Frozen Lemon Cheesecake with berries & caramelized pistachios

This is an eggless version of one of my oldest and most favorite desserts, the frozen lemon cheesecake. I actually made it as a dessert for New Year’s Eve, which we spent in Long Beach with dear friends. I normally make it with raw eggs at home since Swedish eggs don’t have salmonella. I’m sure most Californian eggs are perfectly safe to use but to be on the very safe side, I decided to make version without eggs. Instead of eggs - and sugar - it uses sweetened condensed milk. I’m going to say that the end result is very, very close.

And very, very good. Also quite a bit easier to make.

You can top this with whatever you’d like of course, and whatever berries are in season where you are. We found some super tasty strawberries that I macerated with lime and a little brown sugar, and then I quickly caramelized some pistachios that tasted much better than they look in the photo, I promise. (And all that there’s too this is melting sugar in a small pan, non stick unless you love to clean up, add the nuts, and let them be well coated, turn out on a non-stick surface and cool. Add a very light sprinkling of salt if desired)

Everything can and should be made well in advance. Just remember to bring out the cheesecake a little while before you want to eat - maybe half an hour or so - so that it’s not frozen solid.

Frozen Lemon Cheesecake with berries & caramelized pistachios

Crust:
about 220 g graham crackers
3/4 stick butter, melted (about 85 g

Process crackers into crumbs. Add butter. Press hot crumbs into a springform pan. Place in freezer while you make the filling.

Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 small package cream cheese (about 8 oz)
Whipping cream, about 450 ml
Zest from 1 lemon
Dash of vanilla

Stir together cream cheese, vanilla and lemon zest and stir until smooth. Add condensed milk and stir again.

Whip the cream and fold it all together. Pour the filling on top of the crust, freeze overnight or at least for a few hours.

Thaw for a little while before serving and top with whatever berries you’d like.