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    Home » Sweets

    Paw Paw Cheesecake

    Published: Feb 9, 2014 Modified: Jan 26, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    If you can get your hands on some, my paw paw cheesecake recipe needs to be on your list of things to make. It's a recipe from one of the most talented pastry chefs I worked with. His cheesecake was the first thing I ate made with paw-paws. It takes some work, but the finished product is fantastic.

    Paw paw cheesecake recipe with wild blueberry sauce

    The paw paw's fruity flavor makes it a natural thing to enjoy in cheesecake form as they pair especially well with dairy, and really could be used in anything with a creamy texture, like a pudding, custard or ice cream. It's also necessary to cut the flavor of the paw paw a bit as I do here with cheese, when eaten raw they can have a slightly bitter note.

    The inside of the paw paw and the presence of the very large seeds means what you get is a bunch of stringy, sticky pulp after cleaning. With this funky texture, I like to puree paw paw fruit for use in cooking.

    The favor of a wild banana-mango 

    The flavor of paw paws is really rich and tropical, almost like a banana-mango. Its hard to believe that it is the largest indigenous fruit in the United States. I always thought that they had to be grown on specialty farms, but it turns out that they grow wild on the east coast. A couple months ago I started running across recipes for wild-crafters that had discovered these forgotten fruits again.

    In Eastern America, there are apparently about 8 different varieties of paw-paw that grow, I have cleaned and processed every one, and they are pretty fascinating. Each type has subtle differences, mostly in the flavor and color of the flesh. I remember when processing a bunch last year that some flesh was a dull yellow, some extremely vibrant yellow, and some others varying shades of orange.

    The flavor of the different varieties seems to range from slightly bitter to intensely custardy and sweet. For consistency reasons, the paw paws are pureed together en masse, and then used for cooking.

    Ordering your own paw paw puree 

    Most likely if you order some online, you will probably just receive one species though. Paw paws can be ordered online anytime from Earthy Delights, I would recommend experimenting with the frozen pulp they offer first, since it would involve much less work as far as cleaning the paw paws, which can be messy/sticky.

    Paw paw cheesecake recipe with wild blueberry sauce
    Blueberry sauce is the perfect condiment here.

    Garnishing and serving 

    This is just a simple recipe for cheesecake. When serving in a restaurant, I would garnish it with something crunchy (the black walnut crumble takes the place of the crust here) and maybe an acidic, fruity sauce, to give it some zip and play down it's richness a bit.

    Here I  garnished it with a sauce made from wild blueberries and a few leaves of fresh wild mint. It would be just as good with some simple strawberry or raspberry preserves.

    Individual vs large cheesecakes 

    Originally, this recipe made small cheesecakes in ramekins, which are easier and faster than making the real deal, which takes time, skill and patience. 

    But, eventually I wanted to adapt the recipe to make a big, beautiful, and most importantly, perfect cooked cheesecake. The key to success is steaming the cheesecake by cooking it in a water bath. Read the recipe closely to understand how that's done in a springform pan. 

    paw paw cheesecake
    My original small cheesecakes are still good, but now if I'm going to do it, I usually go big.

    How to make individual, small cheesecakes

    If you attempt the big one, it's worth it. If you don't have the time or patience, the individual version is good too.

    To make individual cakes, just make the filling as directed, then fill ramekins with the filling, bake in a tray or pan lined with a towel, with water coming up at least halfway of the ramekins, cook gently until just barely set, cool, and turn them out, garnishing with something crunchy like toasted nuts or seeds, granola, fruit preserves, etc. 

    Paw paw cheesecake recipe with wild blueberry sauce
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    Paw Paw Cheesecake

    The best paw paw cheesecake you'll ever have. Yield: 1 8 inch springform pan, or roughly 12 servings.
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Cheesecake, Paw Paw
    Servings: 8

    Equipment

    • Stand mixer, 8-9 inch springform pan, roasting pan or another larger pan the springform pan can fit on/into.

