Shavuot Feast

Shavuot, also known as the ‘Feast of Weeks’, is celebrated every year on the 6th of Sivan. This date is seven weeks after Passover (Pesach) – hence the name. This year, it begins on the evening of Sunday 1 June and finishes on the evening of Tuesday 3 June.

Shavuot is a Jewish holiday commemorating the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai and it’s also a harvest festival.

Shavuot is celebrated in various ways:

• All-night study: Many Jews stay up all night learning Torah and other Jewish texts in a tradition called ‘Tikun Leyl Shavuot’.
• Special meals: Festive meals are enjoyed, including dairy dishes like cheesecake, blintzes, and kugel, which are often associated with Shavuot.
• Reading the Book of Ruth: It’s customary to read the Book of Ruth, which tells the story of a woman who embraced the Jewish faith.
• Decorating with greens: Some synagogues are decorated with fresh flowers and greens to symbolise the spring harvest and the beauty of Mount Sinai.

Why not try out this cheesecake recipe with a difference to share with your friends on Shavuot? With a slightly sour tang, plus white chocolate and pistachio flavours, it’s a heavenly dessert!

White chocolate, mascarpone and pistachio cheesecake

By chef Tom Kerridge

Serves: 12

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• Butter for the cake tin
• 100g white chocolate
• 200g digestive biscuits crushed

For the cake

• 500g mascarpone
• 200g full-fat yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 lemon zested, 1/2 juiced
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 50g shelled pistachios roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
• Mixed berries to serve (optional)

Method

Step 1

Line the base of a deep 20cm springform cake tin with baking parchment and butter the base and sides. Melt the white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water (ensure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a microwave in short bursts. When the chocolate is completely smooth, stir in the biscuits and a small pinch of salt. Press into the base of the tin, all the way to the edges, ensuring the base is even. Put in the fridge to chill for at least 20 mins.

Step 2

Heat the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Beat the mascarpone, yogurt, eggs, caster sugar, lemon zest and juice and vanilla bean paste together with an electric whisk until smooth, then tip over the biscuit base. Transfer the tin to a baking tray and bake for 45 mins until almost set, with just a slight wobble in the middle. Turn the oven off with the cheesecake inside, and leave the door ajar. Leave the cheesecake to cool completely.

Step 3

Once completely cool and set, loosen the sides and base of the tin with a knife, and carefully transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate. Scatter over the pistachios and dust with the icing sugar, then serve with the berries on the side.

Enjoy and let us know how you got on!

‘Recipe from www.bbc.goodfood.com‘