Persimmon Upside-Down Yogurt Cheesecake

“I received free samples of siggi’s yogurt mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by siggi’s yogurt and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

We’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and each year, this season brings up a ton of family memories for me. For whatever reason, the thought of shoveling all manner of carbs into my face whilst making dinner-table-inappropriate jokes with my cousins at the kids table (which I know I’m going to be at for ~10 more years at least, and am totally fine with) just screams NOSTALGIA… Ya know? It’s a natural human instinct. But for me, these memories can come flooding in at LITERALLY any given moment once November hits. Take for example, the other day, while I was buying a bag of persimmons.

When I was a kid and I used to go over to my grandparents’ house, my grandma and I would draw pictures together. One day we were drawing various fruits and veggies, putting faces on them, and giving them names. All the usual suspects were there: Broccoli Rob (GET IT?!), Tommy Tomato, Apple Anne, etc. But then I said to my grandma, “What about PERSIMMON PATRICK?” She looked at me surprised and slightly impressed, like, do you actually even know what a persimmon IS, seven-year-old Sarah? No, Grandma. No I did not. 

In fact, I didn’t know what a persimmon was until college. I found one in the grocery store and tried it thinking it was going to be like a tomato. I was so deliciously, delightfully, beautifully wrong – persimmons are sweet, juicy, and just taste like autumn. Sorry that’s not more eloquent. 

Persimmons come in two main varieties: Fuyu and Hachiya. Fuyus are flatter and delicious at any stage of ripeness. Hachiyas are more egg-shaped and can only be eaten when they’re soft and the pulp is gelatinous, or they’ll scorch the inside of your mouth. But when they ARE ripe, there is absolutely nothing like it. SOOO GOOD. This recipe uses Hachiyas, but you could easily thinly slice some Fuyus for a more decorative fruit layer.

 

Another one of my favorite things about the holidays is – duh – the FOOOD. <3 Give me a big plate of a little bit of everything and nobody gets hurt… Except for maybe my pants buttons 😉 Still, whether you’re trying to be more health-conscious this holiday season or looking to indulge in some crazy good eats, you will LOVE this cheesecake.

Siggi’s® Orange & Ginger Icelandic-style skyr makes a perfect base for this cheesecake for so many reasons. I love siggi’s on its own, because the ingredient list is super simple and the yogurt contains more protein than sugar – yes, even the flavors! The orange ginger flavor in particular adds just a little ‘oomph’ to this particular recipe, which also means you don’t have to add citrus zest! Also, the yogurt itself – which is SUPER thick and creamy – makes for a deliciously tart cheesecake that’s lower in fat but still perfectly dense in texture.

The other reason you seriously have to make this cheesecake is that it DOES NOT REQUIRE A SPRINGFORM PAN! I KNOW. If we’re being truthful, my apartment doesn’t have a lot of storage space, so I don’t actually own a springform pan… But knowing now that cheesecake can totally be made “upside-down?” GAME. CHANGER.

 

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