Kiwi Mascarpone Cheesecake is made with both baby kiwis, also known as Kiwi Berries, and larger kiwi fruit. It's incredibly delicious and will totally wow your guests.
Cheesecakes are always a treat and it's fun to "decorate" them with fresh fruit. Kiwi berries are a unique and delicious way to do this.
What's in this recipe?
- In the crust: butter, sugar and graham crackers
- cream cheese
- Mascarpone
- sour cream
- sugar
- honey
- vanilla
- cardamom
- eggs
- baby kiwi
Aren't the baby kiwi darling?
About Baby Kiwi
They're actually a berry, and are more or less the size of a grape.
They have smooth, fuzz-less, eatable, thin skin, and are absolutely delicious.
Though slightly more delicate, the sweet and tart flavor is like that of it’s cousin, the larger, brown-skinned kiwi.
Sourced from New Zealand, Baby Kiwi are in season February through March -- and they're domestically sourced September through November.
Baby Kiwi can be found in upscale markets and of course from my friends at Melissa's Produce, here.
Since the baby kiwi slices are so tiny, it ups the wow factor of this Kiwi Mascarpone Cheesecake.
When to serve Kiwi Mascarpone Cheesecake
This is a gorgeous dessert to bring to a potluck. (You'll surely be a bit!)
It would be lovely for any celebration as well as a casual dinner party.
Recipe Tips
- This is a rich, large cheesecake -- so it should be cut into thin slices to serve.
- I love a lot of crust because it's like having a cookie with each creamy bite -- however if you prefer, you can make half the amount of crust and only add it to the bottom of the pan.
- For a gluten-free version of this cheesecake, you can use gluten-free S'morables from Kinninick.
I hope you enjoy this Kiwi Mascarpone Cheesecake as much as I do!
More Kiwi recipes:
Kiwi Mascarpone Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup puls 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 3½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For the filling
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups mascarpone, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 4 eggs
- 1¼ cup (about 4 large kiwi) kiwi, peeled and cut into a small dice
- 6 ounces Baby Kiwi
Instructions
- Adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Use the 2 teaspoons of butter to grease a 10-inch X 2½-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
For the crust
- Add the graham cracker crumbs to a large mixing bowl and fold in the 1 cup melted butter and the sugar. Add this mixture to the greased pan, and using your hands, gently press it evenly to coat the inside bottom and sides, to form the crust. Set aside.
For the filling
- Add the softened cream cheese, softened mascarpone, sour cream, sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, vanilla and cardamom to a large mixing bowl. Mix until it's very smooth. (An electric mixer is great for this.) Gradually beat or mix in the eggs -- blend until smooth.
- Very gently fold in the diced kiwi, and then pour the mixture into the prepared crust.
- Place on a baking sheet with edges (in case some of the butter melts out of the pan).
- Bake the cake in the 350°F preheated oven until all but a few inches in the center of the surface is solidified -- meaning it will still jiggle a bit in the center. This will likely take about 2 hours -- you should check on it about every 30 minutes.
- Let it cool at least to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours and ideally overnight.
- Spread a thin layer of honey (about 1 tablespoon from the remaining ⅓ cup) on top of the cake.
- Then slice the Baby Kiwi into thirds and "decorate" the top of the cheesecake with them.
- Drizzle the remaining honey over the Baby Kiwi slices and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Melissa's Produce sent me Baby Kiwi for recipe testing. (Thank you!) This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 🙂
Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Lentil Breakdown
Beautiful set design! I am boo-hooing right now that I can't eat it, but perhaps after my cleanse, you'll make it again. 🙂 Looks and sounds truly fab (love the cardamom)!
valentina
Thank you! Cardamom is my absolute favorite spice! 🙂
Nancy Rose Eisman
SIMPLY GORGEOUS and I'm sure SIMPLY DELICIOUS TOO!
Arthur in the Garden!
Tasty and I like how you can eat the skins, too!