up if you are not a fan of goat cheese. My brother-in-law thought this was good and quite surprised to find out what it was made with. He passed on the zucchini tart because it was made with goat cheese.

The cake was light, bright, and beautiful! The goat cheese along with the whipped egg whites makes for a lighter cake than your traditional cream cheese cheesecake and the addition of lemon juice and zest gives this delectable dessert a wonderful sparkle of lemon flavor.

This is one recipe you will want in your repertoire to make again and again.

Success meter (1-3): 3+++

It looks like I went a bit overboard on the fruit.

In the end it was the perfect amount once divvied

up between everyone. You can always put less

on the cake and have extra served at the table.

Awesome job Ash!

Please visit Emily Luchetti at her website and on Facebook. And if you are in the San Francisco area you can try her desserts where she is the executive pastry chef at Farallon and Waterbar Restaurants.

Goat Cheese Cake with Mixed Berries

Emily Luchetti

Serves 6 to 8

11 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 large eggs, separated

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 pint blackberries (about 1 cup)

1 pint raspberries (about 2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and dust with granulated sugar, tapping out the excess.

Put the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice in the bowl a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Stir in the egg yolks two at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the flour until incorporated.

Put the egg whites in another mixer bowl, fit the mixer with the whip attachment, and whip on medium speed until soft peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the goat cheese mixture. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

To serve, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake, invert a platter on top of the pan, and then invert the plate and pan together. Lift off the pan. Top with the berries and serve.