    Ingredients

    Filling

    • 2 cups 1 lb paw paw puree
    • 1 lb high quality cream cheese
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • Zest of half a meyer lemon + 2 tablespoons juice or substitute fresh lemon juice
    • 2 large eggs + 3 yolks at room temperature

    Black Walnut-Graham Crust

    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • 1.5 cups (80 grams or roughly 12 crackers) graham crumbs
    • ½ cup (40 grams) finely chopped black walnuts or regular walnuts
    • ½ teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon

    Instructions

    Crust

    • First bake the crust. Preheat the oven to 350, then melt the butter and mix with the graham crumbs cinnamon, salt, and the ground walnuts.
    • Press the mixture into an 8 inch spring form pan, or square baking dish, then bake for 12-13 minutes, or until lightly browned.
    • Cool the crust while you prepare the filling.
    • For the filling, beat the eggs, yolks and sugar with a whisk in a stand mixer until light and doubled in volume. Meanwhile, puree the cream cheese and the paw paw puree in a food processor until smooth.
    • Add the paw-paw cheese mixture to the whipped eggs and continue mixing with the whisk attachment for 15 minutes, then fold in the lemon juice and zest, and pour into the cooled crust.

    Cooking / Steam-Baking *Read thoroughly*

    • In a pan the spring form pan can fit inside, put an upside down metal bowl covered with a towel. The idea here is you need to elevate the cheesecake above the water so it doesn't get inside the pan. Another way to do this is with a roasting tray fitted with a rack.
    • Pour hot water into the pan to come nearly up to the spring form pan, then put the cheesecake into the pan, uncovered.
    • Bake at 300 F for 70-80 minutes, making sure to check on it regularly at the end.
    • The cheesecake needs to be appear slightly under-baked, and should giggle gently in the middle. If you've cooked a custard before, this will be familiar.
    • Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecake to continue cooking, uncovered, until room temperature, then remove, and refrigerate until needed, uncovered.
    • The cheese cake can also be cooked ahead and frozen, then thawed.

    Notes

    This can also be cooked as one large cheesecake
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Charlene Groves

      August 27, 2018 at 2:36 pm

      Thanks for the cheesecake recipe! After about a decade, we are finally having a paw paw crop (dwindled squirrel population). I am wondering if I could use this recipe in a traditional oblong glass cake pan with a graham crust? I do not want to waste my precious paw paws on a recipe that's doomed to fail! If you think this method will succeed, what baking alterations should I make? Thanks

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        August 27, 2018 at 5:09 pm

        You'll be fine baking it in a larger pan with a traditional crust. If you can, put a pan of water in the oven underneath to help steam the cheesecake, and cook on low-ish heat. I cook mine as low as possible, 250F-300F whenever I can.

        Reply
        • Charlene Groves

          August 30, 2018 at 4:04 pm

          Alan, the cheesecake turned out beautifully! I served it to about 20 women who were fascinated by the idea of paw-paws! Most thought they only existed in the childhood song they remembered. There were lots of compliments (even though I detected a bitter aftertaste, so I served it with some black raspberry preserves). Thanks again for your help. Happy foraging!

          !

          Reply
    2. Alan

      August 30, 2018 at 4:16 pm

      Charlene-glad it worked out. I have tasted bitterness with some species. Back at the restaurant we worked at where we would order them all the time during their season, the pastry chef would pick and choose the species out of the boxes-many different ones showed up at the same time. If yours have a little bitterness, you might try making a mousse or something where paw paw purée is folded into something without applying heat, that should solve the problem. Modifying a no-bake cheesecake could also work.

      Reply
    3. Kelly Moss

      October 25, 2019 at 3:55 pm

      Thanks for these paw paw recipes! We have them growing wild on our property in NE Missouri...and we’ve befriended a person who has a PROLIFIC mature grafted paw paw tree.
      So, my husband loves paw paws and asked for pa paw cheesecake for his bday.
      I made this in a 8” baking dish with a yummy crust.
      I think paw paw is delicious with pistachio so here’s what I did:
      1/3 c almond flour, 1/2 c ground shelled pistachios, 4-6 tbs coconut oil, melted; a tbs Oreo coconut flour, and 1/8 tsp salt— mixed together and pressed into the dish.
      Poured the pawpaw/creme cheese mix in and baked it in a (water bath) pan of water at 300F for 40 mins. It was just a little jiggly in the center when I took it out. Let it cool completely, et, voila! A happy beloved enjoyed his favorite food. I tried the elderberry syrup (Hand picked berries) and was impressed! The flavor of the syrup did not overpower the delicate paw paw flavor.
      Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!

      Reply
      • Kelly Moss

        October 25, 2019 at 3:57 pm

        *a tbs of coconut flour

        Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 27, 2019 at 9:11 am

        Great. glad it worked for you. And good on you for actually using a waterbath.

        Reply

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    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

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