The long anticipated arrival of Yuzu Pearls allowed me to try this fabulous dessert and share the result with you. The Yuzu fruit is a citrus fruit originating in East Asia. It looks and tastes a lot like a lemon. It first came to our attention when we ordered dessert at Yuki Yama in Park City. We almost never have room for dessert after eating sushi, but this beautiful little dessert passed by and we were intrigued. It was a light, citrus flavored cheesecake and immediately had to research how we can create these at home. After a bit of searching, I found yuzu juice and yuzu pearls. I decided to give the pearls a try. The result is a very good imitation of the dessert from the sushi restaurant.
Here are the ingredients and the steps to make this yummy, yuzu cheesecake:
Crust
5 oz. graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
8 oz. whipping cream
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 oz. Yuzu Pearls
1 gelatin leaf
Extra whipping cream for serving.
You will need 8 small canning jars or other glass containers.
Process the graham crackers in a small food processor and mix in the melted butter. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the bottom of the small jars and press down – I used the tamper from my espresso machine.
Soften the gelatin leaf in a small amount of water and remove from water and put into a small saucepan. Add the yuzu pearls and heat over a larger pan of boiling water until softened. Process the yuzu pearls and gelatin in a small food processor until the pearls are dissolved.
In a large bowl of the electric mixer, process the cheeses until smooth. Add the caster sugar and process until combined. Add the vanilla and the yuzu mixture and blend.
Beat the whipping cream until stiff and fold into the cheese mixture.
Spoon the cheese mixture into the jars and close with lids until ready to serve.
When serving, remove lids and add decorative whipping cream to the top.