Tropical Fruits, Buckwheat, and Tarragon Cheesecake | Chef Domenico Stile

Ingredients

For the Buckwheat Biscuit

• 250 g Butter
• 250 g Sugar
• 250 g Almond Flour
• 250 g Buckwheat Flour

For the Pineapple Glaze

• 50 g Pineapple Puree
• 50 ml Water
• 1.5 g Kappa Gelatin

For the Mini Raffaellos

• 50 ml Coconut water
• 50 ml Coconut liqueur
• Cocoa butter (by eye)
• White chocolate (by eye)
• Grated coconut or coconut flakes (as needed)

For the Cheesecake Mousse

• 50 g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 30 g Buffalo ricotta
• 20 g Mascarpone
• 200 ml Fresh heavy cream (34% fat)
• 2.5 g Gelatin sheets
• 20 g Passion fruit
• 12 g Powdered sugar
• 24 g Granulated sugar

For the Tarragon Gel

• 100 ml Tarragon water
• 10 g Sugar
• 1 g Agar-agar

For the Tropical Fruit Sorbet

• 200 g Pineapple puree
• 150 g Mango puree
• 150 g Passion fruit puree
• 125 ml Water
• 30 g Glucose
• 0.7 g Stabilizer
• 60 g Sugar

Method

For the Buckwheat Biscuit

Mix the butter at room temperature with the sugar.

Add the almond flour and buckwheat flour, continuing to mix with an electric mixer or a stand mixer.

Form a ball with the dough, wrap it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Roll out the dough into a round shape with a hole in the center and transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 5-6 minutes.

For the Cheesecake Mousse

Add Philadelphia in a stand mixer or a large bowl along with buffalo ricotta, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and passion fruit. Mix with a whisk at moderate speed.

Slowly add the fresh cream while whipping to incorporate it completely.

After soaking the gelatin in cold water, dissolve it in a small amount of cream and add it to the mixture, stirring with a spatula.

Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and fill sphere-shaped molds. Once done, place the spheres in the freezer: with the help of a stick, they will later be dipped in the boiling pineapple glaze.

For the Pineapple Glaze

In a saucepan, combine the pineapple puree, water, and Kappa gelatin, and bring to a boil. The result will be a gel to coat the cheesecake mousse spheres.

For the Tarragon Gel

Blanch the tarragon in boiling water with a pinch of salt and baking soda until it is overcooked.

Cool it in an ice water bath and blend it with some sparkling water. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, add the sugar and agar-agar, and bring to a boil.

Strain the tarragon water and let it set in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Blend and strain it again.

For the Mini Raffaellos

In a bowl, mix the coconut water with the coconut liqueur. Pour the mixture into smaller sphere molds and freeze them.

In a saucepan, melt the cocoa butter with white chocolate and dip the frozen spheres in it, then roll them in grated coconut.

For the Tropical Fruit Sorbet

In a large saucepan, add the pineapple, mango, and passion fruit purees.

In a separate saucepan, mix the stabilizer with sugar, add water and glucose, and bring to a boil.

Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the fruit purees and bring it to 67°C (153°F).

Transfer the sorbet into a Pacojet or ice cream maker.

Plate Composition

Use the buckwheat biscuit as a base and decorate it with the cheesecake mousse spheres, alternating them with the mini Raffaellos and tropical fruit sorbet quenelles. 

Place between each element some fresh diced tropical fruit, tarragon gel, and dried carambola chips.