The benefits of this superfood fruit are well documented. Why not get your fix with a sweet dessert? Try this lucuma cheesecake recipe at home.
Eating this starchy fruit (green on the outside and yellow-orange on the inside) can be an acquired taste. What does lucuma taste like? Take a bite and you’ll taste the dry yet sweet flesh as it crumbles in your mouth. Most Peruvians have lucuma in ice cream form but there are numerous ways you can incorporate this Peruvian superfood into your diet.
Read more about its benefits here.
Flavia Hurtado, destination expert at Traveling & Living in Peru, shares her father’s mouthwatering recipe for lucuma cheesecake, which they recently made together. A perfect family bonding activity.
Ingredients for lucuma cheesecake
For the base:
- 200 g of vanilla cookies or graham crackers
- 40 g of unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 210 g of cream cheese
- 210 g of sweetened condensed milk
- 300 ml of heavy cream milk
- 300 g of lucuma pulp
- 150 ml of fresh milk
- 15 gr of clear gelatin
- 90ml of water
Preparation:
The base: Preheat oven to 170° C / 340° F. Grind the cookies until you have fine crumbs. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix both in a bowl and knead until it forms a mass. Place in your mold and flatten to create the base. Place in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
The filling: Blend the lucuma with fresh milk until smooth. Sift and pour in a pot over low heat. Stir until it starts to boil, then transfer to a bowl and let cool. Separately, dissolve the clear gelatin in water and let it hydrate for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the heavy cream until shiny and almost liquid. Set aside. In another bowl, add the cream cheese and whisk it with the sweetened condensed milk. Add the lucuma mix and continue whisking. Add heavy cream and whisk until everything is integrated. Finally, add the clear gelatin (heat it up for 15 seconds before adding). Mix it all well then add atop the cookie base and refrigerate for 4 hours or more. Grate chocolate over your lucuma cheesecake and enjoy.
Cover photo: Flavia Hurtado
