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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Paw Paw Cheesecake

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Paw paw cheesecake recipe with wild blueberry sauceIf you can get your hands on a paw paw, this should definitely be on your list of things to make. A pastry chef I worked with was very talented at using them, his cheesecake was the first thing I ate made with paw-paws, and it is a great recipe.

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.

Paw Paw Cheesecake

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

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1.5 cups (80 grams or roughly 12 crackers) graham crumbs
  • 1/2 cup (40 grams) finely chopped black walnuts or regular walnuts
  • 1/2 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

Paw paw cheesecake recipe with wild blueberry sauce

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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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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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