Coconut Cheesecake
Weather: 22 degrees, steady snowfall
What I’m listening to: Gold Rush Alaska on Discovery Channel
Want to know the hardest thing about making a cheesecake? Waiting for it to chill. You pour time and energy into it and you have to wait hours… upon hours… before you can remove it from the springform pan or take even one little taste. It’s a little bit of torture. You just hope it’s all been worth it. Alas, it is! This marvelous cheesecake has coconut in every layer – shredded coconut in the graham cracker crust, coconut milk in the creamy filling, and crunchy, toasted coconut on top.
I confess that, with any cheesecake, the crust is my favorite part. Once I ordered a cheesecake in a restaurant and when it came to the table, the crust was missing! I was so sad. That crumbly, salty-sweet, golden gem of a foundation is vital to a good cheesecake. It’s the perfect textural component. The crust that comes with this recipe is a particularly good one. I may or may not have eaten the crumbs of crust that were left on my kids’ plates. Perhaps. But there’s no proof of that.
Coconut Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
For the Coconut Crust:
- 1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs I put about 8 full graham crackers into a gallon-size zip bag and roll over them repeatedly with a rolling pin
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
For the Filling:
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 7 ounces coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract optional
For Topping:
- 3 tablespoons toasted coconut I toast my shredded coconut in a small frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, until golden
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- If you are worried that your springform pan may not be completely watertight, place a layer of aluminum foil on the outside of the pan bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and shredded coconut. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter, and mix together until well blended.
- Pour the graham cracker mixture into the springform pan, and using your hands, press firmly into the pan and up the sides. The crust does not come all the way up the sides, only about halfway.
- Bake crust in preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For the Filling:
- Lower the oven temp to 325℉.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl often.
- Add the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth and combined.
- Slowly add the beaten eggs to the bowl, adding about a tablespoon or so at a time and mixing well between each addition.
- Add the coconut milk and coconut extract, if using, and beat until combined.
- Place the springform pan with the cooled coconut crust into a large roasting pan.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform pan.
- Place the roasting pan on the center rack of the oven, and add hot water to the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake the cheesecake for 65-75 minutes, or until the filling is set and only slightly jiggly in the center.
- Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven, being careful not to slosh the hot water, and then remove the springform pan. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate 8 hours before removing from the springform pan. Sprinkle toasted coconut all over the top prior to serving.
Nutrition
cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts…especially since I can make it gluten free and it nobody even knows it…definately on the dessert menu for Easter!
Coconut in cheesecake! This sounds wonderful. And I agree with you, the crust is DEFINITELY the best part (especially with your addition of more coconut)!
Hi from Alaska, Courtney! Thanks for stopping by and for the encouraging feedback. I just wandered over to your blog a bit. I enjoy your writing. 🙂 Hope to see you pop over again sometime!
This is my very first cheesecake I have ever made. It was very easy to make and I will agree that it is very hard to wait for the cooling of the cake. I took this recipe to my dads house in Georgia. There was only four of us, the cake did not even last 48 hours. So we had to make another one. 🙂 YES that one was gone just as fast. PS we use to live in Alaska too. My Sister is still there in Fairbanks. I am glad I found this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it. Angie Catherman
I am going to make one tonight…I already cannot wait to taste this! 🙂
I made this for Mother’s Day this weekend. SO good! Thanks for the recipe, my mom (and the rest of the family) loved it!
hi! What size springform pan do you use?
My pan is a standard 9-inch springform. Thanks for your question!
My hubby requested I try to make him an Almond Joy cheesecake. So I used your recipe as the base, but instead of topping with toasted coconut, I covered it with melted dark chocolate and sliced almonds. It was a huge success. Thanks for posting this great recipe.
Sounds like a great recipe!! I’m trying it today!!
Oh yeah only thing different is I’m trying some organic coconut sugar!! It actually changed the color of the cheesecake. lol. More beige now, cuz the sugar is brownish.
What size springform pan?