Some tips before starting.

– The amount of sugar to add to the pomegranate syrup depends on the amount of juice obtained. In my case, I got about 6 oz of juice from 193 grams of pomegranate seeds and added 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and a pinch of fine salt.

– At the end of cooking, the juice will have reduced significantly (I obtained, in fact, just over 2.5 oz, enough to both decorate and accompany each individual cheesecake serving).

– I prefer to use orange zest to flavor and thicken the syrup; I find it pairs better with pomegranate.

– We can use all kinds of cookies, with and without gluten, for the base: from the classic “digestive”, to shortbread, to petit, and so on.

– The mold I used is round, non-springform, with sides 2 inches high and measures 8 inches in diameter. We can line it with two overlapped sheets of parchment paper, which should extend beyond the mold itself, to allow for easy and trouble-free removal of the cheesecake.

Let’s start by preparing the cookie base.

Crush them very, very finely and transfer them to a large bowl.

Melt the butter with a bit of grated orange zest.

As soon as the butter is melted, pour it into the bowl with the cookies and quickly mix with a wooden spoon so that it is completely and perfectly absorbed by the cookies.

Pour the mixture into the mold and flatten it evenly with a meat pounder or the back of a spoon.

Cover the mold with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

In the meantime, we will take care of the cream cheese filling.

Pour the very cold whipping cream from the fridge into a stand mixer or a bowl.

Start whipping it from the lowest speed, gradually increasing to the highest speed.

When the cream achieves a denser consistency, we will add the cream cheese, a few drops of vanilla (or the tip of a teaspoon if using the paste form) and continue to whip for a few more seconds to ensure the ingredients blend perfectly.

If you like, at this point you could add a teaspoon of pomegranate liqueur or Strega.

The final consistency of the cream should be fluffy, airy, compact.

.

After an hour, take out the cheesecake base and add the cream cheese filling.

Level it well and gently tap the mold on the table to ensure no empty spaces are left in the filling. Return to the fridge well covered.

Now let’s take care of the pomegranate juice syrup.

Score the two pomegranates into 4 wedges each and proceed to remove the seeds onto a plate. We need to perfectly eliminate the membrane present inside the fruit, which covers the seeds as it is very bitter.

We can extract the juice with a juicer or a potato masher.

Having done this, pour the juice into a saucepan with a thick bottom, add the sugar and zest of an orange (without the white part inside, which is also bitter).

Place on the smallest burner over medium-low heat and stir very often for only 15 minutes if we desire a fluid consistency like honey, or for only 20 minutes if we desire a very concentrated syrup that will become almost gelatinous as it cools.

The consistency of the syrup will change as it cools, becoming denser.

After 15 or 20 minutes (depending on the final consistency we want to achieve) turn off immediately, move the saucepan away from the burners, and transfer it into a glass or serving bowl.

The cheesecake should rest in the fridge for 12 hours to fully express its aromas and flavors.

At the time of serving, we can decide whether to decorate it with a drizzle of syrup.

Finish the cheesecake

After slicing the portions, each guest can serve themselves with pomegranate syrup to complete the dessert.

An extra idea. We can enrich the cake by inserting a layer of syrup between the fillings. Pour half of the cream into the mold, level it, brush the surface with a thin layer of syrup (not more because it’s water-soluble and upon contact with the cream’s moisture, the syrup would dissolve, becoming liquid), add the other half of the cream, level, and back to the fridge.

Bon appetit